AFTER GOAT ON THE MAINLAND 139 



for about half-way up the hill, and the path 

 though very steep was not bad, only hard on 

 the men carrying the packs, so spells for rest 

 were fairly frequent. The last half where the 

 track had not been cleared was real bad going. 

 A great torrent swept down the bottom of the 

 steep ravine we were ascending, and it had to 

 be crossed many times, which meant a wetting. 



The undergrowth was a dense tangle, fallen 

 trees blocked the path and never had we met 

 the accursed devil-club in such abundance. 



All things must come to an end, and by 5 

 o'clock we were clear of the forest and entered 

 a fairly open valley, shut in on all sides by 

 steep cliffs. At the end of the valley rose the 

 snow-covered summit of Mount Kingcome 

 about three miles away. 



We had been marching since 9.30 and had 

 ascended about 4,000 feet. We pitched camp 

 in the last clump of wood in the valley, and on 

 the side of the hill. 



Though the forest ceased, there were dense 

 masses of impenetrable cover, consisting of 

 salmon-berry, wine-berry and devil-club, for 

 about a mile up the valley, after which the 

 ground was quite open. 



Large patches of snow were lying on the bare 

 hills just above the cover — and while selecting 



