Forest Service history signs about a mile south of Lost Trail Pass along U.S. Hwy. 93.
Text of Sign #1: “hills high & rockey on each Side, in the after part of the day the high mountains closed the Creek on each Side and obliged us to take on the Steep Sides of those Mountains, So steep that the horses could scarcely keep from slipping down, several sliped & injured themselves verry much, with great dificuety we made
miles & Encamped on a branch of the Creek. . . “ -- Captain Clark, Sept. 3rd, 1805
The Mystery Remains
Imagine a time when no highway was here. Which way would you chose to get over the mountains? Although they had Toby to guide them, making their way over these steep and formidable mountains made the days between August 31, and September 4, 1805 some of the most difficult days of the etire journey for the Corps of Discovery.
Based on descriptions from the journals it is easy to reconstruct most of the route Lewis and Clark followed. But on this section of the trail, scholars and aficionados have long disagreed. Neither the rugged countryside nor the journal entries gives a clear indication of the path they followed. While there is some consensus about the probable camp sites of September 2nd and 4th, September 3rd’s camp may not be identified until someone is able to produce a bit of metal or charcoal that can be dated to that time. On one point, however, there is no disagreement - there was no easy way over these mountains.
Text of Sign #2: Speculation on Lewis & Clark’s Path Through Lost Trail Pass
There are few places along the Lewis and Clark trail where the exact route has been open to so much speculation. In this rugged country where no way seems clear and obvious, there were a variety of theories about which route was actually taken.
On July 11 and 12th, 1997, a workshop was held featuring five Lewis and Clark scholars. Each presented to nearly 70 attendees their own ideas of what happened between September 1st and 4th, 1805. Participants spent time locked in a room battling over individual interpretations and on the Pass reviewing the different routes and campsite locations. Using journal accounts and a variety of mapping tools, including computer modeling, experts finally agreed on the route south of where the North and West Forks of the Salmon River and Moose Creek come together, however, from that point north little consensus was reached.