The 2017 Pony Express Re-ride will come through Evanston this weekend on its way from St. Joseph, Missouri, to Sacramento, California. This is the 157th year since the founding of the Pony Express, and the re-run is celebrated annually. 

This year’s Pony Express is running from June 5-15, and horse and rider relays will cover a total of 1,966 miles of terrain in the space of 10 days.

The 600 relay riders will make continual handoffs 24 hours a day for the entirety of the westbound ride until the packet of mail reaches its destination. 

The first rider departed at 3 p.m. on Friday, June 5, from the Patee House in St. Joseph, Missouri, and the last rider will gallop into Old Sacramento, California, at 4:30 p.m. on Monday, June 15, at the Pony Express Plaza. 

The mochila will pass through Uinta County, hitting the Uinta County line at 6 p.m. and crossing through Fort Bridger at 9 p.m. on Saturday, June 10, and going over the Wyoming-Utah line at 2 a.m. on Sunday, June 11. It is expected to reach Salt Lake City at 10:30 a.m. on Sunday, June 11. 

Information and updates on the re-ride will be available from many sources. The NPEA’s website, nationalponyexpress.org, will have coverage, including schedules, reports and more.

Reports can also be found on Facebook (Facebook.com/expressrider/). A GPS unit in the mochila will transmit real-time location and can be found on the website. A telephone hotline with recorded reports of rider locations will also be available June 5-15, courtesy of the Churchill County (Nevada) Communications. Those details are available by calling (855) 809-8589.