244 



RECREA TIOJV. 



THE EASTERN CRATER. 



The latter lies at an acute angle facing 

 the east, and is badly crevassed, so that 

 we hug the rocks as closely as possible. 

 The cold breakfast and the cold morn- 

 ing air do not conduce to rapid climb- 

 ing, but at last the base of the mighty 

 Gibraltar, the red, fortress like rock 

 that stands out from the mountain, is 

 reached. A grand old landmark is this 

 giant rock. Formed of lava and vol- 

 canic ash, or mud ; vertical on every 

 side; devoid of snow, it is 2,000 feet 

 from its bared brow to its base, away 

 down in the ice and snow of the Cowlitz 

 glacier. The rock is so broken and 

 seamed that the continuous freezing and 

 thawing to which it is subjected, dis- 

 integrate it, and during the day a more 

 or less constant fusilade of rocks and 

 icicles, — some of the latter 10 to 20 

 feet in length, and 6 to 10 inches in 

 diameter, — goes tumbling down its sides. 

 Yet around its base we must go, if we 

 are to stand on the summit. 



We make haste to accomplish this be- 

 fore the rocks begin to fall. To many 

 this is the really dangerous part of the 

 ascent. The trail winds along a narrow 



ledge that pitches down abruptly to the 

 Nesqually glacier. This is well calcu- 

 lated to put one's nerve to the severest 

 test, for a mistep at places means almost 

 surely death, either on the rocks and ice 

 immediately beneath, or in a crevasse 

 farther down. 



After the base of the rock is passed, 

 there extends to the top of the western 

 end of it, an ice stairway. The peculiar 

 form of this tongue of ice is doubtless 

 owing to the manner in which the sun 

 strikes and melts it, making it into 

 an infinite series of narrow steps, 

 fringed with ice fretwork, strange and 

 beautiful. 



But when one looks up at it, and is 

 confronted with the fact that it must be 

 climbed, his heart sinks and he shudders. 

 It is not nearly so bad as it appears, 

 however, and after a few moments, the 

 experience is really enjoyed, and this 

 stage of the journey is soon passed. 



Then comes a long, strong pull for 

 the summit. All is clear sailing now. 

 No rocks, nothing but great, magnificent 

 slopes of snow and ice, extending up, 

 up, up for nearly 3,000 feet. 



