The Lewis and Clark Columbia River Water Trail: A Guide for Paddlers, Hikers, and Other Explorers by Keith G. Hay

Abstract

once thrived along the route are now extinct, she reports,and over a hundred more are officially listed as threatened, endangered, or on the verge of such status.The author's purpose isadmirably achieved: to encourage an enjoyment of these places, pique readers' curiosity,and help them "understand the importance of conserving what is leftofthat original landscape" (p. 1). The Lewis and Clark Columbia RiverWater Trail: A Guide for Paddlers, Hikers, and Other Explorers By Keith G. Hay Timber Press, Portland, Ore., 2004. Photographs, maps, tables, bibliography, index. 240 pages. $19.95 paper. Reviewed by JoAnnRoe Bellingham, Washington Just in time fortheLewis and Clark Bicenten nial, thisneeded guide isforthosepaddlers and hikerswho seek to duplicate the explorers' path to the sea. Keith G. Hay has identifiedall ormost of the campsites along the Corps of Discovery's westbound and eastbound routes between today'sBonneville Dam and thePacific Ocean. From meticulous research, he added tidbits about happenings at the sites. From a hunting camp at thedown-river end ofDeer Is landnorth of St.Helens, for instance,theCorps' hunters shot seven deer but retrievedonly four, "the others having been eaten entirelyby the Voultures except theSkin,"according to William Clark (p.98). It isbelieved thatthebirdswere not vultures but condors, now almost extinct. The book is structuredhandily,with exact directions to access the sites, most by water, some only by land.Hay includes cautions and inside knowledge of potential problems or delights of each campsite aswell as historical information surrounding it. Not forgottenarematters such as trailetiquette, safety, navigational information, and distances between sites. A typical sitedescription gives all the data any paddler will require: "Hornstra Beach. Fa cilities:Sandy beach. Activities: Launching only. Restrictions: none. From Cathlamet, proceed 3 miles north onHighway 4 towardSkamokawa to thebridge over theElochoman River.Cross the bridge and turn leftto follow the road 3.5miles to thebeach. This road continues through the JuliaButlerHansen National Wildlife Refuge to Skamokawa" (p. 136). A fewpages earlier, Hay ties the siteto theCorps' visit to the Hunting Islands ? now part of the refuge ? by quoting from a journal entry forNovember 7,1805: "Several Canoes Came allong sidewith Skins, roots,Etc. to Sell, and had a temporary residence on this island,herewe See greatnumbers ofwater fowls about thosemarshey Islands" (p. 132). Such in terestingbits fromLewis's, Clark's, and others' journals greatlyenliven thebook. The book beginswith abrief statementabout theColumbia River and theCorps ofDiscovery. Hay goes on topaint a picture of the lowerCo lumbiaRiver in 1805-1806 and today,describing thenatural and human-made changes.The lower Columbia River consists of complex waterways among numerous islands, large and small.Hay tellsof theCorps' need forassistance from local Indians tofind themain channels through this maze of islands. By using Hay's book, today's paddlerswill easilynavigate thechannels through thepleasant islands. Hikersmay have tousemore imagination and plan a route thatuses the local ferriesand bridges, although some of the sites are accessible only bywater. Reviews 537 Hay concludes with information about the Lower Columbia Water Trail Committee, boat rentals, and how to dispose of trash as well as listsof animals and plants noted by theCorps and GPS navigation figures for the expedition's campsites. Surely thisbook is thebest andmost reliable guide to theLower Columbia that any paddler or hiker could acquire. Book Notes Compiled and written byKen DuBois Beyond Lewis and Clark: The Army Explores the West, by JamesP. Ronda (Washington State Historical Society,Tacoma, 2003. Photographs, illustrations, maps, notes. 128 pages. $14.95 paper.) Based on theexhibition of the same name, James Rondas book uses theLewis and Clark journey as a startingpoint for a discussion of theU.S. Army's nineteenth-century exploration of the West, primarily from 1803 to the late 1870s.The growth of thewestern empire is explained in stories of the soldier-explorers Zebulon Mont gomery Pike, Stephen H. Long, JohnCharles Fremont,William H. Emory, and George M. Wheeler. Seduced by the West: feffersons America and the Lure of theLand beyond the Mississippi, byLaurie Winn Carlson (IvanR. Dee, Chicago, 2003.Maps, notes, index. 238 pages. $26.00 cloth.) Carlson breaks no new ground with her as sertions that Thomas Jeffersonintended the Lewis and Clark Expedition as a means of seizingwestern lands from foreignpowers, but the author then takes...