Whitewater of Death: Lewis & Clark's Desperate Descent Down to the Pacific after Braving the Bitterroot Mountains and Lolo Trail

Emerging from the skeletal hunger and crushing snows of the Bitterroot Range and its Lolo Trail, the Lewis and Clark Expedition finally reaches the waters that will lead them to the Pacific. But the Permanent Party explorers in the Corps of Discovery quickly realize that their mountain ordeal was merely a prelude to further terrible ordeals to follow. This critical chapter captures the moment they commit themselves to the unyielding, ferocious whitewater of the great river descent, forced to navigate dangerous cascades in cumbersome, hand-carved dugout canoes. As the snow-dusted, jagged peaks from their past loom in the background, they are thrust into a relentless battle against a watery labyrinth that threatens to swallow the dreams of an "Empire of Liberty" whole.

This is the tale of how the Lewis and Clark Expedition reached the Pacific. It is a tale of crushing snow and frigid temperatures in the Bitterroot Mountains, high-stakes negotiations with the Nez Perce, shooting the dangerous rapids after making dugout canoes, and a winter of misery spent at Fort Clatsop amongst the Clatsop Indians in steady rain. It is a tale of courage, of triumph over insurmountable odds, and of incredible leadership in the face of immense danger