at which place arrangements can be made for the trip.
The lake lies just north of the very beautiful Teton Range, across the
southern boundary of the park and about 70 miles from Old Faithful; this
trip makes a most delightfully worth-while addition to a visit to the
Yellowstone Park; the drive down is very fine, following the Yellowstone
Lake for a time, crossing the Continental Divide, with views of the
Absoroka Range to the east, where we see such great peaks as Mount
Langford with an altitude of 10,600 feet; Mount Shurz, 10,600 feet;
Colton Peak, 10,500 feet, and Table Mountain, 10,800 feet, standing,
snow clad, in the distance.
From Lewis Lake to the border of the park the drive follows the Snake
River, and shortly after leaving the park the river is crossed and
Jackson Lake comes clearly into view; the road leads down the east side
of the lake to Moran and here there is a small hotel where we are taken
care of.
There are lovely wild excursions to be made in every direction. Bold
peaks, unsealed by man, and glacial canyons. The great ragged peaks of
the Teton Range show every variety of shape and size: Grand Teton,
13,747 feet, and Moran, 12,100 feet, are the finest, standing as they do
only about five or six miles apart, each with a lovely lake nestled at
its base; what a superb gateway they may some day make for a southern
entrance to the Yellowstone Park if, as is now hoped, this region,
including the two mountains and the two lakes, is to be added to the
Yellowstone Park area.
Mount Moran stands majestically, directly across the lake from Moran,
where the lake is about nine miles wide; the view of this exceptionally
beautiful mountain across the clear, deep-blue water, is one not easy to
forget. To nature lovers, trampers, and climbers I commend this region.
Jackson Lake has been connected with the great system of trails which
runs all through the Yellowstone Park. The traveller taking this route
will follow the east side of the Yellowstone Lake to the extreme south
end, then the river of the same name, until, after crossing the river,
the trail follows the Atlantic Creek to the Divide, over the Divide, and
down, following the Pacific Creek to Moran.
Footnotes for Part Two
1: Josephine Richards.
2: Robert Sterling Yard.
PART THREE
THE NORTHWEST
There where the livid tundras keep their tryst with the
tranquil snows;
There where the silences are spawned, and the light of
hell-fire flows
Into the bowl of the midnight sky, violet, amber, and
rose.
There where the rapids churn and roar, and the ice-floes
bellowing run;
Where the tortured, twisted rivers of blood rush to the
setting sun.
—Robert W. Service.
CHAPTER ONE
ALASKA AND CRATER LAKE NATIONAL PARK
PUGET SOUND
One might spend weeks taking the trips on Puget Sound alone, for this is
one of the most beautiful bits of salt water to be found anywhere. The
mountains seem to rise right out of the water and are wooded to the
water’s edge.
The area of Puget Sound is about 2,000 square miles and its irregular
shore-line is said to be 8,600 miles long.
Beautiful views of Mt. Rainier and Mt. Baker are had as one sails up the
sound, and to the west lie the Olympics.
To speak of the various trips here would require too much space, for
they are as numerous by land as by sea, and the beautiful roads invite
one to motor endlessly.
MOUNT OLYMPUS (NATIONAL MONUMENT)
For 60 miles or more east and west across the Olympian Peninsula, in the
northwestern corner of Washington, between Puget Sound and the Pacific
Ocean, stretch the Olympian Mountains.
Mount Olympus, 8,100 feet in altitude, rises majestically between the
Strait of Juan de Fuca and the Pacific Ocean. The peninsula is wild,
though there is a road connecting the water-front towns. Access to the
mountain is by arduous trail.
This area was set aside as a national monument to preserve the Olympic
elk, a species peculiar to the region.
ALASKA
From Vancouver, British Columbia, to Skagway, Alaska, is one thousand
miles.
This is a most fascinating steamer trip, which may also be made from
either Seattle or San Francisco. Winding between islands and the
mainland, passing glaciers with the summer sun shining overhead, the
steamers stop at various places, and the interesting Totem Pole People
(the Alaskan Indians), may be interviewed.
Captain Stretch, whose many years of connection as an engineer with
mining and railroad enterprises in the West and Alaska render him an
authority, says: “Alaska is a country unique in its geographical
situation, unique in its climate, and unique in its physical beauties.
Cape Barrow, its northernmost cape, is warmer than any point in the
world as far north of the equator; and its southern shores bordering the
North Pacific Ocean are likewise warmer than any point in the world in
similar latitudes during the winter months as the result of the
beneficent influence of the Japan current. Norway alone can approach it
in these respects, but in Norway the mountain backbone runs parallel to
the coastline, and its rivers are insignificant streams, and there is no
room for extensive valleys; while in Alaska the immense quadrangle is
divided into three zones by lofty mountains ... which leave between them
broad plains, through which such streams as the Kuskokwin, with 600, and
the Yukon, with 2,000 miles of navigable waters, open up its vast
interior. Norway and Sweden are the Mecca and Medina of the European
tourist in search of the picturesque and sublime, and the latter country
takes its annual toll of American pilgrims on similar sights intent; but
Alaska can discount anything which these countries can boast. Its
mountains overtop Mont Blanc, the Jungfrau, or the Matterhorn; its
glaciers dwarf the Mer de Glace....
“At the Childs Glacier you may loll at ease by the river bank on a
carpet of flowers while the glacier splits with a noise like a cannon
shot or the staccato reports of small arms, and watch avalanche after
avalanche start 300 feet above, driving the water in mighty waves up the
general slope below you as they take the final plunge and float away in
the narrow river. When the mist has drifted by, the dead-white face of
the ice disappears. The new dress glistens with the brilliancy of
diamonds, and the deeper recesses of the façade gleam blue as a summer
sky unflecked by clouds.
