274 TRANS. OF THE ACAD. OP SCIENCE. 



14th of June. In order to devote as much of daylight as pos- 

 sible to the severe labor of accomplishing the ascent, which 

 would need to be comprised within a single day's journey, 

 we started with a pack animal on the afternoon of June 13th, 

 and camped at the head of a small grassy valley where the 

 heavy timber growth commences, having an elevation of 

 9,346 feet. 



On the following morning we started at daylight, 

 passing nearly due west over ridge and vale, through 

 deep pine woods and intervening swells, encountering here 

 and there masses of fallen timber, and again threading our 

 way through dreary stretches of burned woods, rarely get- 

 ting a near view of the snowy range which we were aiming 

 to reach. Soon, occasional patches of snow lay along our 

 path, rapidly melting under the warm rays of a summer sun ; 

 then, still farther on, continuous snow banks, in which the 

 alpine forests were deeply imbedded, occupied our path, for- 

 cing us to make short turns to avoid heavy drifts, and occa- 

 sionally requiring fatiguing efforts to extricate ourselves from 

 sudden plunges into treacherous holes. Meanwhile our route 

 was somewhat enlivened by the discovery of beautiful, clear, 

 alpine lakes, bordered by sheets of ice, and reflecting from 

 the clear waters the sombre forests of spruce by which they 

 were surrounded. On one of these lakes, to the great delight 

 of my zoological companion, an arctic loon was quietly sleep- 

 ing. Still working our way westward, we encountered tor- 

 rents of water, derived from melted snow, dashing and foam- 

 ing over icy beds : across these we were forced to pick our 

 way, glad to avail ourselves of a fallen tree, or slippery snag, 

 to save a plunge into its chilly waters. Farther on, the un- 

 mistakable characteristic of an approach to that marked line, 

 which terminates the growth of trees, is apparent; the coun- 

 try opens up ; the bare snowy range stands before us in bold 

 outline, and then commences the steep slope that leads di- 

 rectly to the snowy crest. Our observations here show a 

 timber line considerably lower than that noted farther south, 

 being here 11,325 feet above the sea level. 



From this point, a steady and continuous climb calls out 

 all our nervous and muscular energies. The wintry summer 

 has not yet had time to unfold her floral beauties, and animal 

 life is scantily represented by the Rocky Mountain ptarmi- 

 gan, now just exchanging its garb of winter white for the 

 mottled colors of summer. Occasionally, from an area of 

 rough rocks, the mountain badger shuffles over sheets of snow 

 to reach some more secure retreat, while here and there the 

 diminutive Alpine hare utters his sharp bark. Slowly and 

 steadily we move on toward the highest point, which almost 

 seems to recede from our advance; but finally the last steep 

 ascent is gained, and we stand on the narrow crest overlook- 

 ing a vast scope of country. 



