The Donner Pass / Donner Lake Works its way through the Sierra Nevada Mountains To reach California from the East, pioneer emigrants had to get their wagons over the Sierra Nevada mountain range. In 1844 the Stephens-Townsend-Murphy Party followed the Truckee River into the mountains. At the head of what is now called Donner Lake , they found a low notch in the mountains and became the first overland emigrants to use the pass. [2] The pass was named after a later group of California-bound emigrants. In early November 1846 the Donner Party found the route blocked by snow and was forced to spend the winter on the east side of the mountains. Of the 81 emigrants, only 45 survived to reach California; [3] some of them resorted to cannibalism to survive. [4] [5] On January 13, 1952, another group became stranded about seventeen miles (27 km) west of Donner Pass, on Track #1 adjacent to Tunnel 35 (on Track #2), at about MP 176.5. [6] Southern Pacific Railroad '