When Lewis and Clark came west they wanted to follow the Salmon River on its turbulent route downstream, but they gave it up as too difficult. The following spring, on the way home, they were forced to camp on the Clearwater River until the snow melted in the Bitterroot Mountains. While on this compulsory layover they decided to send a small party south to intersect the Salmon River and follow it to its confluence with the Snake River. The men went on horseback, and had a terrible time traveling through the rough country. They made their way to the Snake River near where this picture was taken, bought salmon from the Indians camped there, and returned. It took three days of hard travel and the flavor of the salmon suffered from the warm afternoons.
Our trip, in the comfort of jet boats with cushioned seats, was far easier than theirs. Our pleasant lunch stop on a sand bar reminded us that many things have changed in the last two hundred years
