Gates of the Mountains beckon hikers

In his journal depicting his party's journey following the Missouri River, hoping for a waterway that would provide ship passage across the new nation, Meriwether Lewis wrote of towering limestone cliffs that, at every turn, seemed to block the group's passage. But time and again, the river would turn through the narrow canyon and the cliffs would appear to open like a gate.

Limestone cliffs in the Gates of the Mountains Wilderness Area in western Montana tower over rivergoers, rising to 1,200 feet. Lewis named the area in his journal when he, William Clark and the party traveling with them entered the area on the evening of July 19, 1805.

The name stuck, and the land was designated a wilderness area as part of U.S. Congressâ Wilderness Act of 1964.

Nearly 30,000 acres are protected in the wilderness area, land filled with breathtaking views and a variety of large bird species and wildlife such as bighorn sheep, mountain lions, otters, deer and even black bear.

River tours of the area have been conducted for more than a century. They were started in 1886, by Nicholas Hilger, an area landowner.

That year, Hilger bought the Rose of Helena, a boat he originally planned to use as transportation for people from the area where he lived to Great Falls, a city nearly 80 miles downstream. His first trip to the city was promising fairly quick and filled with scenic splendor. But after doing battle with the river for nearly two weeks to return from Great Falls with a boat full of passengers and cargo, Hilger changed his plans.

He began conducting boat tours of a shorter, six-mile stretch of the river that best displays the awe and wonder recorded by Lewis in his journal.

The Hilger family still lives near where the boat tours operate and has worked in cooperation with those who operate the tours, providing historical documents and a verbal history.

History is evident in the canyon, in more than the fossilized rocks that can be found in the area.

Pictographs can be seen throughout the impressive canyon, and in several areas, caves in the limestone cliff faces show signs of having been used as temporary shelter by Native American tribes in the area. Although much of what is currently known about the pictographs and caves, scientists travel nearly every summer to the area to gather more information, in hopes of uncovering the meaning of the pictographs and more about those who used the caves.

Hiking and camping opportunities abound on the eastern shores of the Missouri within the wilderness area.

On the boat tour, passengers can disembark for an afternoon hike from Meriwether Picnic Area and take a later boat back to the dock and parking area.

Those with a little more adventure in mind can camp overnight or over several days in the wilderness area, and explore the caves, hunt for fossils or simply enjoy the beauty of the area.

A few swimming holes, out of the strong current of the Missouri, have been staked out at campgrounds, and fishing opportunities abound on the river.

The area is home to more than 120 species of birds and is carpeted by a wide array of flowers such as larkspur, lupine, fairy slippers, dogtooth violets and senecio throughout the summer months.

The towering ponderosa pines dense in the area provide homes and perches for osprey, great horned owls, red-tailed hawks, peregrine falcons, turkey vultures and small squirrels.