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as though there were no room for life. Yet the blocks of rock are many-colored 
from the lichens. Even high up on the mountain sides, wherever slight depres- 
sions and shelves have ( allowed the gathering of silt, can be found a large and 
varied flora especially of mosses and hepatics, while the lichens know no limits 
save those of ice and snow. And the snow melting shows some plant struggling 
gamely on. In the lower levels the wonderfully colored lakes, the streams, the 
rich carpets of moss, and the abundant floral life make us forget everything else. 
It is hard to say which among the many valleys, full of pleasant associations 
and memories, appeals to me most, but with the introduction above, let us go up 
O’Hara valley. Getting off at Hector Station we are within sound of Cataract 
Brook. On the station side there is a well-worn trail which mounts rapidly 
beside the brook. The stream is well named. It is one mass of tumbling, roaring, 
flying water throughout its short length, a marked contrast to the gently flowing 
-stream that we reach immediately the climb is done. At the end of the meadow, 
a. little beyond the crest of the ascent, there is an old and often used camping 
ground. Here we find ourselves at once in a subalpine flora. Near the camp 
on the stream side Lophozia Schultzii var. laxa, L. quadriloba, and Sphenolobus 
politus may be found. On earth along the little brooks that flow from the moun- 
tain side there are Lophozia Kunzeana, L porphyroleuca, L. longiflora, L. heterocolpa, 
and L. Baueriana. The meadow itself is full of such hepatics as Sphenolobus 
minutulus, Cephalozia pleniceps, and the various species of Cephaloziella. These 
grow among the tufts of grass or on the dried peat, and are often difficult to find 
on account of the rank grass and herbage. On the muddy spots and in the peat 
holes, we should be on the watch for Kantia sphagnicola and Riccardia major, 
both of which have been found within a few miles of the lake. Days could easily 
be spent here, among the meadows, lakes, and streams, and collections made that 
would surprise us by their magnitude and give many an interesting evening after- 
ward, in examining the rarities and placing them in the herbarium. And the 
plants are not confined to the places mentioned, since the woods, the lake shore, 
even the damp stones, will produce rare or interesting specimens. 
To the right of the camp is Cathedral Mountain, its slopes climbable by 
those with steady nerves. Wherever there is fine earth in the line of descending 
moisture, among the rocks, in the crannies and cracks, and on the shelves, there 
is plant life. Not many bryophvtes are found away from the moist spots, but 
the lichens are everywhere. We are sure to find the thallose hepatics Sauteria 
alpina and Clevea hyalina in moist crevices, and Asterella violacea and A. gracilis 
should reward us, since they occur in similar situations not far distant. It is 
worth the climb, too, aside from all botanical interest, if we ascend as high as 
we can reach without risk (and that is well up toward the top of the north side) 
to get the lovely views. Sherbrooke valley lies to the north, its snowfed lakes 
showing every shade of blues, greens, purples, and milky white, the colors chang- 
ing with the passing shadows. Westward, down the valley of the Kicking Horse, 
we may see the distant Selkirks. To the east and northeast is still a vast field 
of mountains, snowfields, and glaciers, until we get bewildered with the vastness 
of it all, and wonder whether there is any room left for the plains, even though we 
know that they are little more than forty miles away. 
