72s 



AMERICAN FORESTRY 



the Taylor Glacier. ( >n the eastern extremity of this riot 

 of scenery is Long*! Peak, the highest peak in the Rockies, 

 at the base of which is Long's Peak Inn, after which 

 some people will tell you the |>eak was named. The 

 proprietor of both is Mr. Enos Mills, a naturalist and 

 writer who is accredited, according to the Interior Depart- 

 ment's circular, with being " the father of the Rocky 

 Mountain National Park." Such a statement from the 

 Interior Department itself raises in the minds of some a 

 doubt as to the verity 

 of Government publi- 

 cations, and suggests 

 the possibility of an- 

 other dis|>ute over par- 

 enthood. Such argu- 

 ments, however, are 

 not unique, for on 

 every hand may be 

 found naturalists who 

 disagree with the Great 

 Creator. 



Mr. Mills has lived 

 and operated his hotel 

 in the shadow of Long's 

 Peak for many years, 

 and despite the fact 

 that he is accredited 

 with being the father 

 of his inn, as well as 

 other things, the hos- 

 telry itself looks much 

 older than its owner. 

 As a writer, it is known 

 that he had nothing to 

 do with the naming of 

 the points of interest in 

 his bailiwick, for anyone 

 reading his delightful 

 works would know that 

 he would not have to 

 resort to a list of paint 

 colors as a source of 

 names. 



Long's Peak Inn is 



I'kototrapk by WUmctt Brothers, Denver. 



THIS INSPIRES A SUGGESTION 



The National Park Service might do very well to adopt the plan of building small drinking 

 fountains in the most frequented locations, as the Denver Mountain Parks Commission 

 has done. Whether the National Park would be as successful in securing such attractive 

 modern Sarahs at their wells, as the Denver park system, is open to some question. 



about ten or twelve miles from the village of Lstes Park 

 and is excellently situated as a secondary base from which 

 to operate in the neighborhood of this area of intensified 

 scenery. Most tourists who are fond of mountain climb- 

 ing essay the ascent of Long's Peak after having been 

 thoroughly fortified by a rest and other things to be had 

 at the Inn. The vertical face of Long's Peak may be 

 seen as a terminating feature at the western end of the 

 canyon which flattens out to accommodate Long's Peak 

 Inn. and it beckons the mountain lover, casting about him 

 the irresistible spell of its mightiness. 



Long's I'eak is the highest of a group of several peaks, 

 the tops of which are hardly a half mile apart. On the 

 east there is a vertical precipice of some fifteen hundred 

 feet in height, at the l>as<- of which is Chasm Lake, a 



placid sheet of water in the bottom of one of the most 

 distinctive glacial cirques in the district. Little or nc 

 foliage is visible in the neighborhood, and the entire scene 

 is pregnant with an atmosphere of lofty silence. The 

 ascent to the top of the Peak from the lower benches is 

 not so simple as it seems, but can be safely negotiated if 

 the spirit of foolhardiness does not overcome the climber. 

 The trail to the top approaches the Peak from the north 

 and east, threading en route the little canyon of Alpine 



Brook, crossing over a 

 plateau called Boulder 

 Field, and striking a 

 northward reaching 

 spur of the main ridge 

 about half a mile to the 

 north of the Peak. 



There is quite a 

 distinction between not 

 only the formation, but 

 also the color of the 

 peaks in the Rocky 

 Mountains and in the 

 higher Sierra of Cali- 

 fornia. The Rocky 

 Mountains are more 

 colorful, and to him 

 whose eye is not so 

 sensitive to the delicate 

 shades of lavender and 

 warm grays, the deeper 

 colors of the Rockies 

 present mora attrac- 

 tions. Nor is there the 

 same degree of terrify- 

 ing wildness about the 

 peaks of the Great 

 Divide that is to be 

 found in the high 

 Sierra. Nevertheless, it 

 is safe to say that to 

 one who is reaching a 

 height in excess of 

 fourteen thousand feet 

 for the first time, there 

 will be sufficient in the panorama from the top of Long's 

 Peak to recall his past wrongdoings with a suddenness 

 that begets a determination to follow the paths of right- 

 eousness in the future. In the vicinity of Long's Peak 

 there is a comparatively small area of that same precipi- 

 tous storm-torn clutter of jagged peaks that may be found 

 in the high Sierra stretching from Mount Langley nearly 

 to Lake Tahoe, but the scope of nature's activities in 

 sculpturing mighty peaks and chasms seems to have been, 

 in the Rockies, limited to certain areas. 



In considering the beauties of the Rocky Mountain 

 National Park, the flora of the district should not be 

 overlooked. As is known to many, the columbine is the 

 floral emblem of the State of Colorado, and it thrives in 

 the Rocky Mountain National Park in a profusion that is 



