Alan Phillip (Big Al) Thompson's
Bicentennial Bicycle Retrace of
The Lewis and Clark Trail
from Saint Louis, Missouri, on 06/22/2005
to Astoria and Seaside, Oregon, ~09/01/2005
Bicycle Road Trip Report 7 of 10, 08/12/2005, Dillon, Montana
Dear Family and Friends,
Yesterday I was at the Headwaters of the Missouri River. It is near the small town of Three Forks, Montana, and it is where three rivers come together to form the Missouri — the Jefferson, Madison, and Gallatin Rivers. Lewis and Clark couldn’t decide which fork was the true Missouri, and so they decided to name the three forks after the President and Secretaries of State and the Treasury. But now they had to decide which fork to follow — the one that would take them to the continental divide and the hoped-for river that would take them to the great Columbia River and the Pacific coast. They would choose the Jefferson and again, it would be the correct choice. But they thought that once they crested the divide, they would see a river leading down to a plain that would be their pathway to the mighty Columbia. They would be sorely disappointed, for all they would see would be mountains, mountains, and more mountains extending away to the distant horizon.
Tomorrow I will follow their route up to the Continental Divide at Lemhi Pass at an elevation of 7323 feet. It will be the first of the major passes that I will cross. Next will be Lost Trail Pass, and then Lolo Pass in the formidable Bitterroot Mountains.
Today I passed Beaverhead Rock which Sakakawea recognized and identified for Lewis and Clark. This gave them hope that they were getting close to her tribal homeland of the Shoshone Indians. They were desperate to find the Shoshones to trade for horses which they would need to cross the mountains. Here, Sakakawea would play a key role. When they finally did locate her Shoshone tribe, she was called upon to interpret at the council that would secure the much needed horses. In an amazing circumstance of history, she recognized the chief of the Shoshones, Cameahwait, as her brother. She had not seen him since she was kidnapped by the Hidatsa Indians in the Three Forks area five or six years earlier. She was so moved by this circumstance that in the middle of the council she jumped up and threw her blanket around him and embraced him. As she tried to translate, her translation was interrupted by her tears of joy. How fortunate it was for the Corps of Discovery, because her relationship to the chief sealed the deal for the horses.
Back a few days ago when I was cycling the road to Great Falls, I had a fellow in a pickup truck pull over in front of me, hop out, and say, “C’mon, let me throw your bike in the back, and I’ll give you a ride to Great Falls.” I thanked him profusely but declined the ride. He just shook his head and couldn’t understand why I wouldn’t want the free ride to the Great Falls.
And then, as I was huffing and puffing my way up a hill on the way to Holter Lake campground, a group in a van pulled up next to me and wanted to know where I was headed. In between heavy breaths I explained my journey and told them I was headed toward the campground. They said as soon as I got there to head over to site #5 and join them for dinner — which of course I did. It was quite a crew. Not just one family — Lissa Whittaker and her husband and two daughters, Tom, Father Matt (a Jesuit Priest), and Ernie. Last year Tom and Father Matt kayaked the entire Missouri river from Three Forks, Montana, all the way to Saint Louis; this was also a type of fundraiser for their church.
Well, folks, this note is coming to you from Dillon, Montana, and I have now covered close to 2700 miles. It seems as though I have been in Montana forever. Nothing but up now, and then down, and then up again.
As always, I am proceeding on.
— Al Thompson
P.S. Those with lists, please pass on to interested parties.
P.S.S. The two attached photos are of me and the amazingly beautiful White Cliffs area of the Missouri which is designated a National Wild and Scenic River; and me and what else — the mountains!
