Travelers' Rest
Near Missoula, Montana
Just south of Lolo, a meadow along Lolo Creek marks the only campsite of the Lewis and Clark Expedition that has been confirmed through physical evidence. The Corps of Discovery camped at Travelers' Rest twice, in September of eighteen oh five on the way west and again in late June of eighteen oh six on the return. Archaeologists found mercury compounds in the soil, a remnant of the expedition's medicine kit, exactly where journals placed the campsite.
The crossing mattered enormously: Lolo Pass to the west led the Corps into the Bitterroot Mountains, the most grueling stretch of the entire journey. A Salish guide named Old Toby pointed them toward the Lolo Trail, without which the expedition might not have found its way through.
