Walker’s Pass!

Walker's Pass
Landmark #99 Kern County Visited: January 2, 2012 Plaque?  YES! 🙂
What is it? A pair of plaques marking Walker’s Pass out of the San Joaquin Valley!
What makes it historical? THE GUIDE SAYS: Discovered by Joseph R. Walker, American trailblazer, who left the San Joaquin Valley through this pass in 1834. This area was traversed by topographer Edward M. Kern, after whom the Kern River was named, while accompanying the Frémont expedition of 1845. After 1860 it became a mining freight route to Owens Valley.

OTHER TIDBITS: Joseph Rutherford Walker was a renowned mountain man who first came to California on commission by fur entrepreneur, Captain Benjamin Bonneville! He crossed the Sierras near Yosemite, spent the winter near Monterey, courtesy of the Spanish governor, and left over this pass, guided by two guides from the Concoa tribe!

He was a man of firsts, the first to lead wagons over the South Pass of the Continental Divide, the first to cross (and map out) the Great Basin via Humboldt River, the first white man to see the Yosemite area, and the first to lead emigrant wagons into California via the Owens Valley! He was also the mountain man who warned the Donner-Reed Party not to take the Hastings Cutoff through the Sierras. Sometimes, you just have to listen to the people who know what they’re talking about!

This landmark is also listed on the National Register of Historic Places!

How can I Help the Helpers? HERE’S HOW:

  • Donate to the Native Daughters of the Golden West!
  • Be a responsible visitor! Please respect the signs and pathways, and treat all structures and artifacts with respect. They’ve endured a lot to survive into the present. They’ll need our help to make it into the future!
Where is this place? LISTED DIRECTIONS:
At summit on State Hwy 178 (P.M. 79.8)
8.4 mi NW of Freeman Jct (State Hwy 14)

ANNOTATIONS:
If it helps, the plaques are located where the Pacific Crest Trail crosses Isabella Walker Pass Road! That’s near Onyx, CA 93255!

From Los Angeles: ~152mi (245km) — 2.6hrs
From Sacramento: ~362mi (583km) — 6.1hrs
From San Diego: ~243mi (392km) — 4.1hrs
From San Francisco: ~358mi (577km) — 6hrs

When should I go? Whenever the mood strikes you!

Click here to see more California historical landmarks!

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