A Day In The Life
My days on a long road trip tend to settle into a fairly predictable pattern over time. I’m assuming the same was true for our 1805 explorers.
Roadtripping in 1805
Based on what I’ve learned, here’s how I imagine the expedition members getting through their days:
Travel Days
Morning
Everyone got up early to begin packing up the tents and gear. Someone was assigned to be making breakfast, probably consisting of cooked meat of some kind, or fish. The packing up was probably down to a pretty good system by the middle of the trip, made more difficult if it had rained the day or night before. In that case, they needed to make sure everything was dry before packing up and getting on their way. Departure could be delayed by hours if their supplies were sopping wet.
While they made progress on the river (or with the horses when they were on the overland route), several of the men would leave the trail to hunt for food. This was a constant activity pretty much every day. They needed a lot of calories to support the exertion required to make progress (by some estimates the men were eating up to 5000-6000 calories per day per man). Most if not all of the men suffered from not only venereal disease, which I’ve already mentioned, but also dysentery, which meant their bowels were in flux all the time. Scholars think they were probably eating spoiled meat regularly, which they were carrying along with them after each hunting party returned. When they went over the Bitterroot Mountains, they had to contend with snowy conditions and there was apparently no food available at all. All the prey animals were further down the mountain, not high on the ridge where the men were. They and the horses were extremely depleted by the time they made their way down.
Afternoon
After making as much progress as they could (anywhere from 5-10 miles on a bad day and 25-30 miles on a good day), based on the weather and river (or mountain) conditions that day, they would find a place to stop and make camp. If things were still wet (or newly wet), they stopped earlier than usual to lay things out to dry. There was also a lot of mending to be done, especially if they had done a lot of walking. Apparently, the shoes they had in the East wore out not long after their departure, and they fairly quickly made the switch in favor of moccasins. These they could make out of dried hides of the animals they caught and repair them more easily. When they wore out completely they were more easily replaced than shoes from back home.
To set up camp, someone would build a fire, while others would find a place to dig a latrine. The tents would go up and supplies would be unloaded - dishes to eat with, sewing materials for mending, cooking pots and utensils. In terms of discipline and structure, the expedition followed the guidelines fairly strictly as laid out in General Friedrich Wilhelm Steuben’s Blue Book. A Prussian general, Steuben published this book in 1779, and it was quickly adopted throughout the military world as the preeminent manual on how to maintain military order and discipline. It was widely used by the Americans during the Revolutionary War and afterwards in any military environment. It spelled out how to arrange an encampment, and included regulations that governed drills and defined military ranks. Lewis and Clark relied on it heavily on the expedition to guide their military and disciplinary practices. In fact, this was one more convincing piece of evidence at the archeological site at Traveler’s Rest (see the section on verifying the Lewis and Clark encampment in this previous article ). The researchers were able to verify depressions in the earth at the site that were completely consistent with the guidelines set out in the book regarding arrangement of tents and military marching and drills.
While the men were setting up, Sacagawea would be scoping out the plants in the area, looking for special herbs she was familiar with. She carried baby Jean Baptiste with her everywhere. The women she left behind when she began the journey no doubt had told her what she would need to eat to keep herself and the baby healthy, and I’m sure she made that a priority at every stop. The men also benefited from the herbs and vegetables she gathered.
Evening
Evenings were generally relaxed times, once everything was settled and in place. Lewis and Clark and some of the other men would spend hours writing in their journals, describing everything that happened that day. Lewis was a master at observation, keeping meticulous records of everything he found that seemed new to white eyes - the birds, the plants, the mammals, the scenery. Clark was the master mapmaker. Both men kept more than one copy of everything, fearing that the records could get lost if a canoe overturned, which almost happened more than once.
It’s also clear to me that Lewis and Clark were effective leaders, and shared a camaraderie with their men. They knew how important it was to keep morale up, and keep the lower ranking men feeling positive and optimistic about their journey. There were many times during the journey that tensions were high when meeting a new Indian tribe for the first time, or battling hardships caused by weather or terrain, and they must have drilled and drilled and drilled into the heads of the men not to lose control of their senses out of fear or anger. For the most part they towed the line in impressive fashion. There was only one instance, on the return trip, when there was an actual fight with some Indians and one of the men ended up killing a brave.
