The Lewis and Clark Challenge

[slimster]

A mighty wizard takes a shine to you and offers you a challenge with great risk,but even greater reward. The challenge involves being transported back in time to the mouth of the Columbia River on the Pacific Ocean in the year 1800. You will be required to backtrack, along the same route that the Lewis and Clark Expedition will take in four years, to St. Louis Mo. You will be equipped with one good horse; one compass; one map; one Win. 94 carbine in .30-30, with 60 rounds of 170 grain ammo; one Colt S.A.A. in .45 Colt with 100 rds. of 255 gr. ammo; one 8'x10' waterproof hvy. canvass tarp; one hvy. wool blanket; 200 waterproof matches, with a flint and steel for back-up; one 2qt. canteen full of water and a 2 gal. water can also full; 5 lbs. of bacon; 5 lbs. of beans; 5 lbs. of flour; 2 lbs. of coffee; 1 lb. of sugar; and 1/2 lb. of salt. Every 300 miles, you will find a supply stash with the same amounts of foodstuff, ammo and matches only. You may augment your larder as your woodscraft permits, and all water you come across can be consumed safely. You will not encounter any other humans in route, nor will you suffer any life threatening illnesses or "act of God" type injuries, although you will remain succeptible to injuries or even death due to carelessness or wildlife attack. You may carry additional equipment with you, i.e. fishing equipment, sunglasses, camera,alcoholic beverages (for medicinal use, of course) cooking utensils, etc. but remember, you will have to transport it. Items that require electricity or other fuel are not allowed. NO ADDITIONAL WEAPONS OR WEAPON SUBSTITUTIONS ARE ALLOWED! However you will be allowed to transport an animal companion along with you, (a fav. dog, a special breed just for the trip, a cat(for Joe), or whatever). You will supply your own clothing. The trip will begin in the middle of March. There is no time limit, other than the max. amount of time you can stretch provisions between supply sites, and the fact that winter will come again. If you successfully complete the challenge, the wizard will reward you with $2,000, 037.43 after taxes. (hey, everybody knows wizards are odd!) Would you accept this challenge? Are the terms too tough/easy? What animal companion and other gear would you take along? Am I forgetting or leaving out anything? Good luck!

[zack coyote]

I think my animal companion better be Mule to carry all that stuff.

[Booger Bill]

Whats the purpose of the winchester and colt? They are neither of that period or contemperary now. However they are a pretty good choice in this day and age. I dont think lewis & clark even had a map. In this day and age I belive you would be out of luck unless you poached. Various local LEO would likely drop a net on you occasionaly. How deep are we going to get in this? Are we useing available bridges over the mississippi and missouri rivers etc? Can I steal chickens?
All kidding aside, I have been dreaming of doing a quad ride straight across the western states, say from eastern colorado to the western slope of the sierras or the northern california or oregon coast. It would be feasable through utah and nevada. Probley california would be a issue. With carefull planning I could go from where I live here in utah and probley only cross about four paved highways to the reno area. 90% of the trip would be on BLM land. However going east its all private land or public highways.
Your ideas biggest problem would simply be dealing with private land owners. And when you werent, dealing with small town reporters where ever you went. A few years ago I seen in california, a nut pushing a brass bed on highway 58 near tehatchipi! Dont know what his trip was!

[pokey]

saddle, tack?

i live in the country you're wizard is gonna plop you into.
mid march is gonna be a soggy, chilly, tough/thick first hundred miles. up stream.

i'll go, when do we start?

[J Miller]

