Hell’s Canyon National Recreation Area, Snake River, Idaho
We have been following in the footsteps of Lewis and Clark these past two days. Beginning in Missoula, Montana we crossed over Lolo Pass and into “those terrible mountains” that the Corps of Discovery had to cross in mid-September, 1805. The trials and tribulations endured during the almost two weeks it took to cross the Bitterroot Mountains nearly halted the expedition for good. With winter coming on, food running out and their guide not sure of the way, one more misstep – one more morning of chasing horses, one more wrong trail followed – might have been their last.
Our guides, Linwood Laughy and Ray Bloom, led us safely along in motor coaches as we visited accessible sites where the Corps had walked, camped and hunted for scarce game. We could feel the despair of Clark, hunched by a dismal fire as cold and wet as he had ever been in his life and we could feel the joy of the Corps as they descended out of the mountains and onto the plateau prairie. At the confluence of the Clearwater River and the Snake River we said goodbye to our wonderful guides and changed modes of transportation from motor coach to motor vessel as we boarded the Sea Lion. Our first outing took us up the Snake River by jet boat and into the Hell’s Canyon National Recreation Area. The two bighorn sheep pictured above are just some of the many species of wildlife we observed today. Dramatic scenery, rushing whitewater and beautiful weather also filled our day and left an indelible sense of contentment, perhaps even achievement, on our souls.
We have been following in the footsteps of Lewis and Clark these past two days. Beginning in Missoula, Montana we crossed over Lolo Pass and into “those terrible mountains” that the Corps of Discovery had to cross in mid-September, 1805. The trials and tribulations endured during the almost two weeks it took to cross the Bitterroot Mountains nearly halted the expedition for good. With winter coming on, food running out and their guide not sure of the way, one more misstep – one more morning of chasing horses, one more wrong trail followed – might have been their last.
Our guides, Linwood Laughy and Ray Bloom, led us safely along in motor coaches as we visited accessible sites where the Corps had walked, camped and hunted for scarce game. We could feel the despair of Clark, hunched by a dismal fire as cold and wet as he had ever been in his life and we could feel the joy of the Corps as they descended out of the mountains and onto the plateau prairie. At the confluence of the Clearwater River and the Snake River we said goodbye to our wonderful guides and changed modes of transportation from motor coach to motor vessel as we boarded the Sea Lion. Our first outing took us up the Snake River by jet boat and into the Hell’s Canyon National Recreation Area. The two bighorn sheep pictured above are just some of the many species of wildlife we observed today. Dramatic scenery, rushing whitewater and beautiful weather also filled our day and left an indelible sense of contentment, perhaps even achievement, on our souls.