Pierre Cruzatte, who joined the corps at St. Charles, Missouri, brought his fiddle with him, and this proved very handy both in the expedition camps and also when they were visiting or hosting Indians. Lewis and Clark encourage frivolity and dancing after all the work of the day was finished, and gave them drams of whiskey from time to time in order to keep their spirits up and reward them for all their hard work. They found a way to celebrate Independence Day every year that they were on the journey. I’d like to think that York was also able to enjoy some comeraderie with the men, even if it only developed over time. He was eventually allowed to carry a gun and go on hunting parties, and I’m sure proved himself over and over again to the other men on the trip. I hope that the early days when he was taunted (he almost lost an eye at one point when someone threw sand in his face) passed and that he had a few men that he could call his friend by the time they were in the middle of the trip, and certainly by the end.
Nontravel Days
Although they stayed on the move as much as possible, particularly when harsh winters were bearing down on them, there were many times when they stayed in one place for several nights, or even a few weeks at a time. The setting up and routines they did on the travel days would be the same when they first arrived, or on the day they left, but the in between times were also very busy depending on where they were headed next.
In these instances, the main party might be repairing tents, melting lead to make bullets, making new tools or clothing, and generally taking inventory of everything and making sure it was all in good working order before setting out again. Some were skilled at carpentry and at different times carved dugout canoes, built wooden structures for their winter camps, and built the carts that carried them over the portage at Great Falls. They also had skilled iron and lead workers who could melt lead and metal and make bullets or tools such as knives and hatchets. They were constantly repairing their moccasins, making new clothing from the skins of the animals they killed for food (buffalo and beaver primarily) and had to constantly pack and repack everything in order to protect the most valuable items from the unpredictable stormy elements and rough terrain: paper, books (they had an entire library with them), powdered ink, medicines, portable writing desks, boxes loaded with gifts, measuring instruments, etc.
They also would have been conducting drills during the day to keep the men sharp and ready for a violent encounter if there was one. Smaller groups were constantly going away from the camp on hunting parties, or accompanying meet-ups with Indians, for example. They had to be ready for whatever they might find, whether it was a hostile meeting with Indians (which generally was rare) or a hostile meeting with a bear (which seems to have been much more frequent).
Lewis and Clark spent a lot of time conferring with each other and their Indian acquaintences and guides to chart the course ahead as best as they could. They had extremely limited information to work with, and each day brought new information they had to incorporate into their plans. This trip planning was in addition to all the documentation they were doing: making maps, recording the different species of birds, mammals, plants, trees, etc. as well as the geographic readings, keeping track of their latitude and longitude, depths of the rivers, heights of the mountains, size of the prairies, and everything you can imagine that might need to be observed or measured. They kept samples of everything that they could. Daunting, to say the least.
It seems clear from the journals that Lewis, Clark and Charboneau kept a close eye on Sacagawea and the baby. She was always with one of the three when they were traveling, whether by boat or on land. There is absolutely nothing in the journals to suggest that she was treated with anything but respect from any of the men (with perhaps the exception of her husband…), and I’m sure both Lewis and Clark made sure of that. Clark was quite fond of the baby, so much so that he offered to care for him after the journey and make sure he got a good education.
I’ve seen a lot of Sacagawea images and sculptures on this trip, but I think I may like this one best.
She still looks young enough to be a teenager, but confident and wise enough to keep up with the thirty-three men she was traveling with.
Finally, the nontravel days were also used by Lewis and Clark to catch up on their various reports. The content of the journals suggests that some passages may have been written long after the reported events, and this wouldn’t be surprising given what they were contending with along the way. I know how long it takes me to write one of these blog articles, and I can’t imagine how long it took the two leaders to write up everything they did with as much detail as they did. A few of the other men kept journals as well, but none were as prolific as Lewis and Clark.
Roadtripping in 2025
My days are probably a little different than the expedition experience.
Travel Days
Morning
If I’m traveling that day, I make sure the night before that everything is pretty much ready to go. If I’ve had my camp chair out, or my table, or my “patio” then I put all that away before I go to bed and before it is totally dark outside. Inside the cabin I put most things away that I won’t need in the morning.
When I wake up I quickly dress then take Sadie for her walk first thing. If it is really cold then I’ll turn on my heater for about 15 or 20 minutes before getting out of bed. That’s all it takes to warm up the cabin enough for me to do what I need to do without freezing.
