In the early 1800s, thousands of men, mules, and horses traveled a well-used trail that paralleled the creek below the dirt road. This pack trail, known as the Old Spanish Trail, stretched 1,200 miles and linked Sante Fe, New Mexico, and the Pueblo de Los Angeles (L.A.) in the Mexican Territory of California. Between 1829 and 1848, traders carried New Mexican woolen goods, including rugs, blankets, and serapes, and traded them for California mules and horses. The Fish Lake Cut-off, which left the Old Spanish Trail three miles south of here, was a 72-mile shortcut that skirted the western shores of Wahsatch Lake (Fish Lake). Reaching elevations near 9,000 feet, this alternate route crossed mountain valleys that offered abundant fish, grass, water, and cool summer temperatures, and this southern branch rejoined the main Old Spanish Trail near Kingston, Utah.