Mount Hood over the Columbia River
A challenge, a journey, an achievement—rising above the ordinary to gain a completely new perspective. Mountains are the quintessential symbol of the struggle to overcome obstacles for the glory of standing in a new place with an entirely different view of the world. How appropriate it is then, as we wake for this, the first full day of our expedition, to look off the stern of the Sea Bird and see Mt. Hood dominating the horizon.
Although our obstacles may be few, we travel in the wake of Lewis and Clark and the Corps of Volunteers for Northwestern Discovery. Theirs was an expedition replete with mountains, both literal and figurative, to face and conquer. The 31 men, one woman and one child spent up to 863 days on their epic trek and there can be no doubt that their quest changed each of them—and history, as well. The trials and tribulations that the Corps endured and surmounted included everything from sickness to bear attacks, bad weather to bad fish and unfriendly Indians to overly friendly fleas. But, they made it through. Providence, planning, good leadership, indispensable help from Indians all along the route and just plain dumb luck brought them to the top of their mountain, and oh, what a view!
How can an expedition with such enormous consequences ever be adequately summarized? Perhaps it’s less important to try to encapsulate the experience than it is to improve our appreciation for what those 33 people went through, right here, exactly 200 years ago. And what better way to do that than to walk where they walked, hear stories of their journey and see the sights that they saw—including the mountains.
A challenge, a journey, an achievement—rising above the ordinary to gain a completely new perspective. Mountains are the quintessential symbol of the struggle to overcome obstacles for the glory of standing in a new place with an entirely different view of the world. How appropriate it is then, as we wake for this, the first full day of our expedition, to look off the stern of the Sea Bird and see Mt. Hood dominating the horizon.
Although our obstacles may be few, we travel in the wake of Lewis and Clark and the Corps of Volunteers for Northwestern Discovery. Theirs was an expedition replete with mountains, both literal and figurative, to face and conquer. The 31 men, one woman and one child spent up to 863 days on their epic trek and there can be no doubt that their quest changed each of them—and history, as well. The trials and tribulations that the Corps endured and surmounted included everything from sickness to bear attacks, bad weather to bad fish and unfriendly Indians to overly friendly fleas. But, they made it through. Providence, planning, good leadership, indispensable help from Indians all along the route and just plain dumb luck brought them to the top of their mountain, and oh, what a view!
How can an expedition with such enormous consequences ever be adequately summarized? Perhaps it’s less important to try to encapsulate the experience than it is to improve our appreciation for what those 33 people went through, right here, exactly 200 years ago. And what better way to do that than to walk where they walked, hear stories of their journey and see the sights that they saw—including the mountains.
