Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/610464
Highway 12 winds around the Nez Perce Reservation before following the Lochsa River northeast up to Lolo Pass. Backpackers seeking space and solitude explore the nearby Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness. Motorcyclists cruise beneath towering spruces, the wind in their faces. Determined bicyclists pedal doggedly along this stretch of the northern cross-country route. NEZ PERCE HISTORY Historically, the Nez Perce lived in more than 100 villages of 50 to 600 people throughout the northwest in Wash- ington, Oregon, Idaho and Montana. ese days the Nez Perce National Historical Park, run by the National Park Service in partnership with the tribe, consists of 38 im- portant sites spread out over those four states. Sites com- memorate early villages, battles, Christian missions, and the legends of Coyote and his animal contemporaries. " ose important sites on the landscape are remind- ers to us of our Indian laws that defi ne our existence on this land," explained Nakia Williamson, director of the Nez Perce tribe cultural resource program. "We see them as kind of a larger functioning landscape, not as in- dividual places." To get an overview of the historical park, we stopped by the visitor center at Lapwai, which houses books, records, documents and oral histories of the Nez Perce. An inspir- ing collection of artifacts includes cornhusk bags and the beadwork for which the tribe is famous, along with cer- emonial buckskin dresses—decorated with shells, thim- bles, beads and elk teeth—passed down for generations. e Nez Perce regard these handmade cra items as im- bued with energy. I caught a whisper of this feeling in the presence of their precious objects. HIKING IDAHO My boyfriend counts himself among the solitude-seekers of the Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness; he's all about unpeo- pled trails, so he took the lead on this aspect of our trip. We're partial to alpine lakes, so we endured 15 miles of gravel fi re roads to reach the trailhead of a 12-mile round-trip hike to Wind Lakes. e parking lot was ut- terly deserted, and I suddenly became acutely aware of being closer to bears, wolves and mountain lions than to a cell tower, which was both thrilling and intimidating. e hike was stunning. We set off through meadows of wildfl owers, the sun warm on our heads, and saw not one other human the entire time. We didn't see any predators either, but our pup Rudy stayed between us on the trail instead of darting off as he usually does. I suspected he picked up the scent of something that could have eaten us for dinner. Since the trail required 20 stream crossings, I got lots of practice on one of my more feared hiking activities— crossing icy, fast-moving water. My new trekking poles were a huge help, and each crossing boosted my confi - dence. e lakes at the end of the trail had lovely moun- tain views, and except for the droves of mosquitos, it was just about perfect. On other days, shorter hikes took us to hot springs. Weir Hot Springs is a single small pool, set high up a Phots: Teresa Bergen december/january 2016 29