THE PLANT WORLD 23 



ing trip, dropped in just before the family retired and entertained those 

 assembled with a description and illustration of the best methods of 

 tying snow-shoes upon the feet. An early start was made the next 

 morning. Before starting, however, the writer was compelled to admire 

 the view of river and forest with the massive bulk of Ktaadn in the 

 background. 



From Harris's Camp to the 4th Carry, made around Pockwockamus 

 Falls, is a distance of about two miles. Abol Dead Water, after Pock- 

 wockamus Carry is passed, presents navigable water to Abol Falls, which 

 are surmounted by a fifth portage. Just above Abol Falls, Abol Stream 

 is passed and our destination by canoe reached, viz., Ktaadn Brook. 

 Here the trail for the southwest slide leaves the river, and we accord- 

 ingly turned the canoe upside down, distributed our provisions and outfit 

 as judiciously as possible, and started for the mountain. 



The trail is easily followed to an abandoned lumber camp (Foster's 

 Camp), but, nevertheless, trees have been blazed to locate it, A stop 

 was made at Foster's Camp for luncheon, which consisted of fresh brook 

 trout, fried in lard, with bread, butter and biscuit, washed down vdth 

 sparkling mountain water. The route from the river to Foster's aban- 

 doned camp lay along the valley of Ktaadn Brook, then up over a ridge 

 through the open forest to another valley filled with huge moss-covered 

 boulders over which we scrambled. The ascent began after we had 

 reached a flat rocky outcrop several miles back in the forest from the old 

 clearing at which we had dined. Soon after leaving the table rock, we 

 came to the foot of the Southwest Slide, where massive boulders and 

 loose sand had accumulated, over which our trail led. Just about sunset, 

 we reached the bark lean-to, high up on the mountain, where we were 

 to spend the night. The bark shack was easily located by a green 

 island of verdure about half way up the Slide, in the midst of the 

 tumbled and confused mass of boulders, soil and stones nearly destitute 

 of vegetation. The lean-to shelter, built against the mountain side near 

 a small stream, was constructed of large slabs of birch bark overlapping 

 like shingles. A large fire was built in front of our abode for the night, 

 and our bedding consisted of the imbricately arranged boughs of the 

 fragrant balsam. 



The next morning, August 1, 1900, we made an early start for the 

 summit of the mountain. Leaving the camp at 5 o'clock, the summit 

 was reached at 9 o'clock, after the roughest kind of climbing up the 

 Slide and across immense rocks piled high along the southern rim of the 

 table-land, just above the "pucker bush," consisting of dwarfed and 

 stunted trees. Crossing the table-land, out of which several springs of 

 cold, limpid water flow, and climbing over the flat slabs of red Ktaadn 

 granite, the summit of the West Peak was reached at an elevation of 



