Lewis and Clark on Lolo Creek
"verry bad passing..."
Westbound, the trip up Lolo Creek was the start of a remarkably arduous
and life-threatening part of the expedition's journey. Eastbound, the
passage down Lolo Creek represented victory over one of the most formidable
barriers to cross-country travel they had encountered.
Heading West: September 11-22, 1805
When Meriwether Lewis reach the Continental Divide south of the Bitterroot
Valley on August 12, 1805, he expected to see a plain descending toward the
Pacific Ocean; instead, the dream of a Northwest Passage was shattered when he
saw "immence ranges of high mountains, still to the West of us." The
captains enlisted the services of a Shoshone guide they called Old Toby; who
told them of a rugged Indian road through the mountains leading to the west.
They decided to give it a try.
Lewis and Clark had planned to be at the Pacific by this time, so they
must have felt a growing sense of urgency when they saw the snow-covered
mountains. The Corps of Discovery stopped for a few days just east of hear
at a place Lewis named Travelers' Rest, where they prepared for the difficult
journey ahead. The expedition was about to face the last of most intense
test of their abilities before reaching the Pacific.
The expedition left Travelers' Rest on September 11, 1805, following a
trail along the ridges above the brush-choked creek bottom. Clark's journal
entry on September 12, 1805, described the road as "verry bad passing over hills
thru Steep hollows." Several of the expedition's horses were injured when
they rolled down steep hillsides. Snow fell, almost obliteration the trail
and turning what had been a difficult journey into a nightmare. By the
time they emerged from the mountains on September 22, 1805, members of the
expedition were plagued by diarrhea, skin rashes, lethargy, and other symptoms
of malnutrition. The found themselves in the home of the Nez Perce, who
generously assisted the expedition with their journey west.
Returning East: June 24-30, 1806
After wintering at Fort Clatsop near the Oregon Coast, the expedition came
back across the Bitterroots, arriving at Travelers' Rest on June 30, 1806.
The captains had decided earlier to split the group into two parties to explore
more of the Louisiana Territory on their way home. Leaving Travelers' Rest
on July 3, 1806, captain Lewis led nine mounted soldiers, seventeen horses and
his Newfoundland dog, Seaman, north to the Clark Fork and up the Blackfoot
River. Clark led the rest of the party south down the Bitterroot Valley.
they promised to meet in a month at the confluence of the Yellowstone and
Missouri rivers. ~ text of marker