NATIONAL FORESTS AS RECREATION GROUNDS 



643 



A Summer Camp. 



AN IDEALLY SITUATED CAMP AMONG THE FINE TREES ON THE CRATER NATIONAL FOREST, OREGON, NEAR BROUS's CABIN. 



THE CAMPING EQUIPMENT WAS TAKEN ON THE WAGON. 



the attractions so lavishly afforded. Of 

 this number no less than 100,000 visit- 

 ed points of interest within the Pike 

 National Forest, in Colorado; 21,000, it 

 is said, entered the Coconino Forest in 

 Arizona, mostly to see the Grand Can- 

 yon within the boundaries of that For- 

 est ; 50,000 people visited the Angeles 

 Forest ; and 20,000 enjoyed the fishing, 

 boating, camping and scenery within 

 the Tahoe Forest, the latter two being 

 in California, while lesser numbers 

 found varied recreation in each of more 

 than 40 other Forests. 



It is the purpose of the National For- 

 ests to place all their resources to their 

 highest use. Scenery is a resource, and 

 often one that can be marred. A moun- 

 tain side swept by fire leaves only the 

 unsightly skeleton of its former glory 

 and becomes a distressing spectacle. 

 The streams, moreover, arising on a 

 fire denuded water shed become erratic ; 



devasting floods carve away their banks 

 and strew the narrow valley bottoms 

 with sand and boulders, only to be 

 quickly followed by periods of unusu- 

 ally low flow ; good fishing declines, and 

 the attractiveness of the country affect- 

 ed is impaired in every way. 



While summer hotels with accom- 

 modations for the most fastidious may 

 be found at rare intervals throughout 

 this vast, mountainous region, the 

 whole country is open to those who en- 

 joy genuine camping in a country brim- 

 ful of interest, grand scenery, and good 

 sport. It appeals especially to the red- 

 blooded American who delights in 

 pitching his tent under the trees on 

 the bank of some swift, clear trout 

 stream lined with picturesque crags 

 amid wild mountains, where the swirl 

 of the racing waters lull him to sleep 

 after a day crowded with interest and 

 activity. 



