﻿THE ASCENT OF MOUNT HALCON. 195 



extent that, even with the very active and arduous work of trail clearing 

 in the dense thickets, our sufferings from cold were greatly accentuated. 

 At times, as we came to the crest line, the cold wind would add to our 

 discomfort, although much of the time we were fortunately sheltered from 

 it by the dense thickets. Pitcher plants (Nepenthes) became very abun- 

 dant, clambering everywhere in the thickets, so that in cutting our way 

 through the underbrush, at frequent intervals our bolo slashes would 

 upset the equilibrium of from one to a half dozen pitchers, each holding 

 one-half quart or more of water, which would be precipitated upon us. 

 These irregular douches were far more disagreeable than the constant 

 shower bath from the falling rain. 



The heath lands on the upper ridges were interrupted by deep ravines, 

 filled with very dense vegetation through which progress was exceedingly 

 slow. Unfortunately for us, these heath lands were very limited in area 

 and we soon came to a dense ridge thicket which we afterwards learned 

 continued uninterruptedly to the summit of the highest peak. Along 

 this ridge we cleared a narrow trail to an altitude of about 8,300 feet. 

 As it was then late in the afternoon and with the heavy rain still con- 

 tinuing, we returned to camp, arriving just after dark. On November 

 20 the storm was much more severe than it had been on the preceding 

 days and we were obliged to remain in camp, having little to do other 

 than to listen to the constant drip of the rain and the roar of the streams 

 in the valley below and wondering about the state of the Alag and the 

 safety of our base camp. On the following day the heavy rain con- 

 tinued through the morning, but it slackened at midday, so that we left 

 Camp Number Six at noon and proceeded up to the main ridge, making 

 Camp Number Seven on the open heath at an altitude of 7,900 feet, 

 carrying with us a tent fly and blankets, as well as food for three days. 

 The carriers employed in transporting the material to the high ridge 

 were immediately sent back to Camp Number Six. Light rains continued 

 during the afternoon's march, but toward evening the clouds lifted 

 somewhat, giving us an indistinct view to the south and west. The 

 country south was much more open than that to the north, many of the 

 slopes being grass covered instead of forested, and a number of Mangyan 

 houses were to be seen below 4,000 feet. The entire country toward 

 the south, so far as could be seen, was very rough and mountainous, but 

 the ocean was visible to the southwest; no view to the east and north 

 could be obtained owing to the fogs and clouds. At the point where 

 we pitched our tent a well-defined Mangyan trail crossed the main ridge 

 from north to south, apparently leading up by way of the canon of the 

 Halcon River or by one of its tributaries, or from one of the Mangyan 

 clearings which we did not visit. As the trail was a much traveled one 

 it seems probable that there is considerable communication between the 

 people living to the north and to the south of Halcon. Evidently, these 



