Martin's Cove
June 7, 1997
A few day before we met up with the wagon train and handcart company we did a little practice run at Martin's Cove. It was a cool overcast day but little did we know the heavens would open up and we got drench. Did that deter us? ~ nope, we pulled the handcart in the rain and it was so much fun. We had a good laugh and enjoyed the day together.
It was at Martin's Cove, near the Sweetwater River in October 1856 that the exhausted handcart pioneers led by Captain Edward Martin sought shelter from a blizzard. The Martin and Willie handcart companies, with 1,076 emigrants, had started their trek late in the season. When Brigham Young learned there were handcarts and two wagon trains on the trail on October, her sent 200 wagons east from the Salt Lake Valley. The heroic rescue efforts saved 855 people in the two handcart companies. Sadly more than 200 pioneers perished on the high plains of south-central Wyoming. There is visitors center and exhibits at the Sun Ranch in Wyoming honoring the Martin and Willie handcarts companies. We tried to capture some of the past by walking with a handcart along the trail that is about 5 miles. It is a way to get a flavor for the hardships of the pioneers who so wanted religious freedom. 
This is Devil's Gate near Martin's Cove. This imposing feature consists of a vertical slash in 370-foot granite cliff. The Sweetwater River flows through this gorge. Some of the Mormon pioneers tried to walk or ride horses through this passage, but the river current was too strong. After circumventing Devils Gate, the pioneer continued along the Sweetwater River for 93 miles to the Continental Divide at South Pass.
June 7, 1997
A few day before we met up with the wagon train and handcart company we did a little practice run at Martin's Cove. It was a cool overcast day but little did we know the heavens would open up and we got drench. Did that deter us? ~ nope, we pulled the handcart in the rain and it was so much fun. We had a good laugh and enjoyed the day together.
It was at Martin's Cove, near the Sweetwater River in October 1856 that the exhausted handcart pioneers led by Captain Edward Martin sought shelter from a blizzard. The Martin and Willie handcart companies, with 1,076 emigrants, had started their trek late in the season. When Brigham Young learned there were handcarts and two wagon trains on the trail on October, her sent 200 wagons east from the Salt Lake Valley. The heroic rescue efforts saved 855 people in the two handcart companies. Sadly more than 200 pioneers perished on the high plains of south-central Wyoming. There is visitors center and exhibits at the Sun Ranch in Wyoming honoring the Martin and Willie handcarts companies. We tried to capture some of the past by walking with a handcart along the trail that is about 5 miles. It is a way to get a flavor for the hardships of the pioneers who so wanted religious freedom. 
This is Devil's Gate near Martin's Cove. This imposing feature consists of a vertical slash in 370-foot granite cliff. The Sweetwater River flows through this gorge. Some of the Mormon pioneers tried to walk or ride horses through this passage, but the river current was too strong. After circumventing Devils Gate, the pioneer continued along the Sweetwater River for 93 miles to the Continental Divide at South Pass.
