Touch of Old West comes through South Lake Tahoe during Pony Express re-ride

Imagine the year 1860 with vast wilderness and wide-open plains between Missouri and California. You're one of the chosen riders on top of a horse with a mochila strapped on your saddle, navigating along the trail where unknown dangers lay ahead.

You're not on leisure trip, you're one of a team of young men traveling 1,966 miles in ten days on horseback, delivering mail to and from the West.

Even though the Pony Express lasted just 18 months (having been replaced by the transcontinental telegraph line which start just ten weeks after the Pony Express started), the lore and legend lives on.

The National Pony Express Association recreates the infamous ride every year, sending hundreds of riders along the same trail, 24-hours-a-day each June. The riders also carry a mochila, delivering one thousand letters along their way.

On June 5, 2017, a rider left St. Joseph, Missouri at 3:30 p.m. A series of 750 riders will ride a portion of the Pony Express Trail. A rider will come through South Lake Tahoe on Wednesday, June 14 at approximately 5:30 p.m (you never know what can happen out on the trail!).

The rider heading into Stateline along Highway 50 will get off their horse and be replaced by another who will take their horse along Pioneer Trail towards Placerville.

Prior to coming to Lake Tahoe, the Pony Express rider foes though the town of Genoa just over the hill from the lake. On Sunday, three days before the rider comes through, Mormon Station State Park will celebrate the annual re-ride with a free program featuring a park ranger talking about the history of the Pony Express at 3 p.m. on June 11.

Local volunteers with the Ham Radio Club SIERA (Sierra Intermountain Emergency Radio Association) will be assisting along the Nevada Route, reporting in the status of riders.

Everyone can follow the ride here: http://nationalponyexpress.org/annual-re-ride/follow-the-ride/....its a great way to watch the progress and get you out to watch at the right time as they make their way through South Lake Tahoe and Meyers.