Each year on Big Blend Radio’s ABC's of Horses podcast, Christy Wood catches us up on her Chief Joseph Trail Ride experience — a progressive, thirteen-year journey on horseback that retraces, as closely as possible, the route Chief Joseph and the Nez Perce took in 1877 while attempting to escape the U.S. Cavalry. An initiated by the Appaloosa Horse Club, the ride covers roughly 100 miles a year, with riders returning each summer to pick up where the group left off.
Listen to the podcast episode below:
This year's conversation includes fellow rider Stephanie Callahan Clark, who has ridden the trail alongside Christy for the past three years, joining her for a look back at the year's crossing — the terrain, the wildlife, the camp community, and what it takes to prepare a horse and rider for that kind of country.
About the trail: The Nez Perce National Historic Trail spans roughly 1,170 miles across Oregon, Idaho, Wyoming, and Montana, connecting 38 sites that commemorate the Nez Perce's attempt to escape capture in 1877. Established in 1986 under the National Trails System Act, it's managed by the U.S. Forest Service, with many sites part of the National Park Service's Nez Perce National Historical Park.
Chief Joseph and his family (circa 1880)
About Chief Joseph: Chief Joseph led the Wallowa band of the Nez Perce after succeeding his father as chief, guiding his people during their forced removal from their homeland in Oregon's Wallowa Valley. His words at the end of the 1877 conflict remain one of the most quoted moments in American history:
“I am tired of fighting. Our chiefs are killed. Looking Glass is dead. Toohoolhoolzote is dead. The old men are all dead. It is the young men who say, “Yes” or “No.” He who led the young men [Olikut] is dead. It is cold, and we have no blankets. The little children are freezing to death. My people, some of them, have run away to the hills, and have no blankets, no food. No one knows where they are — perhaps freezing to death. I want to have time to look for my children, and see how many of them I can find. Maybe I shall find them among the dead. Hear me, my chiefs! I am tired. My heart is sick and sad. From where the sun now stands I will fight no more forever.” Chief Joseph
Map showing the flight of the Nez Perce (1887)
2027 marks the 150th anniversary of Chief Joseph's flight — expect larger commemorations along the trail, including a planned parade into West Yellowstone at the close of next year's ride.
Christy is also the author of “Hoofprints Across Time: A Trail Ride to Remember.” Learn more at WDNHorse.com
Watch the video below and listen to the archive of annual Big Blend Radio interviews covering the Chief Joseph Trail Ride in this YouTube Playlist.
Learn more about the ride itself at ChiefJosephTrailRide.org.
Have a Question for Christy? Ask us on our Contact Page.