JACKSON HOLE, WYO – John Colter was an original mountain man in the truest sense. Period. Hands down. This guy invented rugged.
A few things about Colter are known with relative certainty. He was 5’ 10”. He was born in Virginia, died in Missouri, but no one has exact dates for either.
Colter enlisted with the Lewis and Clark Expedition where he proved to be one of the party’s more skilled hunters and overall outdoorsman. When the trek reached present day North Dakota on its return, and every member of the Corps of Discovery probably eager to get back to civilization, Colter asked for permission to quit the group and head back to the frontier to assist two trappers in need of a guide.
During the years after his time with Lewis and Clark, Colter explored and trapped throughout the Rocky Mountain West from 1806-1810. During this time, he made his famous escape from Blackfeet (Colter’s Run), discovered parts of Yellowstone (Colter’s Hell), and likely became the first white man to lay eyes on Jackson Hole.
All told, in the six years Colter made his home in the Rockies, he routinely traveled hundreds of miles, annually—in winter and with some 40 pounds of gear.
Colter Stone
Sometime around 1933 an Idaho farmer named William Beard and his son discovered a rock carved into the shape of a man’s head while clearing a field in Tetonia, Idaho. The rhyolite lava rock is 13 inches (330 mm) long, 8 inches (200 mm) wide and 4 inches (100 mm) thick and has the words “John Colter” carved on the right side of the face and the number “1808” on the left side and has been dubbed the “Colter Stone”.
The stone was reportedly purchased from the Beards in 1933 by A.C. Lyon, who presented it to Grand Teton National Park in 1934. Fritiof Fryxell, noted mountain climber of numerous Teton Range peaks, geologist and Grand Teton National Park naturalist, concluded that the stone had weathering that indicated that the inscriptions were likely made in the year indicated.
Fryxell also believed that the Beards were not familiar with John Colter or his explorations. The stone has not been authenticated to have been carved by Colter and may have instead been the work of later expeditions, possibly as a hoax, by members of the Hayden Survey in 1877.
If authentic, it represents the only solid proof of the route followed by trapper and explorer John Colter. It would coincide with the period he is known to have been in the region and could prove that he did cross the Teton Range and descend into Idaho, as descriptions he dictated to William Clark indicate.
See the stone, experience history
The Colter Stone will be on display at the Colter Bay Visitor Center beginning today, June 22 through Sunday, July 1. The stone is part of Grand Teton National Park’s museum collection but is housed at the Teton Valley Historical Museum in Driggs, Idaho for most of the year.
The exhibit coincides with the annual John Colter Day on Monday, June 25. Colter explored the vast Yellowstone country during the winter of 1807-1808, and was likely the first Euro-American to travel the region. This marks the 11th year that Grand Teton has offered special presentations to highlight the life of John Colter and the mountain men of the 1800s.
Event highlights
Colter Stone on Display from June 22 – July 1.- June 25, 11:00am – The Story of the Colter Stone, Location: Colter Bay Visitor Center auditorium.
Ranger Naturalist Dan Greenblatt will detail the legend and history of this fascinating artifact.
- June 25, 3:00pm – John Colter: Mountain Man Superhero, Location: Colter Bay Visitor Center auditorium.
Dr. Barbara Mueller, professor of anthropology at Casper College, will discuss the life of John Colter, widely considered to be the first mountain man of the American West.
- June 25, 5:30pm – The Story of Sacagawea, Location: Colter Bay Visitor Center auditorium.
Local author, historian and storyteller, Ken Thomasma, will talk about Sacagawea, a Shoshone woman who accompanied the Lewis and Clark expedition across the western United States from 1804-1806. - June 25, 7:00pm – Mountain Men of Jackson Hole, Location: Colter Bay amphitheater.
Ranger Naturalist Andrew Langford will re-create the rugged life of a mountain man, enduring brutal winters and physical dangers in the unmapped West during the 1800s. - June 25, 9:00pm – Run for Your Life: Then and Now, Location: Colter Bay Visitor Center auditorium.
Dr. Barbara Mueller, professor of anthropology, will discuss historic adventures.
