The Donner Party came to California 170 years ago.The ill-fated company of immigrants got stuck in a heavy, early December snow at the eastern end of Donner Lake below the imposing Donner Summit.They had crossed the desert without benefit of trains or Interstate 80. The trail that took them through the Great Basin to the Sierra didn’t include a way station in what is now Reno. They were on their own against the elements.My grandmother often talked about the pioneers.