Clearwater & Snake Rivers
“Set out early and proceeded on down the river to a bottom opposite the forks of the river on the South Side and formed a camp…” 26 September, 1805, written by Clark
Those who chose to travel the Clearwater River in the company of Lin Laughy, local historian and much more, “planted their feet” many times during the day, meaning they stood where the Corps of Discovery had trod and camped along the Clearwater River all those years ago. In particular, when they reached Canoe Camp, they stood where Lewis and Clark had stood, exactly 205 years ago to the day.
The Corps members were not feeling at all well this day, having changed their diet recently from practically pure meat to what were locally available: roots and fish. In their weakened state they were at the mercy of the Nez Perce Indians of the region, who treated them well, it should be mentioned, when it otherwise could have gone so wrong.
But of their history I could go on for pages…suffice it to say that half our contingent of the National Geographic Sea Bird spent the day following the trail of the Corps of Discovery up and down the Clearwater River, while the other half travelled far up the Snake River into the lower reaches of Hell’s Canyon.
Jet boats are fast, and during the day covered almost 110 miles of the Snake River, most of the time surrounded on both shores by tall bluffs of imposing basalt layers. The maneuverability of jet boats allows for plenty of stops, for instance when bighorn sheep are spotted, or for the approach to Buffalo Eddy to see ancient pictographs, their date of origin impossible to determine.
Both groups ended up meeting in the late afternoon at the Nez Perce Historical Park, an interpretative center to educate people about their history – one that is not often heard, but should be understood in our day and age, no excuses.
On return, our home was waiting for us at the dock, good food prepared, and all relaxed back into our seats with a sigh. Another full day completed, with more to come…
