Astoria
What do you do when the skies are overcast, the winds gust to 20 miles an hour, and the rain falls in horizontal sheets? If you’re a fisherman in Ilwaco, Washington, you mend your nets. The Corps of Discovery made the same productive use of their time spent at Fort Clatsop, their 1805-06 winter home. Journals note that over 300 pairs of moccasins were sewn in those few months. In order to achieve this, animals were hunted, hides were tanned and cut, and at some point, many of the men sat at the edge of their bed or near their hearth fire and sewed footwear for their trip home.
Our afternoon in Washington was only slightly reminiscent of the weather written about so briefly but succinctly by William Clark: “…violent wind from the southwest accompanied with Hail thunder and Lightning….a blustering rainy day…violent wind and hard rain all day.” We were spared the thunder, lightning and hail, and there was no basis to name any of our destinations “Dismal Nitch.” We proceeded on wearing brightly colored Gortex slickers to protect us from wind and weather. There were no rotting buckskins in our party! In the comfort of a heated motorcoach, we wound our way up the spruce-covered hill to the Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center at Cape Disappointment State Park. The cumulative rustling of leaves and breezes through branches created a constant din in the forest. Added to that was the thunderous roar created by pounding surf reverberating off the amphitheatre cliffs. It became obvious why the Corps took the advice of the local people and crossed the Columbia River. Their search was not only for the essentials; game, fresh water, and lumber for a fort, but shelter, topographical shelter from the storms and winds whipping off the Pacific Ocean and colliding with the coast.
We left Ilwaco with the wind at our back and a refreshing drink in our hand. We headed eastward, just as the Corps did, for our return home. What will the weather be when we get home? If it is inclement, will we brave the elements and mend our equivalent urban nets? Or will we take refuge inside and sit and work on our own “moccasin” project? Or maybe knit a sock?
What do you do when the skies are overcast, the winds gust to 20 miles an hour, and the rain falls in horizontal sheets? If you’re a fisherman in Ilwaco, Washington, you mend your nets. The Corps of Discovery made the same productive use of their time spent at Fort Clatsop, their 1805-06 winter home. Journals note that over 300 pairs of moccasins were sewn in those few months. In order to achieve this, animals were hunted, hides were tanned and cut, and at some point, many of the men sat at the edge of their bed or near their hearth fire and sewed footwear for their trip home.
Our afternoon in Washington was only slightly reminiscent of the weather written about so briefly but succinctly by William Clark: “…violent wind from the southwest accompanied with Hail thunder and Lightning….a blustering rainy day…violent wind and hard rain all day.” We were spared the thunder, lightning and hail, and there was no basis to name any of our destinations “Dismal Nitch.” We proceeded on wearing brightly colored Gortex slickers to protect us from wind and weather. There were no rotting buckskins in our party! In the comfort of a heated motorcoach, we wound our way up the spruce-covered hill to the Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center at Cape Disappointment State Park. The cumulative rustling of leaves and breezes through branches created a constant din in the forest. Added to that was the thunderous roar created by pounding surf reverberating off the amphitheatre cliffs. It became obvious why the Corps took the advice of the local people and crossed the Columbia River. Their search was not only for the essentials; game, fresh water, and lumber for a fort, but shelter, topographical shelter from the storms and winds whipping off the Pacific Ocean and colliding with the coast.
We left Ilwaco with the wind at our back and a refreshing drink in our hand. We headed eastward, just as the Corps did, for our return home. What will the weather be when we get home? If it is inclement, will we brave the elements and mend our equivalent urban nets? Or will we take refuge inside and sit and work on our own “moccasin” project? Or maybe knit a sock?
