532 



AMERICAN FORESTRY 



this can be done is in Mount Rainier National Park. 

 There is a highway leading out of Taconia which ( it 

 must be stated, lest another feud be started, leads also 

 from Seattle) passes through a forest of Oregon pine 

 that is unsurpassed on any motor hig'hway in the world. 

 This road enters the Park almost exactly at its south- 

 western corner and traverses a mile or so of the Park and 

 then runs out 

 and in again 

 for another 

 two miles, 

 finally entering 

 the Park about 

 a mile from 

 L o n g m i r e 

 Springs. 

 From here on 

 it follows the 

 N i s q u a 1 1 y , 

 climbing 

 through a dif- 

 ference in ele- 

 vation of 1500 

 feet to within 

 a few hundred 

 yards of the 

 snout of the 

 N i s q u a 1 1 y 

 Glacier. 



The appear- 

 ance of this 

 portion of the 

 glacier is quite 

 disillusion- 

 ing, for the 

 lower end of 

 the ■■ river of 

 ice " is covered 

 with dirt and 

 disintegrated 

 stone so that it 

 is hardly recog- 

 nizable as snow 

 and ice. From 

 this point the 

 road swings 

 around the ex- 

 ceedingly steep wall of the canyon to Ricksecker Point. 

 For a half mile around this point the view is stupendous. 

 The Tatoosh range of mountains is just across the can- 

 yon, into which it casts the purple shadows of its jagged 

 peaks. From Ricksecker Point the road climbs steadily 

 through a vertical distance of 1500 feet to Reese's Camp 

 in Paradise Valley. Every turn of the road displays to 

 view some new and startling formation of the Tatoosh 

 range as well as intimate peeps of the glaciers on the 

 mountain slope. 



Whoever named Paradise \'alley did so, I am cer- 

 tain, with no intent to exaggerate. It is a fairly open 

 stretch of grass-covered land, perhaps a mile and a half 



JOY SLIDING O.X AX .\UGUST DAY. RAI.MER NATIONAL PARK 



Strangely enough, there is only a slight accumulation of moisture in the clothing when this form of pastime is engaged 

 in. Such times, however, are infrequent, for the minds of even the hardiest of mountain climbers are fully occupied 

 with the problems of the ascent. The snow, in almost every instance, is quite dry and extends temptations to sport 

 lovers but their joy is generally short-lived. 



in length, strewn with the most marvellous variety of 

 wild flowers imaginable. With the sparkling white snow 

 and ice in the background, the kaleidoscopic colors of this 

 little valley and its surrounding slopes present a picture 

 in color harmony that would test the versatility of a 

 Brangwyn. Surrounding this wonderful place are a 

 great number of spots almost equally beautiful though 



less aptly 

 named. There 

 IS a small creek 

 called Edith 

 Creek, a beauti- 

 ful miniature 

 plateau called 

 Frog Heaven, 

 S t e \' e n s 

 Glacier, and, 

 as might be ex- 

 pected, another 

 of the innum- 

 erable Louise 

 Lakes. I have 

 never checked 

 it up, but I 

 doubt if there 

 is a picturesque 

 spot equal in 

 area to Mount 

 Rainier N a- 

 tional Park 

 which has not a 

 Louise or 

 Eleanor Lake. 

 In the case of 

 Glacier Na- 

 tional Park the 

 committee on 

 names varied 

 their nomencla- 

 ture applied to 

 the category of 

 beautiful lakes 

 to such an ex- 

 tent as to call 

 one of the lakes 

 ■■ Lake Ellen 

 \\'ilson." What 

 ingeniousness ! ^^'hat wonderful imagery ! We an. truly 

 coming on apace. It only remains to change the name, in 

 honor of our coal barons, from Tatoosh Range to Gas 

 Range to show the world that we are a truly modern 

 people, up to all of the little tricks of the trade that sub- 

 stantiate our claims for a high position amongst the 

 nations of higher civilization. 



I'll fortunately, the automobile cannot carry the tourist 

 further into the Park than Paradise Valley, which is 

 really just over the line. From this point, to and through 

 200,000 acres beyond, one must travel afoot or horse- 

 back. Congress has been, for once, more or less justified 

 in displaying a " reasonable "' amount of reticence over 



