﻿THE ASCENT OF MOUNT HALCON. 191 



On November 8, with twenty loaded carriers, we broke camp and 

 proceeded up the stream to the junction of the Bolton River. Here, 

 finding it no longer possible to follow the Alag, it was decided to take 

 the ridge between,, it and the Bolton which, however, was exceedingly 

 steep and covered with dense forests. No trail was to be found and 

 accordingly one had to be cleared as we advanced. Ascending to an 

 altitude or 2,250 feet, we came into a deserted Mangyan clearing and 

 before us, across the valley of the Alag, was a magnificent panorama of 

 the entire Halcon Range. Progress during this day had been exceed- 

 ingly slow because of the difficulties encountered in proceeding along the 

 Alag and in ascending the ridge, it being necessary to limit our speed 

 to that of our loaded carriers. Late in the afternoon it was found that 

 we had convered a distance of but approximately 1| miles. It was then 

 decided to establish Camp Number Three in the Mangyan clearing, 

 with a subsidiary base camp at the junction of the Alag and Bolton 

 Rivers and consequently natives were sent out to locate water and a 

 messenger was despatched on the trail to instruct our scouts to establish 

 a base camp at the place indicated and to build grass houses of suffi- 

 cient size to accommodate all of our carriers who were to be traveling back 

 and forth bringing supplies. Just before dark our natives reported "no 

 water" and we prepared for a dry camp, when a brisk shower came on 

 which enabled us to catch enough water for our immediate needs on the 

 tent fly and ponchos. Early on the following morning our natives located 

 a small stream tributary to the Bolton River at several hundred feet 

 below our camp. 



As many essential supplies remained at Subaan and at various points 

 along the trail, most of the carriers were sent back to the coast, and from 

 November 9 to 11 the country was explored for trails or for a feasible 

 route to the main range of Halcon. At first it was thought that the best 

 one would be by way of the ridge which we were then on, and that by 

 following this we could avoid descending into the canon of the Alag. 

 Two of the party followed the ridge to the southwest of our camp for 

 some distance, attaining an altitude of 3,500 feet. Although they found 

 that it might be possible to gain the main range by this route, such a 

 course would necessitate at long detour in order to pass the Alag and 

 practically every foot of the distance would be gained only by trail cut- 

 ting of the most difficult kind through the dense ridge thickets. In the 

 meantime others of the party reconnoitered in the direction of Halcon 

 peak, finding a well-defined Mangyan trail leading to the Alag at some 

 distance from our camp. On November 12, some of our carriers having 

 returned the night before, we left the camp in charge of two natives 

 and proceeded with thirteen loaded carriers along the Mangyan trail to 

 the Alag. The slope was very steep, being 60° to 70°-, and after descend- 

 ing about 1,000 feet we reached the bottom of the canon at a point where 



