EXPLORING THE MOUNTAIN AND ITS GLACIERS, 1896 



over the chaos of stones that cover the glaciers, we 

 slept on a couch of moss beautified with lovely blos- 

 soms, almost within the spray of Philo Falls, a cataract 

 of clear icy water that pours into the canyon of Carbon 

 Glacier from snow fields high up on the western wall 

 of the canyon. 



I will ask the reader to defer the study of the gla- 

 ciers until we have made a reconnaissance of the moun- 

 tain and climbed to its summit, as he will then be 

 better prepared to understand the relation of the 

 glaciers, neves, and other features with which it will 

 be necessary to deal. In this portion of our fireside 

 explorations let us enjoy a summer outing, deferring 

 until later the more serious task of questioning the 

 glaciers. 



From Philo Falls we ascended still higher, by follow- 

 ing partially snow-filled lanes between the long lateral 

 moraines that have been left by the shrinking of Car- 

 bon Glacier, and found three parallel, sharp-crested 

 ridges about a mile long and from 100 to 150 feet high, 

 made of bowlders and stones of all shapes, which 

 record the former positions of the glacier. Along 

 the western border of the oldest and most westerly of 

 these ridges there is a valley, perhaps 100 yards wide, 

 intervening between the abandoned lateral moraine 

 and the western side of the valley, which rises in preci- 

 pices to forest-covered heights at least 1,000 feet above. 

 Between the morainal ridges there are similar narrow 

 valleys, each of which at the time of our visit, July 15, 

 was deeply snow-covered. The ridges are clothed with 

 spruce and cedar trees, together with a variety of 

 shrubs and flowering annuals. The knolls rising 

 through the snow are gorgeous with flowers. A 

 wealth of purple Bryanthus, resembling purple 

 heather, and of its constant companion, if not near 

 relative, the Cassiope, with white, waxy bells, closely 

 simulating the white heather, make glorious the mossy 

 banks from which the lingering snow has but just 



163 



