John Colter was one of the members of the Corps of Discovery from 1803-1806. On the return trip from the Pacific Ocean in 1806, he asked permission from Captains Lewis and Clark to leave the expedition to pursue his fortune in the Western mountains as a trapper. Because of his excellent service record, the Captains granted his wish. Colter is generally considered the first white man to view the wonders of what is now Yellowstone Park. When he returned to the St. Louis, Missouri area and described the geysers and bubbling mud found there, he was considered to be crazy. After a brief stay near St. Louis, he again returned West.

During one of his forays into Blackfoot Indian country, he was captured by a group of braves who, after having killed Colter's partner, stripped the trapper naked and told him to run for his life. Giving him a head start, a group of them pursued him on foot. Colter outdistanced all but two of the braves and after a run of many miles turned on his two remaining pursuers. He managed to wrestle a lance away from the first brave and killed him. The second brave abandoned his pursuit.

Colter then ran to the river and jumped in, eluding capture by the remaining braves by hiding in the reeds. He emerged and walked for many days to the nearest trading fort where he was eventually recovered and returned to the West to continue trapping.

John Colter eventually married and settled on a farm near Miller's Crossing, now known as New Haven, Missouri about forty miles west of St. Louis. He enlisted in the army and was killed in 1812. His grave is said to be on an unknown bluff overlooking the Missouri River near New Haven.

The Flight of Discovery's "Colter Runs" honor the memory of all men and women, young and old whose foot falls stirred the dust of western trails.