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Bitterroot River - Packer Meadows
Clark's Sketch Map

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Moulton, Atlas, Map 69, Detail.

his short stretch of Indian road was the interface between the Rocky Mountain barrier and the High Plains, anchored in important travel hubs. At the east end was a long-established gathering-place, resting-point, safe-house, and communication center for mountain peoples. Lewis and Clark called it "Travelers' Rest." At the west end was a spa where more roads converged from the north. The explorers did not give it a name, nor did they record an Indian name. On the Bitterroot Divide, eight miles to the south, was a major seasonal food-mart featuring camas; just south of the divide, down at the headwaters of the Lochsa River, was a meat department offering fresh salmon and elk in season.

The latitude of Travelers' Rest, calculated at Point of Observation No. 46, actually refers to a point about three miles north, which would be roughly under the .8 in the figure 28.8. The actual latitude at the center of the site where the Corps camped has been determined to be 46°44'58" North. The longitude, which the captains did not calculate, is 114°05'16" West.*

*Robert N. Bergantino, An Evaluation of Original Lewis and Clark Information to Determine the Location of Travelers Rest Camp, Lolo, Montana (1998).