The Lewis & Clark Trail

Parts of the Lewis and Clark Trail through Idaho have changed little in two hundred years. The mountainous Lolo trail is still as daunting today as it was in September, 1805, when the Corps of Discovery struggled through the Bitterroot Mountains.

"Last night about 12 o'clock it began to snow," wrote Patrick Gass, one of the members of the Lewis and Clark Expedition. "We renewed our march early, though the morning was very disagreeable, and proceeded over the most terrible mountains I've ever beheld. The snow fell so thick, and the day was so dark, that a person could not see to a distance of 200 yards."

Today's Lewis and Clark Trail, through Idaho's rugged Bitterroot Mountains, will give modern explorers a real appreciation for the epic journey of the Corps of Discovery.

"They were entering mountains far more difficult to pass than any American had ever attempted," wrote Stephen Ambrose in Undaunted Courage. "The country is so remote and rugged that nearly two full centuries later it remains basically uninhabited."

The Lewis and Clark Expedition began crossing the Bitterroot Mountains in September of 1805. On September 9 they camped near the present town of Lolo, Montana. The Expedition then turned westward, and for almost eighty miles followed an historic Indian trade and hunting route called the Lolo Trail, which proceeded across the Bitterroot Mountains to the Clearwater River.

This was the most difficult part of the Expedition's entire cross-country journey. A September snow storm had drenched the crew; food had become incredibly scarce; thick and fallen timber made horse travel exceedingly difficult. And the mountains stretched before them, as far as the eye could see.

"I have been wet and as cold in every part as I ever was in my life," wrote William Clark, in his journal. "Indeed, I was at one time fearful my feet would freeze in the thin mockersons which I wore." A few days later, Meriwether Lewis wrote, "I find myself growing weak for the want of food and most of the men complain of a similar deficiency, and have fallen off very much."

Modern explorers can follow this same path, either on foot or via the Lolo Motorway, which runs adjacent to much of the original trail. This dirt road was built in the 1930s by the Civilian Conservation Corps.

U.S. Highway 12 also allows folks to experience parts of the Lewis and Clark Trail. From Lolo, Montana, to a few miles west of Lolo Pass, the Highway closely follows the trail.

For more information, check out Idaho Public Television's "Echoes of a Bitter Crossing: Lewis & Clark in Idaho"