The passage through the Lolo Trail was not easy for the nimíipuu either.

The trail demanded sustained physical effort over many days.

People who were already carrying the stress of the crisis in Idaho, who had been moving since the violence of early June, who were managing the full range of human needs for hundreds of people — these people crossed one of the more difficult mountain routes in North America while ahead of an army.

When they emerged on the Montana side, they encountered the military attempt to block them — the log barrier that became known as Fort Fizzle.