“We had to go below the mouth of the stream [Cache la Poudre River] to avoid having to ferry it and the Platte . . . We sout out from this place without road, trail or guide through the plains and hills.”      John Pyeatt, 1849

The Cherokee Trail 1949 branch crossed the South Platte River below the mouth of the Cache la Poudre River, east of present-day Greeley.

The Cache la Poudre River, right, empties into the South Platte River east of present-day Greeley.

The  Cherokee Trail 1850 branch crossed the Cache la Poudre River at present-day Laporte. Here the trail merged with the 1849 branch.

The Cache la Poudre 1850 trail crossing at low water.