[William Clayton Journal] Morning fine and warm, President Young considerably better. At 1/4 to 8 we started onward leaving President Young and Kimball's wagons and several others. We found the road very rough on account of loose rocks and cobble stones. After traveling 2 1/4 miles we forded the river and found it about 18 inches deep, but forded without difficulty. Soon after we were over, Elder Snow came up and said the camp were requested to halt awhile till Dr. Richards came. One of his oxen is missing and he wished to go on. We concluded to move on a little to where the road should turn off between the mountains to avoid the canyon. Elder Pratt went 3 miles out of his road and had to return again. 3/4 of a mile from the ford we found the place to make the cutoff and there halted awhile. I put a guide board up at this place marked as follows: Pratts Pass to avoid canyon. To Fort Bridger 74 1/4 miles. Brother Pack, having charge of the company, concluded to move on slowly and be making our way up the mountains. We accordingly started and after traveling a mile from the forks began to ascend and wind around the mountains. We found the road exceedingly rough and crooked and very dangerous on wagons. 3 1/2 miles from the forks of the road the brethren made a bridge over a small creek over which we crossed having passed a number of springs near the road. 2 1/4 miles farther we arrived on the summit of the dividing ridge and put a guide board up 80 miles to Fort Bridger. At this place Elders Kimball, Woodruff, G. A. Smith and H. Egan rode up to view the road &c. The descent is not very steep but exceedingly dangerous to wagons being mostly on the side hill over large cobble stones causing the wagons to slide very badly . . .
[source: George D. Smith, An Intimate Chronicle; The Journals of William Clayton, Signature Books in association with Smith Research Associates, Salt Lake City, 1995, http://amzn.to/william-clayton]
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