A mighty wizard takes a shine to you and offers you a challenge with great risk,but even greater reward. The challenge involves being transported back in time to the mouth of the Columbia River on the Pacific Ocean in the year 1800. You will be required to backtrack, along the same route that the Lewis and Clark Expedition will take in four years, to St. Louis Mo. You will be equipped with one good horse; one compass; one map; one Win. 94 carbine in .30-30, with 60 rounds of 170 grain ammo; one Colt S.A.A. in .45 Colt with 100 rds. of 255 gr. ammo; one 8'x10' waterproof hvy. canvass tarp; one hvy. wool blanket; 200 waterproof matches, with a flint and steel for back-up; one 2qt. canteen full of water and a 2 gal. water can also full; 5 lbs. of bacon; 5 lbs. of beans; 5 lbs. of flour; 2 lbs. of coffee; 1 lb. of sugar; and 1/2 lb. of salt. Every 300 miles, you will find a supply stash with the same amounts of foodstuff, ammo and matches only. You may augment your larder as your woodscraft permits, and all water you come across can be consumed safely. You will not encounter any other humans in route, nor will you suffer any life threatening illnesses or "act of God" type injuries, although you will remain succeptible to injuries or even death due to carelessness or wildlife attack. You may carry additional equipment with you, i.e. fishing equipment, sunglasses, camera,alcoholic beverages (for medicinal use, of course) cooking utensils, etc. but remember, you will have to transport it. Items that require electricity or other fuel are not allowed. NO ADDITIONAL WEAPONS OR WEAPON SUBSTITUTIONS ARE ALLOWED! However you will be allowed to transport an animal companion along with you, (a fav. dog, a special breed just for the trip, a cat(for Joe), or whatever). You will supply your own clothing. The trip will begin in the middle of March. There is no time limit, other than the max. amount of time you can stretch provisions between supply sites, and the fact that winter will come again. If you successfully complete the challenge, the wizard will reward you with $2,000, 037.43 after taxes. (hey, everybody knows wizards are odd!) Would you accept this challenge? Are the terms too tough/easy? What animal companion and other gear would you take along? Am I forgetting or leaving out anything? Good luck!

Wow, am I that well known????

Ok, First I'll need a pack mule to transport my equipment. I'd prefer 150gr 30-30 ammo and 265gr Keith SWCs, but I can deal with the other bullet weights and styles if I have to. I'd be taking some reloading equipment and components with me. Since I'll not run into any humans that means the animal predators will not be controlled and 160 rounds may or may not be enough. It also means if I miss the resupply point I'm gonna be hurting till the next one, so I want a bit of insurance.
Now, I'd also want to choose my own guns, ones I'm familiar with and trust. And I'd want some spare parts as well since Colts do have flat springs and there are some parts in a Win 94 I just like to have extras of. Those and a simple tool kit would fit in my reloading kit.
Extra clothing and a good first aid kit would be mandatory. And I doubt there's any guarantee of no life threatening illnesses or injuries so we'll just have to take our chances on that one.

OK, that's all I can think of right now. I'm in.



Joe

[AJMD429]

If it were really 1800, the 'gun laws' wouldn't be an issue, and the advantage of 'futuristic' firearms would be good from a practical standpint, plus to 'impress the indiginous population', much as they did with their high-capacity air-rifle.

I'd mostly be interested in the basics; water, food, shelter, and defense - all seem adequately provided by the setup of the 'challenge'.

Here's the BEST book about that expedition, in my opinion. . .

http://www.amazon.ca/Sign-Talker-Advent ... 12-5176250



P.S. I agree about the MULE....

[Griff]

Yep, and a mule for my animal companion also. But I want more ammo.

[bigbore442001]

A big bottle of Aleve liquid gel capsule pain relievers.

Don't laugh, when I was less attached in life I contemplated something similar. I sort of planned out a canoe trip down the Missouri River. It has been done a number of times and some people have written guides on the Missouri River but it would have been neat to do for a summer.

[Old Ironsights]

A big bottle of Aleve liquid gel capsule pain relievers.

Don't laugh, when I was less attached in life I contemplated something similar. I sort of planned out a canoe trip down the Missouri River. It has been done a number of times and some people have written guides on the Missouri River but it would have been neat to do for a summer.

Beyond the Mule? Yeah, I agree here. A big bottle of NSAIDs PLUS a full level III Paramedic/Trauma kit, including Pharma grade Cocaine/topical anesthetic Morphine, Epinephrine etc, etc...

[J Miller]

I just thought of something. What about shoes, nails, a hammer and rasp for taking care of the horse and mule? No people on the route means no black smiths.
You'd also need to add some anti-bios and horse lineament too.

Oh, and one more thought. Personally I'd rather have my carbine and revolver be the same caliber. That would simplify things immensely. Just my thoughts.

