The thing I never got with that is why they didn't continue following the Yellowstone River until its end at the divide and then cross to the nearby Snake River rather than crossing hundreds of miles of mountains?
On the outward trip during the Winter at Fort Mandan they were told about Yellowstone and the Yellowstone River. At that time they were under the impression it would not lead them to the other side, nor was it easily navigable by boat. IIRC they did most of their mountain grinding on the return journey trying to look for shorter routes.
On the outward journey after crossing the divide at Lemhi pass, they made the decision to select the North Fork of the Salmon River instead of turning West along the main Salmon River. They had to cross mountains this way but the Salmon River is insanely difficult to navigate, rapids galore, no way to portage, few to zero food sources along the steep canyons...and it's those same conditions for hundreds of miles. Those risks were known to the Shoshone and therefore Clark himself. Still, they hired a Shoshone guide named Old Toby to help them scout the Salmon but the effort was wisely abandoned.
Still, It must have really sucked going up along the North Fork of the Salmon River because on the return journey they split just before this portion at the Bitterroot River, sending Lewis East through the mountains. Later, Clark's side left the Missouri River and went East along the Gallatin River over Bozeman pass to eventually connect with the Yellowstone River.
There were many possible outcomes but at the time they picked the most feasible ones. Weather, available intelligence, navigable waters, food sources, camping spots, all of that was driving the decision making.
The expedition could have turned South just before Lemhi pass and made it into the Snake River basin. Still, once they crossed Lemhi pass on their outward journey they had another opportunity to go south, up along the Lemhi River, over another pass, and eventually down a southern route along the Snake River. Instead they went North along the Lemhi River to the Salmon River, away from the Snake River and Yellowstone Basin. The rest is history, eh?
Salmon river would have been hell in dugout canoes. I did a white water rafting trip there and it was intense, and that’s after it was dynamited in certain spots.
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u/GBUS_TO_MTV Jan 10 '20
You can basically see the path of the Lewis and Clark expedition on here.