STEEP TRAILS 



mit rising about a thousand feet above the 

 timber-line, its slopes heavily tree-clad all 

 around, but most perfectly on the north. Here 

 the Rocky Mountain spruce forms the bulk 

 of the forest. The cones were ripe; most of 

 them had shed their winged seeds, and the 

 shell-like scales were conspicuously spread, 

 making rich masses of brown from the tops 

 of the fertile trees down halfway to the ground, 

 cone touching cone in lavish clusters. A single 

 branch that might be carried in the hand 

 would be found to bear a hundred or more. 



Some portions of the wood were almost im- 

 penetrable, but in general we found no diffi- 

 culty in mazing comfortably on over fallen logs 

 and under the spreading boughs, while here 

 and there we came to an opening sufficiently 

 spacious for standpoints, where the trees 

 around their margins might be seen from top 

 to bottom. The winter sunshine streamed 

 through the clustered spires, glinting and 

 breaking into a fine dust of spangles on the 

 spiky leaves and beads of amber gum, and 

 bringing out the reds and grays and yellows 

 of the lichened boles which had been freshened 

 by the late storm; while the tip of every spire 

 looking up through the shadows was dipped 

 in deepest blue. 



The ground was strewn with burs and 



182 



