Running I 80

Wyoming's 511 full website is much more informative then their mobile apps. I'm just informing you for if/when you get to the Cheyenne area and need to be better apprised of the situation, I recommend fire up the laptop if you have one as opposed to messing around with their app.

 

One poster talked about drift in Donner, it's not the skidding most young ones think of.

There are places at which your jake slows you too much and your brakes are not really needed and it's best viewed as a chance to allow gravity to do what it will. You are doing it correctly if your speed varies slowly without jake and brakes or power. But the big yellow DOT signs will tell you let her drift. That is where you begin.

If you do any kind of mountain work well without touching your brakes then you are ready for Donner.

A back story on that pass. There was a few dozen people who trailed that far west trying to sneak across the pass in the last of the fall and very early winters. Well winter caught them there. Then froze em into drifts. They could not do anything but sit. A few weeks later they were out of food and a couple of months the last few of that two dozen came off the pass having resorted to a number of extreme measures to combat starvation such as eating bark off trees, leather and cannabalism they say. It's the Donner Party that perished there in the late 1800's

 

9% is good. Nice little grade. Something to work you. Awesome.

Im not patrionizing. Donner is considered outside of I-70 in Colorado the Uppergraduate course in trucking. Not too many get dispatched that way. Most idiots on donner heat the brakes about 6 miles down from the scales errrrrrr then they smoke the next 10 and there they are. Looking for a ramp etc.

Those are created into songs and legends for the next several generations to point and laugh at how the idiot fell off Donner. Figures if you got that far from the east you should know better LOL.

My steepest was 21 to 24% on a bobtail, I almost lost even that. whew. (But wait I had a load of heavy hard wood furnature coming back up. That took a hour and 20 minutes, and then three to cool the truck engine) Ive had mid 10's in coal roads in PA ere there and everywhere but those were ... handled once I quit being a scared kid.

 

I prefer to take 84 then south on hwy 89. Much easier running, less traffic, and not a huge mileage difference.

 

Donner is not that bad... It's long, 44 miles from one end to the other I believe, that includes uphill too. Don't let these folks and their tales sway you.

It's starting to readike the transcript from a dinner time conversation at the Petro counter of knowledge.

Parleys summit has a city waiting for you are the bottom and the associated traffic with it. Again, not a big deal.

Remember, Gravity will get you down the mountian, you just need to control the descent... And with that little in the box, that won't be an issue.

Wyoming and the wind is going to be your biggest obstacle. Definitely consider yourself a light vehicle and keep 511 on speed dial. Most States out this was are interconnected so if you are one State listen to the message and there is often an option to connect to the surrounding States to get the UpTo date Info.

ps - not all the Donner Party Perished, those who survived did so by resorting to Canabalism. That is the reason for the noteriety.

 

Lots and lots of mountains West of Nebraska.

 

ELK Mountain in WY is the big problem spot for wind and snow. US 30 is usually better when it gets bad.

 

A bit too far for me (12 miles?). Only reason I'll ever go that way is if chains are required on Parleys. I don't mind the climb or the drop, otherwise. But yes, 84 is a nice and easy drive.