Lewis and Clark Trail Back Home 1805 — 1806

Day 13: August 24th, 2001 Missoula — Lolo Motorway

Today is the real start! Originally I planned to be on the road by 7am. But I am on vacation and already have one spare day. Therefore I sleep in a bit today. It will also take a couple of days until I am able to sleep in a comfortable bed again.

I will have breakfast at Cracker Barrel once more. I found this chain for the first time last year on my travels in the East. But at this time I didn’t knew that it is a chain. But in the meantime I have found these restaurants all over the US. The food is always great and they have unsalted butter! But I will never be a friend of grits…

I leave Cracker Barrel around nine and drive to the nearest gas station. I also fill up my spare gas cans. I have two times a five gallons canister for the truck and another small one gallon for the stove. Unfortunately I didn’t pay attention. The gas station next to the motel is also next to the Interstate. This means gas is around ten cent per gallon higher than on a regular gas station. You never stop learning…

Marker Lolo Trail, Lolo, MT

Road Closed at Forest Road FR369, ID

I start my trail around half past nine. First I have to travel again through town to Highway 93. Then I head on south to Lolo. Highway 12 starts there to the west. I leave the highway on forest road 699 which is still on the Montana side. This road follows very close the original route of Lewis and Clark on their way west. But the road is closed before I reach the pass and the state line to Idaho. Great that nothing was posted at the entrance of this road. Now I have to drive almost an hour back to Highway 12 to follow this highway again to Lolo Pass.

Forest Road FR369, ID

Forest Road FR369, ID

Forest Road FR369, ID

Forest Road FR368, ID

Forest Road FR368, ID

Forest Road FR368, ID

Forest Road FR368, ID

I have to stay on Highway 12 until I reach forest road 369. Now I am back on my small forest roads. But it is very difficult to follow the original trail of Lewis & Clark south of Highway 12. I am able to follow the original path for a short distance. But then I have to take a big detour of many miles until I am back on their original route. I travel on forest roads back to Highway 12.

I pass the ranger station once again. But I am not sure how much gas my car needs when going offroad. Therefore I decide to stop at the lonely gas station around here. The price is almost 20 cents above the regular price. But I want to be sure to not run out of gas on the forest roads. Surprisingly I only needed five gallons so far!

The old guy, who is the cashier, also runs the souvenir shop, But I am not really looking for souvenirs, but mor for some picture post cards. I hope I will have the time to write some at the camp fire the next couple of days.

Forest Road FR568, ID

I have followed the beginning of the Lewis and Clark Trail on other forest roads yesterday. Now I follow forest road 568 to the legendary Lolo Motorway. You can see that this is not the road you are supposed to take to be on the Motorway. The road is in real bad conditions at some spots. There is also one steep sandy hill. I am afraid to get stuck and put in 4LO for the first time. You can really feel how powerful it engages. I climb the hill with no issues even without any lockers. I would have never imagined that for this little truck and just street tires.

Sign Lolo Motorway, FR500, ID

Soon I reach Papoose Saddle. There is the start of the Lolo Motorway for me. A warning sign tells you that there are no trailers allowed from here on. Then I am on the trail, which I will follow for the next couple of days. The landscape is really gorgeous. I travel through thick forest and then again through open spaces, usually along steep slopes. From there I have great views to the surrounding mountains. These views were definitely worth the investment for this little truck.

Rex and Mark, Lolo Motorway, FR500, ID

Originally I planned to drive all the way to Snowbank Camp. But time is flying and I don’t want to go fast on these roads. It’s around 5pm when I meet two bikers, Rex and Mark, from Kansas City. They want to follow the whole Lewis & Clark Trail by bicycle. They also have been on television for an interview! But they have not skipped their jobs and are forced to do the trail in two week chunks for several years. They started their journey two years ago just like me with my rental car. I am really impressed by their plan to follow the whole trail on bicycle!

But they underestimated how strenous the Lolo Motorway would be. When I meet them they are totally exhausted, especially because one of them have been hurt by an overthrow. Also they are extremely low on water. I give them some of my water which they happily take. But they will turn around tomorrow and return the same way they rode up. The informations they had showed that it will be more strenouse the next miles. And without any water sources it will be getting too dangerous.

The spot they plan to camp tonight is only a small turnout on the Motorway. But it is already too late to travel much further. We agree that I will turn around and let them know if I should find a decent spot for camping within the next half mile. Otherwise they will stay here and turn around tomorrow.

When I depart I am not sure if I will find a camping spot within this short distance. And it takes me almost half an hour until I find a reasonable spot for my first camp site. It is located at the crossing of Trail 13 with the Lolo Motorway.

First Campsite at Lolo Motorway, FR500, ID

Now it’s time to build up my tent for the first time. I already tried it at David’s home. But it’s completely different out there in the wild and being video taped. And as usual something goes wrong. But eventually I am able to build up my tent and I have now time to take care of my camp fire. I also find a nice spot to place my water canister to use it as a faucet to wash my hands.

First Campsite at Lolo Motorway, FR500, ID

Then I start to collect some wood for my camp fire. A thick already burned stump lays around, which I also plan to put in the fire later. I get the fire started without any issues. Then it’s time to start the camping stove. First I struggle a bit with the adjustment. But after a while I get the stove running.

I take my camping dishes out of the car and decide to start with my Ravioli today. I am happy that I also thought of a can opener at my last Wal Mart shopping stop.

I video tape the sunset while the meal is warming up on the stove. In the meantime I always have to put in more wood in my fire. It’s amazing how fast a dry branch is gone in the fire. If you keep a fire burning by yourself you can easily understand how fast a fire can spread around. Therefore I cleaned up the fire place from all dry wood before I started my fire.

It’s almost getting dark until I finish my dinner. I just have enough time to do my dishes, then it is dark night. But I am also really tired. I turn out the fire with water, whereas the stump needs a lot of water to cool down. I am sure I will not throw in something big like that in my next fire. But I am still learning…

I wake up in the middle of the night around 3am. It has cooled down extremely and I start to freeze. I close my sleeping back as good as possible and after a while I fall asleep again.