Donner Summit Train Tunnels (Nevada County, California)

 

In the late 19th century, high above Donner Lake, engineers and construction crews completed a series a tunnels and finally conquered the Sierra Nevada and allowed rail transport across the treacherous mountain range. For decades, the rails running through this tunnels allowed cargo and passengers across the Sierra. Until 1993, when the Union Pacific Railroad decommissioned and removed the tracks. However, this left the tunnels in tact and since then, they have become a war zone for competing graffiti artists trying to surpass each other in a seemingly never-ending battle of spray paint. 

For those of not involved in the war, the tunnels are a haven for admiring these fantastic artistic expressions, which change from one visit to the next as the battle rages. Of course, this was someplace I had to visit. Thankfully, my friend Bill has been there numerous times and knew the where the entrance was. 

We got an early start due to an incoming winter storm. Arriving at the tunnel entrance near Sugar Bowl Ski Resort, we parked and headed into the dark tunnels. While there are several sections of the tunnels that are dark, many others are illuminated by 'windows' in the concrete walls. In actuality, only some of the tunnel's length was cut through the mountain. Other sections are merely long rectangular concrete open-ended garages that were used to protect the rails from snow and ice in the harsh winters of the Sierra - this was the location of the infamous Donner Party events, after all.

The 'trail' is nearly flat and so, the going is extremely easy, but the dark sections and the presence of large puddles here and there makes headlamps and a hint of caution useful.
While the sections of tunnel vary somewhat in length, most are half-a-mile or so. Where the wall the tunnel has been cut through the mountain, the artwork is much less prevalent, presumably due to the inconsistent surface, but in areas where the walls are concrete, the graffiti is like a never ending banner of colorful artist tags and various figures - some comical, some grotesque.

Well known pop culture references range from Dexter (from Dexter's Laboratory) to Freddie Kruger to Boba Fett. Still other images illustrate bizarre images like a nude human female with a hummingbirds head and wings (beautifully painted, by the way), a zombie-like nun with an inverted crucifix necklace, and a myriad of other strange, but often amazingly painted pieces. The skill involved to give these images life beyond amazing.

Eventually, Bill and I reach what we believe is the end of the line and it is quickly confirmed by some hikers coming from the opposite direction. We turn to go back the way we came, stopping to take a few shots of the blue Donner Lake below us. We also encounter a couple of Union Pacific trucks driving through the tunnel along the way, which concerned me a bit as I believed we were actually trespassing, but as they only wave as they pass buy us in the dark, I'm more convinced that luckily, we are not.

Returning to the jeep, I check the GPS, which was having trouble maintaining a constant signal. It shows we logged just under 7 miles this morning. We decided to head into Truckee and grab an early lunch before heading back. Bill mentions to me that the tunnels are even more amazing in winter when ice forms all kinds of bizarre structures in and around the artwork. I need to return.