GLENORA MOUNTAIN: A REPETITION OF MUIR'S 

 CLIMB OF 1879 



By E. Mallinckrodt, Jr. 



LOVERS of Alaskan lore are familiar with John Muir's story of 

 -/ his climbs on Glenora Mountain, told in his own incompar- 

 able way in the volume entitled "Travels in Alaska."* The thrilling 

 rescue of his injured companion is passed over so modestly, however, 

 that one must read Mr. Young's own storyf to gain a true picture of 

 Mr. Muir's prowess on this occasion and of his devotion to his 

 friend. But, best of all, he who would learn what resolute men do 

 on mountains should essay to traverse their routes. 



The return of our hunting party to Telegraph Creek, some days 

 before the departure of the boat down the Stikine River, offered the 

 alluring possibility of seeing the view which Muir described as 

 "one of the greatest and most impressively sublime of all the moun- 

 tain views I have ever enjoyed." Incidentally, I should be able to 

 check the height of the mountain by my own accurate aneroid. 

 The imagined difficulty of finding a guide who knew the route up 

 Glenora Mountain was dispelled by my outfitter at once. However, 

 if any white man had climbed it in recent years he could not recall 

 the incident. It may be remarked that the innocent traveler in that 

 country will have no difficulty at all in securing the services of an 

 Indian who knows the trail to any desired spot. I have suspected, 

 from more than one disillusionment, that there is no distinction in 

 the Tahltan mind between the objective existence of a trail and the 

 subjective consciousness of being able to get there, trail or no trail. 

 Such a distinction would be useless in a country where there are no 

 trails anyway, and argues the weakness of the whites — so reasons 

 the native, in all probability. 



Assured by our well-wishers that we would be back by nightfall, 

 and with lunch in our pockets. Bob, a Tahltan Indian guide, and 

 I started off on horseback toward Glenora on the first of October. 

 Over that old road, now much overgrown, many of the Klondike 



* Travels in Alaska. By John Muir. Houghton Mifflin Company. 



t Alaska Days with John Muir. By S. Hall Young. Fleming H. Revell Company. 



