Horse Trailhead at the historic Sheep Pens, near Donner Pass and Soda Springs

[Robert H. Sydnor]

Dear Equestrian Colleagues:

          Attached is my detailed 7-page report on the horse trailhead at the historic sheep pens in the Van Norden Meadows near Donner Pass.  This horse trailhead is located near Soda Springs (Exit #174 on Interstate 80;  and the (wintertime) Sugar Bowl Ski area.    This is an excellent day-use horse trailhead, although there are no amenities or facilities, other than a simple gravel parking lot.

        This area of the alpine Sierra Nevada range was glaciated during the Pleistocene Epoch that ended about 11,000 years ago.  Because Donner Pass is on the crest of the Sierra Nevada range, glaciers spread in both directions from the pass.   A huge glacier moving eastward carved-out the deep canyon that is now filled by Donner Lake.   (At the same time, even larger glaciers carved-out Yosemite Valley.)

       In this case, the glacial deposits (named the Mount Disney Lobe of the Tahoe Glaciation) moved northwestward, and gently carved out the valley that is now Van Norden Meadows.  When the glacier stagnated by global warmth at the end of the Pleistocene Epoch, large boulders were simply dumped wherever.  The Van Norden Valley then was slowly filled with modern alluvium (sand and gravel) from the South Fork of the modern Yuba River.  The result is a splendid and verdant meadow  = Van Norden Meadow.  

             From about 1920 through 1970's thousands of sheep were seasonally grazed in Van Norden Meadow.  Each autumn, the shepherds and their sheep-dogs gathered the sheep at the historic Sheep Pens.  The sheep were then taken to lower altitude during the winter, then returned in the springtime.    This is the historic legacy of the Sheep Pens.  Equestrians will enjoy reading the historic bulletin boards that explain the background of the sheep pens at Van Norden Meadows.

      Respectfully submitted,

                Robert Hadley Sydnor, AERC Trail Master and Geologist

attached file