How did donner party adapt to life in the west?

The Donner party left Springfield, Illinois, in April 1846. Led by two wealthy brothers, Jacob and George Donner, the emigrants initially followed the regular California Trail westward to Fort Bridger, Wyoming. From there, however, the emigrants decided to leave the established trail and take a new and supposedly shorter route to California laid out by an unscrupulous trail guide named Lansford Hastings. Hastings was not at Fort Bridger at the time–he was leading an earlier wagon train along his new route. He left word for the Donner party to follow, promising that he would mark the trail for them.

the andes or andean mountains (spanish: cordillera de los andes) are the longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of south america. this range is about 7,000 km (4,300 mi) long, about 200 to 700 km (120 to 430 mi) wide (widest between 18° south and 20° south latitude), and of an average height of about 4,000 m (13,000 ft). the andes extend from north to south through seven south american countries: venezuela, colombia, ecuador, peru, bolivia, chile and argentina.

from wikipedia

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