Joe

[slimster]

Great responses so far guys. Thanks. I put a bit of thought into things, and I did want to make it a bit of a challenging adventure, rather than a leisurely vacation. I did forget to add that for those of us,(myself included) that are, um shall we say, past our prime, we would be restored to our youthful vigor for the extent of the trip. But hey, the wiz is a reasonable guy, and a sturdy pack mule is now included, without losing the spot for a faithful companion. Yes Joe, most of us know that you love your cats. One of my main motives was to see how many here would trust thier life and limb to the .30-30 and .45 Colt combo when big bears would be on the agenda. I kinda was trying to figure on a minimum that I would settle for on such a trip. I'd definitely want a good dog along to have his senses in that regard too. Oh yeah, he's a powerful wizard- that's why he can guarantee the illness and natural disaster free deal. You have to rely on your own ends for the rest. In re. the ammo, I personally figured I would feel ok about 60/100 rounds every 300 miles, but ya'll got me thinking now. How many belligerant grizzlys do you think one would run into in a 300 mile stretch at that time and place? But hey, I'm willing to take on a little bit of risk for 2 million bucks! And I hear ya on the asprin!

[J Miller]

Slimster,

Back in 1800 you'd run into a lot of the big bears in that area. As the calibers the 30-30 and 45 Colt would be fine. But I think one of us at least would simplify things and bring a rifle handgun combo in the same caliber.

And if my youth and vigor was restored for this adventure, I'd much rather keep that than have the $2,000,000 bucks. I'm just saying ...

Joe

[slimster]

And if my youth and vigor was restored for this adventure, I'd much rather keep that than have the $2,000,000 bucks. I'm just saying ...

Danged if I don't agree with you there. Yeah you might see quite a few, but do you think they would all be lookin' for a fight? I sure wouldn't be looking to start one.

[Doc Hudson]

No knife?
No axe?
No Thanks!!!!

Without a knife or to you can't butcher the game you kill, and without an ace you can't build a Winter shelter, and ood cutting would be a eal pain.
A pack horse would be mighty useful as well.

[rjohns94]

I recently completed a book about a guy who walked from the tex-mex boarder to NYC, in 2001 , with a mule. Since I happen to be mule owner, I would skip the horse for me and I would walk, and "Samule" (my mule) would pack. We do this often already. I take him out around a reservoir where we have 60 miles of trails and where I can hunt in the fall and winter, and fish all year round. He hauls all the gear, including his feed. He makes for a great camp mate and does not snore too loud. The winter months are the main concern, and lots of equipment would have to be added like snow shoes, blankets, heavy clothes, extra feed for the mule. If it was allowed, i would take Sammy on any or all of the major cross country trails. When I next retire, I plan to some of the great trails while walking/hiking. I will start with the appalacian trail in the east and finish out west on the pacific coast trail. One of my things left on my bucket list is to walk across the country. I plan to do it mostly on trails. Unfortunately, many don't allow the pack animals. In the book I read, the guy walked along the highway. I would like to do the trail of tears with Samule. I'm hoping and looking forward to 2014.


SAMULE::

[Rimfire McNutjob]

There should be a special "hardcore" category where entrant is armed with a .40 air rifle in lieu of the firearms.

[Buck Elliott]

Stayed up all night, complicating that little scenario together, didn't ya, slimster...?

The "mountain man" thread pretty well lines out the possibilities of such a situation, minus the "Wizard" factor, of course.

Sometimes, even "wizards" need to be told where to get off!

[jcw]

No knife?
No axe?
No Thanks!!!!

Without a knife or to you can't butcher the game you kill, and without an ace you can't build a Winter shelter, and ood cutting would be a eal pain.
A pack horse would be mighty useful as well.

My first thoughts exactly. Is a knife and axe equipment or weapon?

[J Miller]

No knife?
No axe?
No Thanks!!!!

Without a knife or to you can't butcher the game you kill, and without an ace you can't build a Winter shelter, and ood cutting would be a eal pain.
A pack horse would be mighty useful as well.

My first thoughts exactly. Is a knife and axe equipment or weapon?

A knife and an axe "can" be used as a weapon, but I consider them primarily camp and survival equipment. They ARE a must have.

Joe

[Malamute]

Sounds interesting. I'd go. I'd take a horse and dog.