After the walk I make my coffee and put everything away that could fly or slide around or get damaged if it falls to the floor. Then I quickly review my maps and notes about what I’m doing that day and then we’re off. If I get hungry while driving and drinking my coffee I dip into my homemade trail mix - nuts, dried fruit, and a few M&Ms mixed in (of course!).
I usually have several stops planned for the day. Most are Lewis and Clark related, but others are simply interesting opportunities that I don’t want to miss. I often stop at the historical markers that are on my routes because I love to get a flavor of the history of the area I’m driving through.
Afternoon
Lots of my stops are at historical parks and interpretive centers. I get Sadie out as often as possible at these places so that she can have a “walkabout” and a break from all the camper travel. She’s a good traveler but doesn’t particularly like long hours in the camper with no break. Usually we have multiple stops during the day when she can get out. Because it’s off season, it’s not unusual that we are the only visitors to an area so I can let her run around off leash and really stretch her legs. I do have to be careful in areas where there could be bears or snakes, however. When I’m not sure what might be lurking in the shadows I keep her tethered.
If I have lunch it usually consists of a hard boiled egg and maybe an apple. While I’m driving along I often think about possible ideas or themes for the blog. If I have a particular idea or insight I don’t want to forget I write it in a little notepad I keep within reach (don’t worry I do it safely).
I try to get to my final destination for the day between 3 and 4. This gives me plenty of time to get situated into a new spot for the night and walk Sadie around and scope out the other campers and dogs in the area. If I’m only going to be there one night I don’t do much set up at all. That way I just have to wake up and we’re ready to go.
Sadie settles right into the campsite once her bed is in place and her food and water bowls are out.
Evening
I tend to turn in early because when it’s dark it’s really dark, and it just feels like bedtime. I eat my main meal shortly after making camp, so in the late afternoon. I haven’t done any cooking on this trip, and my main meal tends to consist of a hearty salad. I keep cut lettuce and cabbage, and add tomatoes, avocado, some seeds and some sort of protein (tinned fish, rotisserie chicken shredded, summer sausage). I have cheese and apples and crackers with me all the time, so sometimes I just fix myself a charcuterie board and that’s my dinner.
While I’m eating dinner I’m studying my maps and books to plan the next day or so travel. I map out the distances I have planned, figure out what the stops will be along the way, and make a list of what I’m doing. Making a list of the order things will happen on a piece of paper gives me something I can refer to and look at while I’m driving. The big picture for the day, so to speak, broken up into its chunks stop by stop.
Whatever time I have left at that point I will use to make my journal entry for the day, maybe write a card to mail the next day, or read one of my Lewis and Clark books. If I have cell service (which is not a given) I can check email and texts. I also use time in the evening to work on my next blog article.
Nontravel Days
Meals are pretty much the same as the travel days, but for breakfast I usually chop the nuts and dried fruit into a bowl of yogurt and fresh fruit. That will usually take me to dinnertime. Occasionally I’ll treat myself to a hot meal at a restaurant, but for the most part I’m just keeping my meals really simple. I try to incorporate a noncamping experience at least once a week or ten days, and have Airbnbs booked for two to three nights several times on the trip. This gives me a chance to do laundry, focus on finishing a blog article, or just spreading out a bit. An occasional hotel also fills in gaps when I don’t have a plan and am tired of the road (and feeling kind of filthy).
When I’m staying more than one night in one location, Sadie and I have a very relaxed day. Often no driving at all. If I have two or more full days in one place I might take the camper out to explore more of the area, like I did in Bismarck, ND or in Orofino, ID. I can also take care of shopping needs. Extra days also give me a chance to sort through my cluttered cabin and reorganize and tidy up. It’s a tight space and things can get out of control very quickly if I’m not careful.
When I’m feeling more isolated at my campsite (i.e. out of earshot of the nearest neighbors), I’m more likely to play my banjo. I’m still quite shy about getting it out if I think people near me can hear me, so I haven’t played it as much as I might if I were more confident. But I’m really glad I brought it and am working on a couple of new tunes, so there’s that.
I’m having fun dabbling even if I have no idea what I’m doing.
If the weather is nice, then I’ll use the extra time at a campsite (or Airbnb) to get my paints out and do a little drawing and painting.
Next Steps
The next couple of articles will wrap up the Lewis and Clark experience and then I will be switching gears for the trip home across Canada. Stay tuned!
