During September 1-4, 1805, the Corps of Discovery under the command of Lewis and Clark bushwacked their way northward over the dividing ridge between the waters of what they called Lewis' River on the south and Clark's River on the north. They began on the Salmon River in Idaho and their destination was the Bitterroot River in Montana. They were not following an established Indian trail because they chose to go due north over the most direct route possible. The established Indian trail, at that time, looped eastward through the Big Hole before going northward up Trail Creek, over Gibbons Pass, and then into the Bitterroot Valley. The route of the Corps of Discovery over Lost Trail Pass is, to repeat an often used phrase, "a puzzle wrapped in a mystery, shrouded by an enigma." It remains a major challenge to the Lewis and Clark trail community to determine their route for September 1-4, 1805 and their September 2nd and 3rd camping sites. This paper reports on a technique the author has developed, using topography and computer analysis techniques, that can be applied to the Lost Trail route. For the past 12 years, I have been doing research on the Lolo Trail from Lolo, Montana to Weippe, Idaho. This work is nearing completion and will result in the accurate location and documentation of the trails within the Lolo Trail System: the Northern Nez Perces Trail, the Bird-Truax Trail, and the Lewis and Clark route. The research techniques developed for the Lolo Trail were applied to the Lost Trail route using modern map data and the expedition*s journal narratives and maps. While the Lolo Trail research results were validated by cross-checking with many other historical sources, as well as ground truthing, no known equivalent resources exist for the Lost Trail route. The party "bushwhacked" their way over the pass and did not follow an established "roade." Without the remnants of a well-travelled Indian trail, we are left with only their journal records and the topography to be our guide.

“Get your head into the clouds with Aerial Geology.” —The New York Times Book Review Aerial Geology is an up-in-the-sky exploration of North America’s 100 most spectacular geological formations. Crisscrossing the continent from the Aleutian Islands in Alaska to the Great Salt Lake in Utah and to the Chicxulub Crater in Mexico, Mary Caperton Morton brings you on a fantastic tour, sharing aerial and satellite photography, explanations on how each site was formed, and details on what makes each landform noteworthy. Maps and diagrams help illustrate the geological processes and clarify scientific concepts. Fact-filled, curious, and way more fun than the geology you remember from grade school, Aerial Geology is a must-have for the insatiably curious, armchair geologists, million-mile travelers, and anyone who has stared out the window of a plane and wondered what was below.

In this tale of the American West, the search for gold could be a triumph or a fool’s errand. Either way, a storm is coming.... The McCloud brothers know the Bitterroot Mountains better than any other, but they rarely have time for sightseeing. That is, until the lovely Roberta Morris comes knocking at their door and asks them to help find her uncle, who went missing while mining for gold. The brothers are happy to oblige. A pretty little lady can’t face the wilderness all by her lonesome. But she’s not alone. Because Frank Burdette and his gang are hot on her trail…and they know exactly what lies in those mountains.

Elers Koch, a key figure in the early days of the U.S. Forest Service, was among the first American-trained silviculturists, a pioneering forest manager, and a master firefighter. By horse and on foot, he helped establish the boundaries of most of our national forests in the West, designed new fire-control strategies and equipment, and served during the formative years of the agency. Forty Years a Forester, Koch’s entertaining and illuminating memoir, reveals one remarkable man’s contributions to the incipient science of forest management and his role in building the human relationships and policies that helped make the U.S. Forest Service, prior to World War II, the most respected bureau in the federal government. This new, fully annotated edition of Koch’s memoir offers an unparalleled look at the Forest Service’s formative ambitions to regulate the national forests and grasslands and reminds us of the principled commitment that Koch and his peers exemplified as they built the national forest system and nurtured the essential conservation ethic that continues to guide our use of the public lands.