| Carson Pass | |
|---|---|
 The Carson Pass (foreground) overlooksRed Lake to the east. | |
| Elevation | 8,574 ft (2,613 m) |
| Traversed by |  SR 88 |
| Location | Sierra Crest,Eldorado National Forest,Alpine County, California,United States |
| Range | Sierra Nevada |
| Coordinates | 38°41′38″N119°59′15″W / 38.69389°N 119.98750°W /38.69389; -119.98750 |
  Location inCalifornia | |
| Official name | Kit Carson Marker |
| Reference no. | 315 |
Carson Pass is amountain pass on the crest of the centralSierra Nevada, in theEldorado National Forest andAlpine County, easternCalifornia.
The pass is traversed byCalifornia State Route 88. It lies on theGreat Basin Divide, with theWest Fork Carson River on the east and theSouth Fork American River on the west.
The historic pass was a point on theCarson Trail during theCalifornia Gold Rush and was used forAmerican Civil War shipping to California until the completion of theFirst transcontinental railroad. ThePacific Crest Trail traverses the Carson Pass summit, which hasCalifornia Historical Landmark #315 at CA 88 postmile 6.09 whereKit Carson carved his name into a tree.[1]
The1844 Frémont Expedition turned south from northernNevada. When encamped at Nevada's Carson Valley on January 31, 1844, Frémont decided to detour west during the winter conditions toSutter's Fort in California for supplies. LocalWashoe Indians told them of a route through the mountains, but warned them not to proceed through the snow. Frémont duly ignored the advice and directed the group westward. The Washoe were right in that they were not able to find food or game, and they ended up resorting to eating dogs, horses, and mules just to survive. On February 14, Frémont and hiscartographerCharles Preuss made it upRed Lake Peak and became the first recorded white men to seeLake Tahoe in the distance. On February 21, the expedition made it through the now-named Carson pass west of Red Lake and arrived at Sutter's Fort on March 6 with no fatalities.[2]
In the summer of 1848,Mormons leaving California for Utah built what would become known as theCarson Trail across the Sierra fromSly Park, California, to the Carson Valley via Carson Pass. The Carson Trail became one of the primary routes across the Sierra used by overland immigrants to California in the Gold Rush era. Brigham Young evacuated Mormon settlers around Carson Pass in July 1857, shortly after the breakout of theUtah War.
| Maiden's Grave | |
|---|---|
 Interactive map of Maiden's Grave | |
| Location | State Highway 88,Kirkwood, California |
| Coordinates | 38°37′54″N120°10′16″W / 38.6318°N 120.171233°W /38.6318; -120.171233 |
| Reference no. | 28 |
In 1850, the young Rachel Melton was buried west of Carson's Pass. Her family was traveling fromIowa when she became ill. The family camped out with a goal to improve Rachel's health, but she died. The site is aCalifornia Historical Landmark.[3]
According to theKöppen Climate Classification system, Carson Pass has adry-summer subarctic climate, abbreviated "Dsc" on climate maps.
| Climate data for Carson Pass, California, 2006–2020 normals, extremes 2004–present | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °F (°C) | 61 (16) | 60 (16) | 64 (18) | 68 (20) | 71 (22) | 79 (26) | 81 (27) | 82 (28) | 82 (28) | 72 (22) | 65 (18) | 60 (16) | 82 (28) |
| Mean maximum °F (°C) | 52.1 (11.2) | 52.9 (11.6) | 56.0 (13.3) | 61.5 (16.4) | 66.0 (18.9) | 73.4 (23.0) | 77.0 (25.0) | 76.3 (24.6) | 74.0 (23.3) | 66.6 (19.2) | 59.5 (15.3) | 51.4 (10.8) | 78.1 (25.6) |
| Mean daily maximum °F (°C) | 38.7 (3.7) | 39.0 (3.9) | 41.8 (5.4) | 46.9 (8.3) | 52.7 (11.5) | 62.1 (16.7) | 69.8 (21.0) | 69.0 (20.6) | 64.7 (18.2) | 53.5 (11.9) | 44.4 (6.9) | 36.9 (2.7) | 51.6 (10.9) |
| Daily mean °F (°C) | 30.3 (−0.9) | 29.8 (−1.2) | 32.2 (0.1) | 36.7 (2.6) | 42.7 (5.9) | 51.2 (10.7) | 58.6 (14.8) | 58.1 (14.5) | 53.1 (11.7) | 43.8 (6.6) | 35.8 (2.1) | 28.8 (−1.8) | 41.8 (5.4) |
| Mean daily minimum °F (°C) | 22.0 (−5.6) | 20.6 (−6.3) | 22.6 (−5.2) | 26.4 (−3.1) | 32.8 (0.4) | 40.3 (4.6) | 47.4 (8.6) | 47.0 (8.3) | 42.5 (5.8) | 34.1 (1.2) | 27.2 (−2.7) | 20.8 (−6.2) | 32.0 (0.0) |
| Mean minimum °F (°C) | 5.5 (−14.7) | 3.5 (−15.8) | 8.2 (−13.2) | 12.0 (−11.1) | 22.2 (−5.4) | 29.1 (−1.6) | 40.3 (4.6) | 38.3 (3.5) | 30.7 (−0.7) | 21.3 (−5.9) | 11.5 (−11.4) | 3.7 (−15.7) | −1.4 (−18.6) |
| Record low °F (°C) | −5 (−21) | −4 (−20) | −3 (−19) | 2 (−17) | 10 (−12) | 19 (−7) | 34 (1) | 30 (−1) | 23 (−5) | 13 (−11) | −2 (−19) | −4 (−20) | −5 (−21) |
| Averageprecipitation inches (mm) | 6.41 (163) | 6.64 (169) | 6.91 (176) | 3.55 (90) | 2.13 (54) | 0.59 (15) | 0.39 (9.9) | 0.47 (12) | 0.67 (17) | 3.07 (78) | 4.13 (105) | 5.57 (141) | 40.53 (1,029.9) |
| Average extreme snow depth inches (cm) | 62.1 (158) | 81.1 (206) | 97.0 (246) | 81.8 (208) | 53.1 (135) | 18.1 (46) | 0.9 (2.3) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.5 (1.3) | 3.1 (7.9) | 19.0 (48) | 40.2 (102) | 102.4 (260) |
| Average precipitation days(≥ 0.01 in) | 9.7 | 8.8 | 11.2 | 8.3 | 6.1 | 2.1 | 1.7 | 1.7 | 2.9 | 5.5 | 8.1 | 10.1 | 76.2 |
| Source: XMACIS2[4] | |||||||||||||
The original inscription was cut from the tree in 1888 and is now in Sutter's Fort
Fremont and Jacob Dodson leave Long Camp on the 16th as an advance scouting party to determine their route over the pass then along the descent of the western slope. On the night of the 17th the two men return to Long Camp and are quite surprised to be greeted by Fitzpatrick and his party from Grover's. Fremont noted… "Here we had the pleasure to find all the remaining animals, 57 in number, safely arrived at the grassy hill near the camp." Two days later the entire second expedition had reached Long Camp. On February 21st the expedition passed over the summit of today's Carson Pass at a location just south of present day Highway 88. They began their descent and two days later Fremont wrote from their camp at present day Strawberry… "Here among the pines, the hill side produces but little grass---barley sufficient to keep life in the animals. We had the pleasure to be rained upon this afternoon; and grass was now are greatest solicitude. Many of the men looked badly, and some this evening were giving out." Although they still had some distance to cover the descent was much easier, the worst was behind them. On March 6, 1844 they reached Sutter's Fort without losing a single man.: 2 (italic text from expedition reports)
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