California Emigrant Trail

Seriously. This is a disused stretch, now only open to hikers and (barely) horses, that climbs up from what's now Caples Lake (a reservoir on Caples Creek, which ultimately joins the Silver Fork of the American River) and passes thru Emigrant Valley, which now lies in Kirkwood Ski Resort! The route here is now paralleled to the north by California State Route 88, the "Carson Pass" route over the Sierra Nevada. The original trail also crossed Carson Pass but then veered southward. It eventually more-or-less rejoins modern 88 west of Silver Lake. The route is marked by metal historical markers which have been there so long they're engulfed and/or bent by the bark growing on the trees to which they're nailed (see inset). Map location is approximate.