From Dale Morgan's introduction to The Overland Diary of James A. Pritchard from Kentucky to California in 1849, p. 27:

Enough diaries have appeared that we can date exactly the opening of the Hudspeth Cutoff west of the Bear River, July 19-24; there are even diarists who entered upon the new cutoff the same day Benoni M. Hudspeth and John J. Myers took the pioneer train upon it

Benoni Morgan Hudspeth was co-leader of the party that had originally scouted out the Hudspeth Cutoff as an attempt to avoid some of the worst of Utah's deserts. In this regard, he is often confused with James Madison Hudspeth. Like many of his generation, he caught "gold fever" in 1849, and along with John J. Myers, formed a train of 40 wagons departing from Independence, Missouri, picking up another 30 wagons (possibly including James A. Cockrill, Henry Beaver, and William B. Hagans) on their way to California.

John J. Myers (also Meyers) was the scout of the Hudspeth-Myers ox-teamed wagon train of approximately 250 people. Hudspeth's brothers, Thomas Jefferson, George Washington, Silas Bourke, and Robert Nicholas along with their families were also on the trip. Each brother supposedly brought with them, a "thoroughbred saddle house" and a wagon loaded with "cards, silk handkerchiefs, whisky, brandy, wine, belts, scabbards, boots, spades, picks, ropes, coffee and blankets," obviously to trade with in case their gold digging plans did not work out. In seeking out the trail which is named after them, it was more of a question of expedience rather than providing an "easy" path for future immigrants. From all indications, it was a very difficult path indeed to negotiate (and still is by contemporary enthusiasts who have retraced their route), and one could wonder what was really saved by taking it.

A short history of this wagon train route can be found on the Web in the essay "Hudspeth Cutoff" by Gar Elison (http://www.utahcrossroads.org/Hudspth2.htm)

There is also a book, Hudspeth Cutoff: Idaho's Legacy of Wheels, by Arthur C. Hope (Bookself Bindery & Press: Idaho Falls, ID, 1990) which is largely a contemporary reconstruction and mapping of where the cutoff actually was. It makes use of excerpts from various overland diaries of the times, as well as a present day search of the area aided with satellite photo analysis and interviews with "old-timers".