In 1850 U.S. Army Topographical Engineer Captain Howard Stansbury had mapped a route from the Salt Lake Valley to the North Platte River across southern Wyoming roughly approximating the Cherokee Trail that had been in use since the 1840s by miners and trappers.
In 1850 U.S. Army Topographical Engineer Captain Howard Stansbury returning east from an expedition to the Salt Lake Valley described a route from Fort Bridger via the Bitter Creek valley and Laramie Plains to the North Platte River. Stansbury's route roughly approximating the Cherokee Trail that had been in use since the 1840s by miners and trappers.