THE ADIRONDACK MOUNTAINS 1/ 



because of dense growth of brush or swamps. Most of the Adiron- 

 dack region is, in the real sense of the term, a weh-watered, densely 

 wooded, wilderness. There are, however, hundreds of places 

 throughout the mountains where large tracts are clad with forests 

 ^■tDla^ively free from underbrush, where the lover of the deep, 

 ' 'Jocyi. ^ woods may roam to his heart's content with comparative 

 case, and many mountain summits from which magnificent pano- 

 ramic views may be enjoyed. 



There are many large areas which have been ravaged by forest 

 fires. A few years after such a fire a dense thicket of raspberry 

 and blackberry briars, popple, and other brush grows over the fallen, 

 charred tree trunks and loose rocks, rendering such an area exceed- 

 ingly difficult to traverse. There are also many portions of the 

 Adirondacks where lumbering operations have recently beeu 

 carried on. Such districts, with treetops and other lumberman's 

 refuse piled pell-mell, are also difficult to cross. Mountain ridge 

 summits from 3000 to 4000 feet above sea level often have thickets 

 of scrub evergreen trees so densely intergrown that it is the hardest 

 kind of work to make progress through them at the rate of one- 

 half to one mile an hour. It is therefore not at all surprising that 

 people are f recjuently lost in the woods. Persons not well acquainted 

 with the Adirondack type of country should be careful not to wander 

 away from well-defined trails or roads unless accompanied by a 

 competent guide or some other person who really understands the 

 region. 



The excellent water of the Adirondacks deserves mention. 

 Nearly all the streams which come down the mountain sides are 

 clear, cold, pure and remarkably soft water. Springs and streams 

 of such water are abundant throughout the summer season. Prac- 

 tically the only hard water issues as springs out of the limestone 

 which underlies certain of the valleys. 



Except for an occasional rattlesnake at the very southeastern 

 border of the Adirondacks, poisonous reptiles are unknown. Hence 

 one may follow the trails, travel through the woods, or climb the 

 mountains without the slightest dread of encountering a rattle- 

 snake, copperhead, or any other dangerous reptile. In fact it may 

 be affirmed that no Adirondack wild animal is really dangerous, 

 which is a matter of great importance when considering the Adiron- 

 dacks as a playground for the people. Bears are occasionally seen 

 and sometimes killed but, in common with that of many persons, 

 the writer's experience is that the Adirondack black bear loses 

 little time in getting out of sight of a human being. Of course a 



