Lewis and Clark at Lolo Pass

We finally made it to Lolo Pass, just west of Missoula, Montana.  This was our third trip through Missoula, and we didn't have time for Lolo Pass the first two times.  The third time was the charm.  At botanist Dr. Ernie Schuyler's encouragement, I was hoping to find Lewisia rediviva (bitterroot) at the pass, but since it is not in bloom at this time of year (it blooms in the Spring), and I am no botanist, I did not find it.   I would like to see it someday - it is beautiful, the flowers being 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 inches across.  Native Americans used the plant as a food source.   The plant was first collected by Meriweather Lewis in the Bitterroot Mountains, and it is one of the many specimens in the Lewis and Clark Herbarium at the Academy of Natural Sciences.  Frederick Pursh named the plant genus after Lewis, to honor him.  Today it is the state flower of Montana. 

(I borrowed this from a web site, "Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center") 

(Photographer: Cox, Fran  Restrictions: Unrestricted  Collection: Wildflower Center Slide Library)

So, I started off with something we didn't see.   I better move on to what we did see.

From September 11-22 , 1805, Lewis, Clark, and the Corps of Discovery crossed the Bitterroot Mountains using (for the most part) an old Nez Perce trail.  It is sometimes referred to as the "Buffalo Trail", as the Nez Perce used it when they traveled from their homeland (today's Idaho) to the plains to hunt buffalo.  "Old Toby", a Lemhi Shoshone, was the Corps' guide.  He was aware of the trail, but didn't know it as well as the Nez Perce and took at least one wrong turn during their eleven-day journey.

On September 26, Lee and I drove west on Highway 12 from the town of Lolo into the Bitterroot Mountains.  Hwy 12 follows parts of the Lewis and Clark Trail, and there are interpretive signs along the way that tell the story.   There are major differences between our journey and that of Lewis and Clark, of course.  Ours was much easier and faster, and the weather was very different.  September 26 was a beautiful day, one of sunshine and moderate temperatures.

Lewis and Clark, on the other hand, were plagued by driving winds and rain, hail and snow.  They and their men were cold and wet for most of the 11 days.  Because of the cold, large game animals had migrated to lower meadows, and the Corps were famished most of the time.  Food was so scarce they killed and ate three of their horses along the way.   This journey through the Bitterroot Mountains would be remembered as the most difficult part of their two-year journey. 

Lee and I did not stop at Traveler's Rest, which I will probably forever regret.  Lewis and Clark stopped at Traveler's Rest, on the west side of today's Lolo, to rest the horses and men before the long and arduous trek through the mountains.  The photo below was taken just beyond Traveler's Rest, going towards the Bitterroot Mountains.

Lee and I did stop at Howard's Creek Picnic Area, and actually walked a part of the trail!

Here's a portion of the trail:

Here I am, excited to be on the trail, in the footsteps of Lewis and Clark:

Although the trail looks friendly here, it is not an easy path to navigate.   Clark described the mountains as rocky and steep, with tangles of fallen trees littering the path, making passage difficult for both men and horses.  He wrote of horses falling, rolling down the hillside, and being badly hurt.  In fact, the horse which carried Clark's desk and trunk rolled 40 yards down a hill, "lodged against a tree, broke the Desk".  Amazingly, the horse was not badly hurt in this particular fall.

We drove on to the visitors center at Lolo Pass, at 5233 feet above sea level.  Lewis and Clark passed through this area on September 13, under much different conditions.  The day we were there, we enjoyed a bucolic meadow filled with wildflowers.  The Corps stopped in these sorts of meadows along the way, to rest and feed the horses.

 The red is the leaf of the huckleberry plant, showing its autumn color:

Lots of golden rod:

Bachelor's buttons?

I have no idea:
 

After Lolo Pass, we drove a few miles further to the DeVoto Memorial Grove.  This is a protected grove of old-growth trees, some of them more than 3,000 years old.  The grove is a sacred treasure, since forests such as this are now few and far between.  Lewis and Clark would have seen similar groves when they passed through these mountains 200 years ago.

Lee and I are in Ellensburg, Washington tonight.  Tomorrow (Saturday, October 1) we will cross the Cascade mountains and drive north to Anacortes, near the San Juan Islands in the Puget Sound.