September 11, 2014
Targhee Pass to Lemhi Pass
This was an interesting adventure! And one definition of "adventure" is "pain in the xxx"! Over the 11 day trip we had a full day of pouring rain, the starter conked out on our Infiniti, Mike developed severe hip pain on day two which required a rest day, our Toyota had a flat tire and we finished the trek walking out in the snow and temps in the 20's! Despite the obstacles we were able to complete the trail from Targhee Pass to Lemhi Pass. Woo Hoo!
Highlights from this year:
* Most of this section of the trail is on the border between Idaho and Montana. It was fun imagining that walking a few feet in one direction or another would put you in a different state.
* We car camped a couple of nights lakeside in the Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge. We were the only ones in the campground! The 50,775 acre Refuge was established in 1935 as a breeding ground for wild animals and birds with special emphasis on protecting the rare trumpeter swan. See Mike's pictures in the Photo Journal to admire the beauty of the area.
* The section between Modoc Road and Bannack Pass consisted of a long stretch of roller coaster ridge walking with no tread. Every time we thought we reached a high point, we had to go down to a saddle and up again. In two days we gained 7, 535 feet of elevation! It was exhausting!
* We finished this year at the National Historic Landmark at Lemhi Pass. From the time of the Louisiana Purchase in 1803 until the Oregon Treaty in 1846 Lemhi Pass marked the western border of the United States. On August 12, 1805 Meriwether Lewis and three other members of the Lewis and Clark Expedition crossed the Continental Divide at Lemhi Pass. Lewis found a "large and plain Indian road" over the pass. This was the first time that white men had seen present-day Idaho.
Lewis and his men also came to the westernmost reaches of the now less than mighty Missouri River. Writing in his journal, Lewis recorded the significance of the area and the event:
. . . the road took us to the most distant fountain of the waters of the Mighty Missouri in surch of which we have spent so many toilsome days and wristless nights. thus far I had accomplished one of those great objects on which my mind has been unalterably fixed for many years, judge then of the pleasure I felt in allying my thirst with this pure and ice-cold water. here I halted a few minutes and rested myself. two miles below McNeal had exultingly stood with a foot on each side of this rivulet and thanked his god that he had lived to bestride the mighty & heretofore deemed endless Missouri. after refreshing ourselves we proceeded on to the top of the ridge from which I discovered immence ranges of high mountains still to the West of us with their tops partially covered with snow . . . here I first tasted the water of the great Columbia river.
To finish the entire trail we need to hike from Lemhi Pass to Benchmark, approximately 489 miles. We hope to finish this multi-year quest in the summer of 2015.
Highlights from this year:
* Most of this section of the trail is on the border between Idaho and Montana. It was fun imagining that walking a few feet in one direction or another would put you in a different state.
* We car camped a couple of nights lakeside in the Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge. We were the only ones in the campground! The 50,775 acre Refuge was established in 1935 as a breeding ground for wild animals and birds with special emphasis on protecting the rare trumpeter swan. See Mike's pictures in the Photo Journal to admire the beauty of the area.
* The section between Modoc Road and Bannack Pass consisted of a long stretch of roller coaster ridge walking with no tread. Every time we thought we reached a high point, we had to go down to a saddle and up again. In two days we gained 7, 535 feet of elevation! It was exhausting!
* We finished this year at the National Historic Landmark at Lemhi Pass. From the time of the Louisiana Purchase in 1803 until the Oregon Treaty in 1846 Lemhi Pass marked the western border of the United States. On August 12, 1805 Meriwether Lewis and three other members of the Lewis and Clark Expedition crossed the Continental Divide at Lemhi Pass. Lewis found a "large and plain Indian road" over the pass. This was the first time that white men had seen present-day Idaho.
Lewis and his men also came to the westernmost reaches of the now less than mighty Missouri River. Writing in his journal, Lewis recorded the significance of the area and the event:
. . . the road took us to the most distant fountain of the waters of the Mighty Missouri in surch of which we have spent so many toilsome days and wristless nights. thus far I had accomplished one of those great objects on which my mind has been unalterably fixed for many years, judge then of the pleasure I felt in allying my thirst with this pure and ice-cold water. here I halted a few minutes and rested myself. two miles below McNeal had exultingly stood with a foot on each side of this rivulet and thanked his god that he had lived to bestride the mighty & heretofore deemed endless Missouri. after refreshing ourselves we proceeded on to the top of the ridge from which I discovered immence ranges of high mountains still to the West of us with their tops partially covered with snow . . . here I first tasted the water of the great Columbia river.
To finish the entire trail we need to hike from Lemhi Pass to Benchmark, approximately 489 miles. We hope to finish this multi-year quest in the summer of 2015.
