Emigrant Shadows, A History and Guide to the California Trail
Marshall Fey, R. Joe King, and Jack Lepisto
Published by Western Trails Research Association, 2002. 224 pages, glossary, bibliography, index. 8½" x 11". $24.95 paperback; $34.95 hardcover, +$3.95 s/h.

In this single volume we have a definitive routing of the paths of the California Trail emigrants down the Humboldt River, over Donner Pass via the Truckee River route, and over the Carson River route. The basic research was performed by the Nevada Emigrant Trail Marking Committee beginning in the early 1920s, when the ruts left by the wagons were still visible. The book includes seventy maps, historic and modern; 160 excerpts from pioneer diaries, samples of nineteenth-century trail guides, 220 illustrations (including sixteen pages with full color), and historical sketches, along with some Sierra Trail hikes.