Following Lewis and Clark

Paulj

To determine the beginning of the Missouri you would have to map every fork, every branch to the end. How do you determine the farthest (or the longest) root of a tree? Then the weather effects water flow. Here east and north of Idaho Falls up in the Yellowstone plateau and western WY the average snow pack was 165% of normal last winter plus we had a late but rapid spring thaw. How does that effect the water flow from an area maybe 200 miles away that had only 80% of normal snow pack? That will also change every year.

L&C knowing that every mile they went south was a mile farther to travel to get to the mouth of the Columbia River plus thy had to get to there before winter, I feel that probably Lemhi Pass and the spring was a compromise by L&C.

I was wondering why they had gone so far south, crossing the Bitterroots at Lemhi Pass, then going north over Loss Trail, before heading west over Lolo.

From Lolo they stayed along the ridge tops, while the modern US12 follows the river valley just to the south. Apparently on foot and horseback it is easier to follow the ups and downs of ridge tops, than to fight the denser vegetation along the rivers.

After rereading the OPs blog. Bannack has a unimproved Vigilante CG. Camping price includes admission to the Historical Area. Also at the intersection of I-15 and MT 278 there is a FHU CG. We go to Bannack a couple of times every summer, you are only 25 miles or so from Dillon over a good paved road the best thing about camping there there is No cell phone service, NO hard wired phone service, No off air antenna TV and No off air antenna radio! And if it is cloudy and the dark of the moon IT IS DARK! Wonderful! We have already been there twice. this summer.

On I-90 at the town of Three Forks, MT is the Missouri Headwaters SP. Where the Jefferson, Madison and the Gallatin Rivers join in a distance of about 100 yards to form the Missouri River.

For a little more background- One of the things that President Jefferson charged L and C with was to determine the location of and map the head waters of the Missouri River! About 30 miles S/W of Dillon, MT at the top of Lemhi Pass on the continental divide separating Idaho and Montana is the Home of Lemhi Pass National Historical Landmark. There is a spring with a brass Department of the Interior Plaque attached to a rock that states that that spring was named the “Most distant fountain of the mighty Missouri River” by L&C! Interesting? Who is correct? We have been to both locations!

As a side note about 1/2 way between Dillon and Lemhi Pass is Bannack State Park (first territorial Capital of MT) this is a TRUE ghost town not restored etc. about 50 of the original buildings are still standing! This is also the town that elected Henry Plummer as sheriff of Bannack however, unknown to them he was a convicted felon from the state of California! The plot thickens!

Goggle- Bannack State Park, MT
Henry Plummer, Sheriff, Bannack, MT
Bannack Historical Lodge 3-7-77 (explains the legend of the numbers 3-7-77)

There is hours and hours of reading about Bannack and Virginia City, Mt and the formation of the vigilantes! What else do you do when the Sheriff is a convicted felon?

jamesu wrote:
Anyone wanting to get a realistic picture and "feel" of what these guys experienced and did on their journey needs to read "Undaunted Courage" by Stephen E. Ambrose. An inspiring story. Ambrose sites the importance of Traveler's Rest to the Expedition extensively. I believe this excellent book is a must read for anyone desiring to following the L & C Trail from St. Louis to Seaside, Oregon.

X2++ Undaunted Courage is a great read!

Traveler's Rest State Park in Lolo, MT, just south of Missoula. L & C's rendezvous/recuperation destination when crossing the Bitterroot Mts. while heading both west and east. Excellent interpretative trails and explanations in the exact location the Corps of Discovery stayed while enroute both ways. .

Anyone wanting to get a realistic picture and "feel" of what these guys experienced and did on their journey needs to read "Undaunted Courage" by Stephen E. Ambrose. An inspiring story. Ambrose sites the importance of Traveler's Rest to the Expedition extensively. I believe ithjs excellent book is a must read for anyone desiring to following the L & C Trail from St. Louis to Seaside, Oregon.

We volunteered at the Missouri Headwaters State Park in Three Forks, MT for 3 summers. Lewis & Clark went through there, it's documented in the journal. This park is west of Bozeman, right off I 90, has no hookups but has bathrooms & water is available. There's a park there with full hookups, think it's Camp Three Forks, it's a previous KOA.

We have stopped at most of the Lewis and Clark sites mentioned above by others. To me the best was seeing Clark's signature carved into the sandstone of Pompeys Pillar. It's the only remaining physical evidence on the landscape that the journey actually occurred. Pompey's Pillar is an easy off/easy on to I94 east of Billings, MT.


We also enjoyed a visit to Spirit Mound, a few miles north of Vermillion, SD.


Adjacent to the Lewis & Clark Interpretive Center in Great Falls is Giant Spring State Park. The Spring was discovered by Lewis & Clark in 1805.

A few miles south of Missoula, MT at the little town of Lolo is the site of the Traveler's Rest encampment. Lewis & Clark stopped here both west bound and east bound. A recent archaeological dig here found evidence of the actual site of the camp.

Not a Lewis & Clark site, but Fort Abraham Lincoln south of Bismark, ND was the last post of General George Armstrong Custer and the 7th cavalry before the battle of the Little Bighorn. Several fort buildings, including the house he lived in have been reconstructed. They have a campground with electric and dump station.

East to West should be easy - they left signs everywhere pointing which way they went....

Sounds like a great trip.

I bought "Along the Trail with Lewis and Clark" by Fifer and Soderberg before we started following the trail on a 2013 trip. Good reference and timeless. There's a handy National Park Service map called "Lewis and Clark Trail", too, part of the National Historic Trail series.

We started at the Arch in St. Louis and enjoyed the excellent museum and films underneath. There's a statue down by the river near the Arch of L&C. We stopped at many sites working our way north like the Nebraska City Interpretive center and Sgt. Floyd Monument. Camped by the water at L&C State Park in Onawa, Iowa, and at American Creek RV in Chamberlain, SD by the Missouri. Several of the Info Centers had small museums with keelboat replicas and statues, always with Seaman, the dog. Climbed up Pompey's Pillar in Montana to see Clark's signature carved in the rock.

This summer, we saw the Great Falls Interpretive Center(with its resident Newfoundland dog) and, on the Pacific Coast, camped at Fort Stevens State Park to visit the L&C National Historical Park. There are still lots of points we haven't yet seen, but it's an enjoyable quest.