Athletes to retrace Sierra escape of Donner Party survivors

RENO, Nev. (AP) — Four backcountry endurance athletes from California are trying to put themselves in the shoes of the Donner Party. The modern-day explorers plan to set out from near Truckee on snowshoes Wednesday to follow the last 90-mile route survivors of the infamous tale of cannibalism finally cut through mountain snow drifts to safety in the winter of 1846-47. Tim Twietmeyer, five-time winner of a 100-mile endurance run, and International Trail Running Association President Bob Crowley spent seven years researching variations of the route and fact-checking theories on the ground. Twietmeyer says the 33-day hike the seven original survivors completed may have been the greatest endurance trek in history.