Photos

Blodgett Canyon is a beautiful hike up in the Bitterroot foothills. I found this information on the web:

The majestic cliffs of Blodgett Canyon are an everyday scene for people who live in the Bitter Root valley. But now and then a visitor is so captivated by this bit of mountain grandeur, that he is bound to take it home in the only possible way, by camera.

Such was the reaction of a retired forester, Phillip Johnson, of Missoula this past summer. Presenting this writer with this splendid photograph, Johnson asked me where the name of the rock-walled vale and its creek came from.

The name Blodgett was unknown in the Bitter Root's new country until Lyman J. and Mary A. Blodgett moved into the valley's Woodside area north and west of Hamilton. They had traveled by covered wagon with other wagon train emigrant families from the Salt Lake area of Utah in 1867. Lyman Blodgett "took up" homestead land, built a log house and plowed virgin land to become one of the early farmers.

The trek from Utah knew sadness, for a little daughter, Polly, sickened and died and her little grave was made by the wagon trail. In 1872, a 14-year-old daughter, Mary Catherine, died and hers was the first grave in the acre burial ground the father and mother set aside on their homestead. Fenced, the Blodgett Cemetery now has many graves, for the parents and all the 10 sons and daughters and some of their mates are at rest there.

So, Blodgett Canyon stands as a monument to the hardy courage of the two Utah emigrants, Lyman and Mary Blodgett. Aside from its scenic beauty, Blogett Canyon also has been noted for years, for its contribution to scientific research. Valley people feared the area during the scourge of Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever in the early days, but now the canyon provides ticks for further research during the spring and summer months.

It has become a favorite picnic spot for Hamilton people since a road to the mouth was constructed three years ago (1962) and a campground installed by the Trapper Creek Job Corps Center. One of its least known features is a large natural arch of rock several miles into the canyon. The arch is located on the south side of the canyon and reaches upslope for a distance of several hundred yards.

The area also serves as one of the favorite jumping-off spots in the Selway-Bitter Root Wilderness area. The wilderness boundary is located about four miles from the mouth and another four miles westward is Blodgett Pass leading over the divide into Idaho.