September 1, 1805, the explorers set out traveling west, heading into rough, seldom traveled, mountainous country. They stopped at today's North Fork of the Salmon River, known as Fish Creek to Lewis and Clark, where they caught five fish, and were able to kill a deer (MacGregor 125). Some of the men's feet and horse's hooves were injured due to the rough, rocky terrain.

The next day, they were entering mountains far more difficult to pass than any American had ever attempted (Ambros 284). Clark describes the route: "Throu' thickets in which we were obliged to cut a road, over rocky hillsides where horses were in perpetual danger of slipping to their certain distruction and up and down steep hills..." (De Voto 232). Traveling along the steep hills, several horses fell. One was cr

September 16, began with snow falling three hours before dawn, and would continue all day. The snow piled up to six to eight inches in depth. Captain Clark walked in front to find the trail, which was near impossible, due to the snow. Captain Clark wrote, "I have been wet and as cold in every part as I ever was in my life" (De Voto 240). At noon, the party halted on the top of the mountain to warm and dry themselves a little while the horses grazed on some near by grass. All of the men were in fear of freezing. They were able to hike six more miles before setting up camp. Here, they were forced to kill a second colt to eat. That night, while the men slept, the horses, which were near starvation, strayed in search of grass.

The next day, the terrain began to get really rough. They had reached the mountains, which were very steep. The road through the mountain was covered with fallen timber and undergrowth. Captain Clark described the road as, "intolerable" (De Voto 237). They traveled eight miles along the steep mountains without water. They made camp on the hillside next to Traveler's Rest Creek. Some of the party did not arrive until after ten that night. Both the men and horses were extremely fatigued. They had just finished the first day of the most agonizing part of the journey to the Weippe Prairie.

On September 3, snow fell and the team's last thermometer broke. Several more horsed slipped and injured themselves. Later that day, the snow turned into sleet. The expedition family consumed the last of their salt pork and fish and began their descent into the Bitterroot Valley. That night, was the coldest yet.

On September 11, two of the party's horses had strayed. This delayed the explorers from leaving until late that afternoon. They were able to travel seven miles before they had to set up camp for the night. The hunters, who had been previously sent out, returned having killed nothing. Clark described the day as, "Verrey Worm" (De Voto 237).

September 10, Captain Lewis sent out all of the hunters. They returned with some game. John Colter brought back three Indians from a tribe that lived across the mountains, probably Nez Perce. The Indians were in pursuit of a band of Shoshones that had stolen more than twenty horses from the Nez Perce Indians. This was proof to Lewis and Clark that the Bitterroot Mountains could be crossed. One of the three Indians agreed to remain with the Americans to introduce them to his tribe. Their tribe resided in the plain below the mountains, on the Columbia River. The Indian said that it would require five sleeps to reach his tribe (De Voto 237). That evening, the party put their packs in order and made final preparations for crossing the Bitterroot Mountains.

On September 14, it began to snow. Old Toby, who was an Indian guide from the Shoshone tribe, got the party lost. He led the party down to a fishing camp, near a creek. Indians had recently been there, and their ponies had eaten all of the grass. The road they were traveling was much worse than the day before. It was covered with thick underbrush and fallen timber. Since the hunters were unsuccessful this day, the expedition party killed a colt for meat. They named the creek they found Colt Killed Creek.

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Approximate Word count = 2295
Approximate Pages = 9 (250 words per page double spaced)