On the trail of ‘Snowshoe’ Thompson: Endurance runners trace the 1856 route of the pioneer mailman of the Sierra

The story of John “Snowshoe” Thompson, the intrepid mailman of the Sierra Nevada, has the feel of an American myth—as fictional as tales of Paul Bunyan or John Henry. 

But Thompson—who hiked and skied across snowbound mountain ranges for 20 years in the late 1800s to deliver mail across a 90-mile route between Placerville, Calif., and Genoa, Nev.—was a flesh-and-blood hero. Without maps or compass, the lone traveler regularly navigated the peaks and valleys of the backcountry on skinny wooden skis while carrying a 60-pound pack full of mail, newspapers, magazines and small parcels. 

“What an incredible endurance athlete this guy was,” said Bob Crowley, co-founder of History Expeditions. “Thompson typically made it to Genoa in three days, and it only took him two days going back to Placerville. Even by today’s standards, that is an impressive endurance feat.” 

Crowley and Tim Twietmeyer, both extreme athletes, started History Expeditions in 2020 as a way to bring their two passions together: trail running and history. They have researched several early Western trails in search of fresh discoveries and to honor the people who blazed those paths more than a century ago. In March, the pair and their teammates Elke Reimer, Jennifer Hemmen and Hal Hall plan to follow what they believe is Snowshoe Thompson’s original 1856 route across the mountains. 

From 1856 to 1876, Thompson traveled over snowdrifts up to 50 feet high and battled through blizzards with up to 80 mph winds to deliver mail to those living in isolation. He was the sole link between California, Nevada and the rest of the nation during the long winter months.  

Others had tried to cross the high country on woven Canadian or Native American snowshoes but failed, or took weeks to complete the journey. In 1855, Thompson, a California rancher, saw a newspaper ad that announced, “People Lost to the World; Uncle Sam Needs a Mail Carrier,” and took the job. He carved long skis like those used in his native Norway and carried a single wooden pole for balance and steering. 

Crowley said he and his team believe they have identified Thompson’s inaugural 1856 route and will trace it between March 6-10.  

“It’s not a re-enactment; it’s more of a reprise,” Crowley said. “We’ll be in modern clothes and have modern gear with us. Because of climate change since the late 1800s, a lot more of the route today will be free of snow.” 

Even when Thompson did it, according to the group’s research, he often had to put his skis over his shoulder and traverse rocky ground bare of snow, or slog over muddy hillsides.  

“Everyone thinks of him on these 13-foot skis, skiing away from Placerville and three days later, skiing into Genoa,” Crowley said. “That’s a myth. He was hiking when he left Placerville.” When Thompson reached the snowline at what is now Kyburz, Calif., “that’s when he put on the skis and skied to Genoa.” 

The trek is the group’s fourth expedition. In 2020, a History Expedition team traced the 1846-1847 route of the Forlorn Hope, followed by 15 members of the doomed Donner Party who made a break for safety while their comrades were stranded in the Sierra Nevada during the terrible winter. In 2021, they followed the path of Donner Party rescuers who reached the entrapped pioneers, and last year, the extreme athletes reprised the route of the Grosh brothers, who discovered silver in the Virginia City area in 1857 and made a winter trek across the mountains to get ore samples to California. 

In addition to identifying long-lost trails, team members have unearthed new information about historical figures and discovered at least one forgotten campsite. While trying to pinpoint one of the Forlorn Hope’s camps, the team found an ax head—presumably the one reported lost by Donner Party members in 1847. That find was documented last year on the Discovery Channel program Expedition Unknown.  

Following history’s clues 

Researching Thompson’s route, Crowley said, was similar to figuring out the path of the Forlorn Hope party.  

“We used the same methodology,” he said. “(The Forlorn Hope members) weren’t able to tell anyone where they went; all they could do was describe features or guess where they were, even what day it was.” The researchers had to rely on clues, such as what survivors or rescuers later said about terrain or topographic features, and those hints were pieced together to identify their route. 

In Thompson’s case, the clues were found in his writings or those of his contemporaries. “He took multiple routes from Placerville to Genoa and back, delivering mail to many communities,” Crowley said. “We wanted to know about the first trip; we studied and became students of this one route.” 

The team plans to take five days to complete the trek and camp for four nights, to allow time for the athletes to reflect on each day’s travel and experiences. They will have modern backpacks, tents and sleeping bags, unlike Thompson, who didn’t even carry a blanket. 

“He carried the mail in a big bag with two straps,” said Frank Tortorich, author of John A. “Snowshoe” Thompson, Pioneer Mail Carrier of the Sierra. “It was a very crude backpack. It had to be very painful to wear.”  

The federal government never compensated Thompson for his mail deliveries, because officials had already paid the primary contractor who hired him, but the money never trickled down to the man doing the most dangerous work. Thompson’s ranch and other enterprises were successful, Tortorich noted, “so I don’t think money was a problem.” 

On two occasions, Thompson rescued stranded travelers and took them to safety by having them ride behind him on his long oak skis. He survived the first battle of Pyramid Lake in 1860 and once faced down a pack of wolves when he surprised the predators as they feasted on a fresh kill.  

Thompson persevered without pay, winter after winter, Tortorich said, because he “was very civic-minded, and he could do something no one else could do. He knew the people in Genoa needed that contact with the outside world, and he could provide that.” 

In Genoa today, a bronze statue of the Sierra mailman on his skis commemorates his life and his feats. On Sunday, March 10, the five modern trekkers are scheduled to arrive at the base of that monument and then present a talk at the Genoa Town Hall at 1 p.m. Starting on Wednesday, March 6, History Expeditions will provide an online tracker that will allow users to follow the team’s progress in real time. More information about the expedition can be found on the group’s web page and its Facebook link. 

For the extreme athletes, the research—and challenge of following forgotten trails—is its own reward. Crowley said once they start looking into historical events, they always find that one story leads to another, and the lives of the protagonists are interlaced. History unfolds. 

“It’s been so gosh darn inspiring, so much fun,” Crowley said. “There are so many stories that are buried. Snowshoe Thompson sits in the shadow of history. The Gold Rush, the silver rush to Washoe and then the coming of the railroad are the big events, and the stories between those kind of got crushed between them. 

“It’s fun to research among books and documents and on the ground,” he said. “And then we travel those routes. We’re really into the sport and endurance side, but we’re really into the history side, too. We are amateurs, but we go to the experts. It’s always a compelling human story. I’ve had my emotions surface more times in the last four years than in decades of endurance runs.”