In the Heart of the Bitterroot Mountains: The Story of the Carlin Hunting Party of 1893: A 100-Year-Old True Story of Adventure, Tribulation and Tragedy

Late September 1893, three adventurous easterners, a guide, and their camp cook followed Idaho's Lolo Trail into the Bitterroot Mountains in pursuit of big game. Leaving the high country, the men made camp on the banks of the Lochsa River and began hunting in heavy rain. Two months later, exhausted and nearing starvation, most, but not all, of the party emerged from the rugged river canyon and were rescued by a military search party near what is now Lowell, Idaho. This book is the true story of the travails of the Carlin Hunting Party of 1893 and includes extensive excerpts from Will Carlin's diary, historical newspaper accounts of the day, and appendices providing additional background information. The book tells an extraordinary wilderness adventure-turned-tragedy which has become one of the most controversial and frequently retold true tales of desperation to ever resound from within the heart of the Bitterroot Mountains.

Abe Himmelwright was one of the three hunters on the ill-fated trip and published his account of the adventure in 1895.