Packer Meadow, Idaho

Camas blooming in Packer Meadows in 2017.

USFS

Quick Facts

Significance:

Pikee Queenah (Swooping Eagle) guided Meriwether Lewis, William Clark, Sacagawea, and the others in their party past this place in 1805 while traversing Lolo Trail. They camped here and ate camas provided by Nez Perce people.

Designation:

Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail, Nez Perce National Historic Landmark, National Register of Historic Places, Nex Perce-Clearwater National Forests

Amenities

13 listed

Food/Drink - Coffee, Gifts/Souvenirs/Books, Information - Maps Available, Information - Ranger/Staff Member Present, Parking - Auto, Parking - Bus/RV, Picnic Table, Restroom, Restroom - Accessible, Scenic View/Photo Spot, Trailhead, Trash/Litter Receptacles, Wheelchair Accessible

While following Pikee Queenah (Swooping Eagle), their Shoshone guide, on the Lolo Trail in September 1805, Meriwether Lewis, William Clark, and their party came to a broad meadow. John Ordway described it as “an open marshy Swamp which is level and full of Springs.”

They passed the same meadows the following summer, in June 1806. Lewis then wrote, 

at noon we arrived at the quawmas [camas] flatts on the Creek of the same name and halted to graize our horses and dine having traveled 12 miles.  we passed our encampment of the [NB: 13th] of September at 10 ms. where we halted  there is a pretty little plain of about 50 acres plentifully stocked with quawmash and from apperances this fromes one of the principal stages or encampments of the indians who pass the mountains on this road.296 

From the expedition members’ perspective, the marshy swamp had turned into a meadow of camas. But nothing had actually changed in the meadow itself. What had changed was Lewis and Clark’s knowledge about it. During the year between their visit to the site, Nez Perce people had shared with these visitors their knowledge of this meadow and of the camas that grows in it.  

Camas is a plant with an edible root that grows in marshy areas in this mountainous region. For generations, Nez Perce people tended these camas fields to encourage the growth of the nutritious plants.  

It was harvest season when Lewis and Clark passed through in September 1805, and camas was one of the first things that Nez Perce people generously shared with them.  

When Lewis and Clark’s party returned the following June, they arrived just before the camas bloomed. Nez Perce people told them to wait to cross the Rocky Mountains until the snow had melted, but the visitors tried to continue eastward. They turned around in just a few days. For their next attempt, they waited until Nez Perce people said the time was right and paid a Nez Perce man to accompany them.  

For generations, Nez Perce people had traveled the Lolo Trail and stopped at this meadow to harvest camas. They knew the best time of year to travel, and they knew—and cared for—the plants that were edible along the way. They shared their knowledge and foodways with the members of the Lewis and Clark Expedition—and in so doing, they helped them stay alive.  

Camas continues to be an important plant for Nez Perce people and for many other Indigenous communities in this region. 

About this article: This article is part of a series called “Pivotal Places: Stories from the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail.”

Lewis and Clark NHT Visitor Centers and Museums

Visitor Centers (shown in orange), High Potential Historic Sites (shown in black), and Pivotal Places (shown in green) along the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail