They hated the rain. There wasn’t enough sunshine. Everybody wanted to hug.

We’re not talking about your east coast friends who just moved to Portland, we’re talking about legendary explorers Meriwether Lewis and William Clark, who spent one miserable winter in the Pacific Northwest before making a desperate flight upriver.

On this week’s episode of the Peak Northwest podcast, we talk to Jill Harding, visitor services program manager at Lewis and Clark National Historical Park, about the Lewis and Clark Expedition’s famous stay on the lower Columbia River. Like many new residents, they learned firsthand just how tough a Northwest winter can be.

Here are some highlights from this week’s show:

• How joy turned to misery almost immediately.
• The expedition was well equipped for the journey — just not for the Northwest.
• The famous story of the stolen canoe.
• Why you should visit Lewis and Clark National Historical Park today.

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