I think I'd be leaving the majority of the 45 Colt ammo behind. I doubt you'd shoot a full box in the whole trip unless you got in a jam with Indians, even then, the rifle would be more useful. I'd prefer the 30 WCF to anything available in both rifle and pistol. It gives much more usable range, and the ammo is lighter. Some small game loads for the rifle would be nice. I wouldnt bother with reloading, particularly if there's resupply points along the way. Not much reason to. With a horse you could likley carry enough ammo for the entire trip easily. 50 rds pistol ammo, and 200 rds rifle ammo would probably do for a year or two. If small game rounds were available, I'd take 100 of them, and lose 50 of the regular loads for a full loadout, IE 150 full power, 100 small game, 50 pistol rds.

As I recall, the early mountain men supplied themselves with enough powder, caps and lead for 100 rounds. That was considered enough for a year, including crossing the plains from the Rockies to St Louis and back. I would guess 200 rds for the rifle would be way plenty for the trip.

[2X22]

2lbs of coffee?

Huh uh, not me. Multiply that by 5 and have that available at each 'station', then I'd start giving it serious thought................

2x22

[brno602]

Well I am thinking David Tompson if you live where I do that is! But as to your challange I will take it and be done in four months in todays time as many bridges too cross lol, but if done today it would be no problem my horse and I would just cross the bridge and keep walking no Indians to fear, the Grizz is long gone, all I guess I would need is a good 9mm or 45 for self defence a thing your country still believes in! (God bless America!)
Something my country does not!
I hate to say it but it would be so easy today just to walk down the Hi Way, and finish the route they took!
But in their day it was a different story and I admire them.
Heck how do you think the gal at Mc Donaldsl drive through will act when you ride up on your horse and say I would like a Big Mac fries and 5lbs of Greens for my horse? Lol.
This post is all in fun.
But mostly based on facs.?
L&C had a hard time so did their northern cousins, but now just follow the Road.They made it so easy for us but in their time it was hell never knew what was around the next bend in the river.
Ah dam I did it again I did the there their and ther? and what ever wrong again! I hate that word so much!

[2ndovc]

I'll trade you the coffee for a couple jugs of whiskey!

I have no problems with a .30-30 Winchester and a .45 Colt
A good horse,(My ole rock solid Standard Bred Suzy, she was the best) and a dog.
Choosing from the current herd I'd take my Great Dane Lucy.
She's a great guard and watch dog. When she lets out one of those big, low whoofs not much
hangs around.
The Lab and Boxer are too old and the little Jack Russell is just too small to keep up for long.

I just finished "Undaunted Courage" a story of Lewis and Clark, by Steven Ambrose.
What an amazing journey.

One thing that really cought my attention.
The most dangerous thing in Ohio in 1804 was
Malaria....


jb

[slimster]

Stayed up all night, complicating that little scenario together, didn't ya, slimster...?

The "mountain man" thread pretty well lines out the possibilities of such a situation, minus the "Wizard" factor, of course.

Sometimes, even "wizards" need to be told where to get off!

Danged ol' Wizard!

No knife?
No axe?
No Thanks!!!!

Without a knife or to you can't butcher the game you kill, and without an ace you can't build a Winter shelter, and ood cutting would be a eal pain.
A pack horse would be mighty useful as well.

My first thoughts exactly. Is a knife and axe equipment or weapon?

Yeah, I guess I took the knife thing for granted, but I was wondering who would elect to take an axe. Anyway, that stuff is definitly in the "equipment" category.

[J Miller]

Stayed up all night, complicating that little scenario together, didn't ya, slimster...?

The "mountain man" thread pretty well lines out the possibilities of such a situation, minus the "Wizard" factor, of course.

Sometimes, even "wizards" need to be told where to get off!

Danged ol' Wizard!

No knife?
No axe?
No Thanks!!!!

Without a knife or to you can't butcher the game you kill, and without an ace you can't build a Winter shelter, and ood cutting would be a eal pain.
A pack horse would be mighty useful as well.

My first thoughts exactly. Is a knife and axe equipment or weapon?

Yeah, I guess I took the knife thing for granted, but I was wondering who would elect to take an axe. Anyway, that stuff is definitly in the "equipment" category.

I knife is good for hunting chores and some small camp work, but for the really heavy chopping, firewood, frame for a lean too you need the axe. Yes, I'd take a good axe with me.

Joe

[Buck Elliott]

Yeah, and a double-bitted axe at that... A good axe man at work is an amazing sight for the uninitiated...

[Bogie35]

I would try it. But in all honesty, I would probably be dead before I reached the first supply stash.

bogie