Exploration in the Canadian Rockies 



$7 



now bending away toward the west and 

 becoming so large as to give us trouble 

 in fording it. After some discussion a 

 decision was reached to spend the fol- 

 lowing da}' in a more tr. orough recon- 

 naissance. 



August 7, like every day of our trip 

 so far, was almost perfect. Eusk and 

 Wood were sent down the river to ex- 

 plore as far as the second or third val- 

 ley openings, while Bryant and I decided 

 to ascend the canyon near our camp and 



Photo by Wilcox 



A Torrential Stream 



climb some high mountain, if accessible. 

 Upon entering the canyon we made 

 slow progress among great boulders and 

 tree trunks strewn in wild disorder on 

 either side of a torrential stream, which 

 was little less than a series of cascades. 

 At length the canyon walls forbade far- 

 ther progress on our side and we were 

 forced to find a wa} 7 to cross the stream. 

 Fortunately some massive spruce trees 

 had been jammed by a former flood 



among the boulders on either side and 

 made a kind of natural bridge not far 

 ahead. Crossing on these, we had gone 

 but a few steps when we came most 

 unexpectedly on a good Indian trail. 

 Here, then, was the Kananaskis Pass 

 at last. So confident did we feel of 

 being now on the right route that we 

 should have gone back to camp at once 

 and packed up for a day's march, ex- 

 cept that our men were by this time 

 several miles down the river, and the 

 day was practically lost. It seemed 

 best to follow the trail as far as possible 

 and see what the day would bring 

 forth. After ascending steeply for one 

 thousand feet, the trail enters a virgin 

 forest on the almost level benches of 

 the upper valley. Only a few rays of 

 sunlight filtered through the silent trees. 

 These dark evergreens of Canada are 

 scarcely inhabited by squirrels or birds, 

 but the utter quiet of deep woods was 

 restful after the roar of the turbulent 

 stream we had left below. 



At two o'clock we reached a point 

 near the valley end 7,550 feet above 

 sea-level, or nearly 3,000 feet above our 

 camp in the Palliser. The fact that 

 ' this valley ' runs south did not disturb 

 our idea that it might be the Kananaskis 

 Pass, as almost all the great passes make 

 a series of right-angled turns through 

 the lateral and transverse valleys of the 

 several subranges. On Dawson's map, 

 however, the Kananaskis Pass is given 

 an altitude of only 6,200 feet, and as 

 we were now 1,300 feet higher without 

 reaching the summit, we suspected a 

 serious error in his estimate or a mis- 

 take as to our own bearings. 



In the evening our men reported that 

 they went seven or eight miles down 

 the river, where it became impossible 

 to ford and the trail was obscure. No 

 openings in the mountains that seemed 

 possible passes appeared as far as they 

 went. They said a wide valley comes 

 in several miles below their turning 

 point on the left side of the river, and 



