In the summer of 1806, Meriwether Lewis passed this way as the Corps of Discovery traveled east from its winter on the Pacific Ocean. Near present-day Lolo, Montana, at Travelers' Rest, co-commanders William Clark and Meriwether Lewis divided the Corps into two groups to explore more country before returning to the United States. On July 3, 1806, Lewis and a party of nine men set out for the Missouri River, and after consulting Nez Perce guides about the Road to the Buffalo, followed the ancient trail across the Continental Divide. Traveling east along the Blackfoot River on July 6, they followed deep ruts made by generations of Indian hunters and their travois, then took the track along Alice Creek to the foot of the mountains. On July 7, Lewis reached the top of Lewis and Clark Pass and wrote that they were passing the dividing ridge between the waters of the Columbia and Missouri rivers. From the gap he recognized Fort Mountain, now called Square Butte, the first landmark he had known since leaving Travelers' Rest, confirming that they had returned to familiar territory and were well on their way home. The two contingents reunited on August 12, 1806, near the confluence of the Yellowstone and Missouri Rivers in southeastern Montana, where Clark learned that Lewis had been accidentally shot the previous day by one of his own men.