On August 15, 1853, Henry Allyn wrote of his second day in the Blue Mountains that Elizabeth and father were still quite unwell, that they nooned on the mountain, took their mules down into a doleful cavern, found a little grass and water, and saw pines growing as though they intended to tower above the mountains. A parade of emigrants wore the Oregon Trail into the landscape, and determined survivors of the long trek became worn much like the trail. On September 21, 1852, Martha S. Reed wrote of hard hills, very stony ground, five graves, five dead cattle, and weather that was cold and dusty.