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In the summer of 2016 I retraced the route of Lewis and Clark by kayak and on foot.
Years ago, when I was planning to hike the Appalachian Trail, I learned of the tradition of “trail names.” Most hikers adopt a name they will be known by on their journey. Some names are bestowed by fellow hikers, others are chosen. I was just finishing up a book about John Colter, a hunter and member of the Lewis and Clark expedition. After two years of wilderness exploration with the Corp of Discovery, Colter headed back to the Rockies before they had even returned to St. Louis. I admired his spirit, so I chose his name, Colter, as my trail name, a name I have used on subsequent long trails. Little did I know I would attempt Colter’s westward journey myself one day.
I started at at the confluence of the Mississippi and Missouri rivers near St. Louis. I walked the first 800 miles or so to avoid the hundreds of wing-dams on the lower river. These dams force an upstream paddler into very fast current in the middle of the river, or through the potentially hazardous currents flowing over the wing-dams.
My kayaking gear was stored at Yankton. There I started paddling up the Missouri River as far as Three Forks, Montana, approximately 1,510 river miles. From Three Forks I followed the Lewis and Clark Trail on foot, up the Jefferson and Beaverhead Rivers, then over Lemhi Pass to Salmon, Idaho. I crossed Lost Trail Pass to Lolo, Montana. From there I crossed Lolo Pass, following the Lolo Trail/Lewis and Clark Trail/Nez Perce Trail to Canoe Camp on the Clearwater River, nearly 500 miles. It was about 513 river miles from Canoe Camp down the Clearwater, Snake and Columbia Rivers, to the Pacific. The total mileage was about 3,323 miles.
All forward progress along the route was by foot or by kayak. If I got a ride to a grocery store, for example, I returned to where I left the route to proceed under my own power. I did all of my own portages, the longest about 20 miles at Great Falls, which was also Lewis and Clark’s longest portage. Like Lewis and Clark, I left my boat in Montana, unlike them I didn’t use horses for crossing the Rockies and craft a new boat, I hiked and had a friend haul my kayak to the Clearwater River.
I began my journey March 24, 2016.
You can see my hiking gear list here.
My kayaking gear list is here.
You can see my progress on the below map.
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I also have a new video about my adventure. Please check it out!
Thanks for visiting! Buck aka “Colter”
Hi Buck,
Randomly came across your blog researching the Yellowstone River, as I am hoping to do a paddling/hiking of it’s source to Willston. Would love to get as much info from your trip as possible, but assume you are quite busy on your own adventure. Live in Missoula, so maybe we could connect en route.
Thanks for the inspiration!
Hi Kate,
Thanks! You likely know you have to start outside of the Park, Yankee Jim Canyon can be dangerous, and to be heads up for each of the diversion dams. It’s one of the most fun rivers I’ve paddled. Have fun!
Buck
Are you going to fish when you start kayaking? Besides being fun, it would be handy to be able to catch your dinner in the long stretch from Fort Peck Dam to Fort Benton with no stores, if you start running low on food.
Hi Peter, that’s a good thought but I probably won’t do any fishing unless t try for some trout in Montana. Catching, preparing and cooking significant amounts of food is time consuming. That’s a major reason Lewis and Clark took two summers to get to the Pacific. Nevertheless, an idea to ponder, thanks!
Buck
Just in case, you could pick up a folding rod, a spincasting reel, and a couple of lures, which would be inexpensive and wouldn’t take up much room at all. The bass fishing on the Missouri below Fort Benton is pretty good. I could put you in touch with a kayak fisherman from Great Falls who could provide some fishing and equipment tips. Another option to supplement your food supplies in the Fort Peck Dam to Fort Benton section is rattlesnakes, which you’ll run into occasionally. Rattlesnakes don’t have much meat, and what they have is kind of tough and stringy, but they’d be better than nothing. In your spare time when you have internet available, you could research rattlesnake recipes.
Thanks for the ideas, Peter!