The Deadliest Shortcut

The Deadliest Shortcut

by Lee Bergthold
The Deadliest Shortcut

The Deadliest Shortcut

by Lee Bergthold

eBook

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Overview

Lee Bergthold and three companions set out to retrace the infamous Hastings Cutoff. They trekked cross-country with backpacking gear on foot and with excerpts of crude maps to guide their way: Donner Springs, Utah, and westward to Battle Mountain, Nevada. This is a true account how four intrepid hikers sought out what might remain of the original Hastings Cutoff, a 350-mile, 35-day sojourn that would be an exploration of a portion of the Donner Party route—east to west—that the Donner's traveled. Survival techniques were initiated by Bergthold (former Marine Corps) which united the group into a cohesive unit. The narrative addresses a no-holds-barred account of what it's like to 'feel abandoned' on a harsh mostly uninhabited environment. Periodic humor was interjected throughout the trek to stave off days of isolation and loneliness which can create a sense of desperation. Bergthold's narrative is authoritative and bears out his years of experience in trekking (on foot) following the various survival routes the Donner's could have taken or at least considered. The reader follows along vicariously and experiences unsuspecting trials of desert/mountain exploration. The reader suddenly experiences the personal vulnerability, and angst of being in a strange land. You discover a Donner Party wilderness; you begin to experience the hardship, which becomes survival.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781667834856
Publisher: BookBaby
Publication date: 05/02/2022
Sold by: Barnes & Noble
Format: eBook
Pages: 480
Sales rank: 871,908
File size: 6 MB

About the Author

Lee Bergthold holds advanced degrees: an M.S. and M.A. from UC Santa Barbara and completed an 8 to 10-year study involving terminally ill cancer subjects. He also conducted an 8-year study developing a fitness indices for subjects working at sea level to altitude that involved metabolic sugar levels, ventilation volumes, cardiac uptake, and recovery. He has been a professor for over thirty years teaching photojournalism and documentary. He has spent over half a century exploring isolated regions of the southwest from sea level to altitude. "To search out lands that have possibly never been touched by mankind." During the 1950's he also served with the 1st and 3rd Marine Divisions during the Korean War.

Table of Contents

Foreword i

In the Beginning iii

Chapter 1 The Great Salt Lake Desert 1

Chapter 2 Little Salt Creek 13

Chapter 3 Donner Springs? 27

Chapter 4 Monster Bugs/Greetings from Russia? 45

Chapter 5 The Water Hole? 67

Chapter 6 Tunnels! 79

Chapter 7 Cave Trains 95

Chapter 8 Green Sprinklers 117

Chapter 9 The Signal 137

Chapter 10 The Bridge 153

Chapter 11 Murphy's Law 167

Chapter 12 'E-Rats' (Emergency Rations) 183

Chapter 13 Around the Horn 193

Chapter 14 Three-Tree-Camp 205

Chapter 15 A Deathly Passageway 233

Chapter 16 Swampland 245

Chapter 17 Tina's Rabbit 261

Chapter 18 The River Speaketh 275

Chapter 19 Westward 287

Chapter 20 Black Mountain Whiskey 301

Chapter 21 The River 313

Chapter 22 The Cowboy 325

Chapter 23 The Mighty Humboldt 339

Chapter 24 Hobo Gamps 359

Chapter 25 Geothermal 379

Chapter 26 The Summit 397

Chapter 27 Westward 411

Chapter 28 Battle Mountain 433

Appendix 441

The Last Word 451

About the Author 453

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