Camas Flowers at Lolo Pass

We waited eagerly for news about the camas flowers this spring, a yearly event not to be missed if you are a wildflower aficionado as I am. There is a website that gives updates, and, finally, the time of blooming was announced, and I had a day off at the right time. We drove up to Lolo Pass, on the Montana - Idaho border and found lots of other fans of the camas flower already at the Visitor Center. We had planned to find a trail to hike on in the area, and did that before going out to Packer Meadows where the camas grows.

There were so many other kinds of wildflowers blooming all along the trail and everywhere. I was especially happy to find a Jacob's Ladder, one I've seen pictures of, but not ever found for myself.

At last, a lake of blue!
The quamash, an Indian word, was a food source for many native peoples in the western United States and Canada. After being harvested in the autumn, once the flowers have withered, the bulbs were pit-roasted or boiled. A pit-cooked camas bulb looks and tastes something like baked sweet potato, but sweeter. When dried, the bulbs could be pounded into flour. Native American tribes who ate camas include the Nez Perce, Cree, Coast Salish, Lummi, and Blackfoot tribes, among many others.

A close-up! I was reluctant to squash any of these gorgeous flowers, but I did carefully get on my knees to snap this photo.

Lewis and Clark, we read, who followed the Lolo Pass trail along with the natives, also camped in Packer Meadows in 1806 and learned from their Native American friends to dig and eat the bulbs.

I think everyone else was also reluctant to make paths into the sea of blue, but there was this one well used path out into the middle of the meadow. It was like we all couldn't get enough of the beauty surrounding us!

I am drowning in this stunning profusion of flowers, on my knees here. We were so happy that we got to see the blooming at its height. I read that a mere few days later the flowers had begun to fade.

Big Hole National Battlefield Monument

 In the summer of 1877 five bands of Nez Perce Indians consisting of 800 people, including 250 warriors, began a 1,170 mile journey from northeastern Oregon and central Idaho over the Bitterroot Mountains and through the Montana Territory. Though they were herding more than 2,000 horses and carrying whatever possessions they could manage, the Nez Perce made this long and difficult trek in less than four months. United States Army troops under General Oliver O. Howard had orders to place these five bands of Nez Perce on a small reservation in central Idaho. The Nez Perce had hoped to elude the soldiers, but they were forced to stop and face their pursuers several times. The battle with the highest number of casualties during this epic odyssey took place in the Big Hole Valley of southwestern Montana. The Battle of the Big Hole was a tragic turning point of what came to be called the Nez Perce War of 1877. The view above is from the visitor center, looking down on the battlefield. Teepee poles can be seen in the same spot where the original encampment was placed.

 We took the trails leading to several points in the battle. From this viewpoint we could look down on the entire valley.

 The soldiers attacked from the forested hillside, here showing the bushes and trees growing along a winding creek.

 A monument has been erected telling the names and numbers of soldiers lost in the battle. The army, under the control of General Howard, conducted a sneak attack on the sleeping Indians early in the morning. 60 to 90 members of the tribe were killed, mostly women, children and the elderly. The warriors quickly launched a counter attack where 29 soldiers were killed and 40 wounded. In a military sense, the Nez Perce won the battle, but had to continue to flee.

 We were tired from our hike on the hillside, but we absolutely had to take the trail leading out to the Indian encampment on the valley floor. Imagine our shock and surprise when this majestic moose crossed our path right in front of us. I barely got the camera turned on in time! We sneaked around the bush to see where he'd gone and found him looking at us. I snapped another photo before he gracefully leaped away into the bushes. I remembered the sign at the beginning of the trail warning us to stay away from any wild animals we might encounter! We had gotten a little closer than we should have, but it was the moose's doing, not ours!

 These teepee poles were erected in recent years by Native Americans honoring their dead. The entire valley is preserved as a burial ground, undisturbed and treated with the respect due to these tragically wronged peoples. (Click to enlarge.)

We could almost hear the wails and the cries of the women, children and elders who were attacked without warning. Thunder and lightning surrounded us, adding to the spirit memories
of the long ago Nez Perce travelers. Some of the most heart-rending words I've ever read were spoken by Chief Joseph as part of his tribe escaped into Canada while he stayed behind caring for the weak and sick ones.

"I am tired of fighting. Our chiefs are killed...It is cold and we have no blankets. The little children are freezing to death...My heart is sick and sad. From where the sun now stands I will fight no more forever."

Packer Meadows

Our day off this week turned out to be beautiful, sunny and clear, a perfect day for a trip. We had been encouraged to travel up to Lolo Pass, the border between Montana and Idaho on Hwy 12, to see the summer crop of camas flowers. On the way we got a great shot of Lolo Peak, elevation 9,143. From Wikapedia: The name "Lolo" probably evolved from "Lou-Lou", a pronunciation of "Lawrence," a French-Canadian fur trapper killed by a grizzly bear and buried at Grave Creek. The first written evidence of the name "Lolo" appears in 1831 when Hudson's Bay Company fur trader John Work refers in his journal to Lolo Creek as "Lou Lou." In an 1853 railroad survey and map, Lieutenant John Mullan spelled the creek and trail "Lou Lou." However, by 1865 the name was shortened to Lolo and is currently the name of a national forest, town, creek, mountain peak, mountain pass and historic trail in west central Montana.

After a quick stop at the Lolo Pass Visitor Center for directions, we found our way, on a dirt road, to Packer Meadows, a gorgeous field bursting with the lovely camas flowers as well as many other kinds of wildflowers. We gazed at a sea of blue in every direction!

Learning that the Nez Perce Indians depended on the camas flower, I looked up the use of the plant. It was sought out by many native peoples in the western U.S. and Canada. The bulb looks and tastes somewhat like a baked sweet potato, but sweeter. When dried, the bulbs can be pounded into a flour. Camas bulbs contributed to the survival of members of the Lewis and Clark Expedition of 1805 and 1806. It would fun to have a taste, but I realize digging wildflowers is not allowed in an historical place!

Another view of these gorgeous flowers.

An additional treat for us, as we traveled slowly along a 7 mile, very primitive road to the south of the Pass, was seeing what seemed like millions of spectacular bear grass blooms. They were covering the hillsides along the way. We had an amazing day, filled with not only these two delightful species, the camas and the bear grass, but also many other lovely wildflowers amidst high country forests. We live in a magnificent country!