THE MOUNTAINEER 



LIBRARY 

 NEW YORK 

 BOTANICAL 



Vol. I Seattle, Washington, November, 19O8. No. 4 QARDbN. 



WITH THE MOUNTAINEERS ON MT. BAKER. 



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LuLiE Nettleton, Historian. 



"Ho for Mt. Baker !" was the slogan sounding in 

 the hearts of a band of Mountaineers, gathered at the 

 Great Northern station on the afternoon of July 18, 

 1908. 



A brave little army we were, half a hundred strong, 

 bristling with alpenstocks, laden with knapsacks and 

 other paraphernalia necessary for a strenuous two weeks 

 in mountaineering. 



We were embarking upon a most ambitious under- 

 taking, for our objective point Mt. Baker, or Kulshan 

 the Great White Watcher of Indian lore, had for years, 

 wrapped its robe of clouds about its majestic head and 

 defied the attempts of climbing clubs to scale its summit. 

 Its difficulty of approach, the number and depth of its 

 crevasses, its treacherous sliding rock, and all convened 

 to discourage ascents. 



In May of 1908 the club had sent out the very 

 capable Outing Committee, consisting of Asahel Curtis, 

 L. A. Nelson and John A. Best, Jr., to reconnoiter. They 

 spent ten days in the Baker country, locating the trail, 

 selecting the camp sites, and negotiating for pack 

 animals. They found that by following the old Jo Moro- 

 vitz trail, the party could easily be taken to Boulder 

 Creek, but there the trail ended. Seven miles of new 

 trail must be built. This was done by Mr. L. A. Nelson, 

 assisted by Mr. Frank Epler. 



