'Joseph Reddeford (aka Reddford, but actually Rutherford) Walker,' who often went by 'Joseph R. Walker,' was a
mountain man and experienced scout.
In the spring of
1833 Benjamin Bonneville sent a party of men under Joseph Walker and Garland Guthary to explore the
Great Salt Lake and to find an overland route to
California. Eventually the party discovered a route along the
Humboldt River across present-day
Nevada, ascending the
Sierra Nevada following the
Carson River and descending via
Stanislaus River drainages to
Monterey. His return route across the southern Sierra was via
Walker Pass, named after Walker by
John Charles Fremont. The approach of the Sierra via the Carson River route later became known as the
California Trail, the primary route for the emigrants to the
gold fields during the
California gold rush.
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