Those who made the overland journey for the California gold rush were faced with many obstacles. One of which was that there were no direct route to the gold fields of Northern California. There was the short-lived Lassen Trail, which had many drawbacks and was quickly abandoned.
In the summer of 1850 William H. Nobles arrived on the scene with the quest to locate a route to California’s northern sector. In the spring of 1851, Peter Lassen guided Nobles to the Honey Lake Valley. Nobles and Lassen parted company, Nobles then made a thorough evaluation of the country. He found a direct route from Lassen’s Meadows (known today as Rye Patch Reservoir, Nevada) that went in a westerly direction across the Black Rock and Smoke Creek deserts to Honey Lake Valley. From there the course went in a northwestern direction to Pine Creek Valley, making a turn to the west to Butte Lake. Leaving Butte Lake, the trail went along the base of Cinder Cone toward the northern base of Lassen Peak and Manzanita Lake. From that point it continued its westward journey into the Sacramento Valley, to its final destination, the mining town of Shasta. It is interesting to note that Highway 44 parallels the western portion of the Nobles Trail.
In February 1852, Nobles led a party that included Lassen over the route. Nobles hoped they would join him in forming a partnership to develop the new route, but they were not interested. On April 21, 1852, Nobles addressed the citizens of Shasta, informing them that he had indeed discovered a direct route across the mountains. This, he said, would be a great benefit to Shasta and the northern mining communities. Nobles requested a $2,000 guide fee. If the Shasta business community found the route unacceptable, he would decline his commission. On May 3, 1852, Nobles and a group of nine men left Shasta to travel the route. When they reached the Humboldt River at Lassen’s Meadows, the Shasta delegation declared that the new route had more than met their expectations. Nobles received his fee and parted their company.