THE ASCENT OF MOUNT HALCON, 193 



about one-fonrtli of a mile distant and ;iOO feet below. Tlie distance cov- 

 ered in this day was only about one and one-half miles. (_)n November 14 

 the carriers were sent back to the base camp on the Alag River for fur- 

 ther supplies and on this and the following day trails were opened up on 

 the ridge to an altitude of 7,000 feet, and a point at an altitude of 6,300 

 feet was selected for Camp Number Six. 



Trail cutting became progi-essively more laborious as we advanced, 

 because of the increasingly stunted character of the vegetation. No par- 

 ticular difficulties were encountered in the first mile, the trail being opened 

 just below the crest of the ridge, but beyond this point further progress was 

 found to be impossible because of a perpendicular landslide which was in 

 our path, making it necessary for us to force our way through the exceed- 

 ingly dense thickets up a very steep slope to the top of the ridge, the sum- 

 mit of which was attained at an altitude of about 6,650 feet. This ridge 

 was found to slope gradually upward and it varied from 5 to 30 feet in 

 width, in most parts breaking abruptly on both sides in nearly perpendicu- 

 lar slopes. The crest line forest was composed of stunted trees with short, 

 stout trunks and stiff branches, often semiprostrate, and with large spread- 

 ing roots raised more or less above the ground. Intermixed with the trees 

 was a heavy stand of shrubs and bushes, while an abundance of the very 

 spiny rattans, and nearly as spiny smilax, clambering everywhere through 

 the thickets, rendering trail cutting always a difficult operation and fre- 

 quently a painful one as well. Everywhere the ground and the trunks 

 and branches of the trees were covered with thick nuisses of yellow and 

 green moss, filmy ferns, numerous orchids and other epiphytic plants, 

 the ground mat often being one foot or more in thickness, composed of 

 mosses* lichens, ferns and herl^aceous plants. A trail was cleared along 

 this ridge to the foot of the sharp slope at an altitude of about 7,000 feet. 



We had been favored with exceptionally good weather up to this time, 

 only an occasional shower interfering with our progress, causing no 

 greater inconvenience than a more or less thorough wetting of our 

 persons, which was of minor importance as we were wet nearly every 

 day in fording streams. However, on reaching an altitude of 4,500 feet 

 we entered the region of practically constant fogs and rains which made 

 traveling exceedingly unpleasant because of the wet thickets and heavy 

 drip from the leaves even when it was not raining, as well as because of 

 the reduced temperature, the thermometer rarely registering above 60° F. 



We established C-amp Number Six on November 17 at an altitude of 

 6,300 feet at a ])oint previously selected and at a short distance below 

 where our trail ascended to the crest of the ridge. No running water 

 was to be found within a half mile of the camp, but the practically 

 constant rain which prevailed for the thirteen succeeding days rendered 

 the distance from running water of secondary importance. The slopes 

 on the north were very precipitous and in many places entirely denuded 



