Hell’s Canyon & Kamiah, Idaho
The Sea Lion tied up at Clarkston, Washington in the early morning sunshine. Guests boarded the waiting jet boats for the adventurous trip into Hell’s Canyon. We had hardly gone past the riverside homes into a more rural setting when we came upon several Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep drinking from the river. At this dry warm time of the year it is not surprising that their only source of water should be the Snake River, but it is to our advantage that they are so close to where we pass by. Our journey is a pleasurable one, with bright sunshine, autumn colors, lots of wildlife, and good companions, as we travel some sixty miles each way in scenic Hell’s Canyon. Whether your interests are in geology, wildlife, or early history this trip is a winner. In the meantime, fourteen of us spent the entire day with a local historian, Linwood Laughy, who took us into north-central Idaho in search of sites associated with the Lewis and Clark Expedition and the Nez Percé Native American people. During the morning, we essentially traveled alongside the upstream course of the Clearwater River and followed the expedition’s eastward homebound route of 1806 from Clarkston as far as Kamiah (pronounced CAM-ee-eye), Idaho. Stops were made to spend time discussing details of the individual sites, read from the journals of Lewis and Clark to understand how the sites were discovered and verified, hear some Indian legends, and learn about their food sources, interactions between the explorers and the Indians, etc. Some of the places were already well known to us from our extensive readings about the ‘Corps of Discovery,’ such as Saddle Camp and Long Camp. After lunch in the delightful, historic town of Kamiah with its restored downtown area, we began following Lewis and Clark’s earlier westward route of 1805, stopping to admire their river shore campsites. In addition, we visited some Nez Percé sites, including the Heart of the Monster Nez Percé National Historic Park, where we met Lee Hamilton and learned about fire-making (see photo), plant fiber cordage production, and tanning hides with brain solutions…really! We finished our excursion at the Nez Percé National Historic Park museum in Spalding in the late afternoon, with time to admire the small, but impressive collection of clothing, ornaments, weapons, and utensils of the Nez Percé people.
