Let's visit on the Porch II (Bozeman, Helena: home, school, to live)

[MTSilvertip]

Try the Bozeman Trail sometime. The original route as it was being laid out by John Bozeman and a Mountain Man named Jacobs had an idea of where they wanted to go, but 2 men and Jacobs half Indian daughter in the middle of hostile Indian Territory were a little gun shy, so when they encountered the Yellowstone Expedition, (a group of prospectors that ended up finding Alder Gulch), they thought the miners were Indians and ran off ending up following the Musselshell instead of the Yellowstone.

But it's irrelevant because on the one trip Bozeman made guiding a wagon train, Jacobs wasn't with him and he got lost in the rough country south of Billings. The only thing that saved them was they found Jim Bridger's tracks where he was guiding a wagon train on his Yellowstone Trail.
So Bozeman followed that to the Shields River where he knew where he was, so he went west to the Bozeman Pass and Bridger went north and came down Bridger Canyon.

Back then with no roads or bridges or even mile markers, getting from here to there was really rough.

[Reziac]

That's pretty funny. Yeah, that country kinda looks all the same if you don't have any markers. Sometimes they were lucky to make a couple miles a day.

Used to be you could walk or ride the Bozeman Trail, or at least a major stretch of it (tho I never did) -- is that still doable?

[MTSilvertip]

Some of it is. In Montana from Billings to Bozeman it pretty much follows the highway, except the only crossing of the Yellowstone is roughly where Laurel is today. The rest of the road stays on the north side of the Yellowstone.

Once you cross the Bozeman Pass though you go north and go by Green Mountain coming out at the mouth of Kelly Canyon.
Rocky Canyon where the road is today was too narrow and choked with deadfall trees.

Captain Clark of the Corps of Discovery noted the same problem in 1803. Bozeman basically followed Clark's route in reverse over the Pass and then the Yellowstone. Clark was heading east, Bozeman west.

Many roads when they were laid out followed old buffalo or Indian trails as they knew the path of least resistance.

The Bozeman Trail would have run about where Hunter's Hot Springs are as several pioneer journals reference going by the foot of the Great Snowy Mountains. But they didn't know the names of the landmarks, so it's a pretty good guess they're talking about the Crazy Mountains since the Bozeman and Bridger trails both came to the Shields River before they split. And it's easier travel on the flats because down on the river there were swamps and a lot of steep cuts where creeks flow into the river.

[Reziac]

What are now minor paved roads in the Sierra Nevada ... you can tell were originally where some miner led a mule, and over time it just wore into how everybody went. Sometimes really dumb routes that kink and needlessly backtrack, but that's where the original track is so that's where they paved it!

Don't know where Hunter's Hot Spring is??

I wonder where they crossed here at Laurel. Just west of the Hwy212 bridge it's all broad gravel bars and there's a band of riffles that go all the way across, looks like at low water you should be able to walk all the way without getting your powder wet. Conversely just east of the bridge there's a big hole near the boat ramp where it looks like if you stick in a finger, the current will yank you under. Never seen any boats, tho I've seen a guy out there with a snorkel truck, so can't be too deep.

Well, not this big...


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HJGpqRsttf0

[MTSilvertip]

Hunter's Hot Springs is north of Springdale. At one time it was a major stage stop/trading post. It's mentioned in both the Bloody Bozeman and Tough Trip.
In Tough Trip it's noted it's on the main trail east.

I'm not sure exactly where Bridger and Bozeman forded the Yellowstone, but I do know Bozeman came out on the south rims above what's now Billings and followed the rims until he found a way down to the river.
Bridger had already come through and left a trail Bozeman could follow, and the crossing was noted as being very easy.

Bozeman actually only brought 1 wagon train over his trail. All those that followed were guided by other men. The Sioux weren't too happy about it, which brought the Army, the Fetterman massacre, the wagon box fight, and many other battles until the road was closed.

Didn't matter though once gold was found in the Black Hills.

[Reziac]

Huh. This map says he didn't cross the Yellowstone over this way at all, but did cross the Clark Fork somewhere near Silesia. It's not much bigger than the East Gallatin and far as I've seen it from the road, looks like plenty of easy crossings.

https://www.wyohistory.org/sites/def...eman2Large.jpg

I'm between the forks... who knows, maybe he went by my house!

[MTSilvertip]

Originally Posted by Reziac

Huh. This map says he didn't cross the Yellowstone over this way at all, but did cross the Clark Fork somewhere near Silesia. It's not much bigger than the East Gallatin and far as I've seen it from the road, looks like plenty of easy crossings.

https://www.wyohistory.org/sites/def...eman2Large.jpg

I'm between the forks... who knows, maybe he went by my house!

You can read the step by step account in the Bloody Bozeman.

https://www.google.com/search?q=rout...00kX6v1i4FjYmM

This map shows the crossing further west.
One thing about it, you can't get from Wyoming to Bozeman without crossing the Yellowstone.

[Reziac]

Yeah, would be tough to reach Bozeman without crossing it somewhere, or going the very long way around! So probably crossed the actual Yellowstone River where it's more wide and flat at Livingston. Not so hard a crossing in late summer, likely when he'd get there if he left points east after spring thaw dried up. I've walked across the West Gallatin that time of year without getting my knees wet.

Ooh, documentary, tho I'll have to watch it later:

https://www.montanapbs.org/programs/BozemanTrail/

I found a copy of The Bloody Bozeman (...I needed more books...) but haven't had time-and-brain to do a sit-down with it yet.

[MTSilvertip]

Thats a good one.

They put Bridger's crossing a lot closer to Big Timber, but they don't specifically note where it was. Still, it's a very good rendition of the history.

[Reziac]

Need to teach these trailblazers to leave more trail markers, durn it! How the heck are we come-latelies supposed to follow in their footsteps??

No, "third bison on the left" is not a trail marker!! :P