“The charm of the glaciers is never-ending.... The peace and silence of
the rock-bound fiords, clad in green, with the snowy peaks of far-off
mountains gleaming through the tree tops on the skyline, suggest the
delights of Lotus land; picture after picture more beautiful than
anything that the Hudson can show, or either Norway or the Rhine can
boast.... There are sunsets such as no painter could ever put on canvas,
veritable vortices of flame, as though the world was on fire.... Even
the sun is loath to leave the scene which his warmth has endowed with
life, and forsakes it for only a few minutes at midnight.
“Along the Alaskan Peninsula the tourist may witness in safety the
tremendous pent-up energy of the internal fires; islands raised from the
bottom of the ocean one year, only to be engulfed the next, as at
Bogoslop....”
Here may be seen: “The crowning peaks of a mountain range which,
dividing to the east, culminate in Mount McKinley, 20,464[1] feet high,
north of Cook Inlet; and Mounts St. Elias and Fairweather and their cold
virginal sisters, grim guardians of the northern shores of the Pacific.
These stupendous mountain masses (a mile taller than Switzerland’s
champion), their feet buried under a glacier which lines the coast for
more than a hundred miles, are even more impressive than the loftiest of
the world’s famous peaks, either in the Himalayas or the Andes; for
while these rise from lofty interior plateaus, the sweep of St. Elias is
from ocean to sky, with nothing to break the foreground.... The scenic
beauties of Alaska, whether they be of earth or water or of sky, are
varied enough to bring enthusiasm to the lips of the most blasé
traveller.”[2]
SITKA NATIONAL MONUMENT
This reservation lies about one mile from the steamboat landing at
Sitka, Alaska.
Here was located the village of a warlike tribe, the Kik-Siti Indians. A
celebrated witch-tree of the natives and sixteen totem poles, several of
which are examples of the best work of the tribes, stand along the
beach.
MOUNT MCKINLEY NATIONAL PARK
In 1917 Congress set aside as a national park 2,200 square miles in this
region; as in so many other cases, the reason was to protect the big
game, as well as the magnificent territory.
“Mount McKinley rises 20,300 feet above tidewater and 17,000 feet above
the eyes of the beholder standing on the plateau at its base. Its
enormous bulk is shrouded in perpetual snow two thirds down from its
summit, and the foothills and broad plains upon its north and west are
populated with mountain sheep and caribou in unprecedented numbers.
“In 1915 the Government began the railroad from Seward to Fairbanks. Its
course lies from Cook Inlet up the Susitna River to the headwaters of
the Nenana River, where it crosses the range. This will make access to
the region easy and comfortable.
“Here lies a rugged highland area far greater in extent than all of
Switzerland, a virgin field for explorers and mountaineers.
“But it must be remembered that this is not Switzerland, with its
hotels, railways, trained guides, and well-worn paths. It will appeal
only to him who prefers to strike out for himself, who can break his own
trail through trackless wilds, and will take the chances of life and
limb so dear to the heart of the true explorer. He who would master
unattained summits, explore unknown rivers, or traverse untrodden
glaciers in a region whose scenic beauties are hardly equalled, has not
to seek them in South America or Central America, for generations will
pass before the possibilities of the Alaskan Range are exhausted.”[3]
CRATER LAKE NATIONAL PARK
In 1902 Congress set aside as a national park this area of 159,360
acres. The lake lies on the summit of the Cascade Range, in Oregon, some
65 miles north of the California border. There are two ways to reach the
park, from Medford or Ashland on the west, and from Klamath Falls on the
south.
From Medford the trip, 80 miles, is made by private automobile or by
auto-stage; many interesting features are pointed out en route. The road
leads through the Rogue River Valley, beside mountain torrents, and
through Oregon’s majestic forests.
Going in via Klamath Falls, we leave the main line at Weed, and break
the journey at Klamath, where, as at Medford, there is a comfortable
hotel. From Klamath, starting in the early morning, either by private
conveyance or auto-stage, the road runs through the Modoc Valley
following the shore of Klamath Lake; if preferred, the first part of the
trip, from end to end of the lake, some 40 miles, may be made by boat.
The lake is an interesting body of water and is the home of great flocks
of pelican. At the north end of the lake the automobile must be taken
for the remainder of the trip. This region is full of the historic lore
of the Modoc Indians.
Entering the park thus, by the south gate, and driving up beside the
Anna Creek Canyon, there are very striking features to be seen; the
remarkable walls of the canyon are unlike anything else, they have the
appearance of lying in folds, and take the forms of spires and pinnacles
of every variety.
If you are in a hired automobile, insist upon being driven slowly; if
time is no object, you will probably walk while this canyon is in view.
Well within the park we become conscious of the rise in elevation, and
about three miles before reaching the rim of the crater the real pull
begins. The rim elevation is 6,239 feet.
Crater Lake is the only lake of its variety in the United States. As the
name implies, the lake lies in the crater of an extinct volcano. It has
been called: “The Sea of Silence.”
It is well that I am limited to a short space on each place mentioned in
this book, for it is a great temptation to write pages of enthusiastic
accounts of Crater Lake. I can conceive of nothing more interesting or
more beautiful in nature. The colour is indescribable. The water lies
1,000 feet below the rim of the crater, and is 2,000 feet deep.
An excellent trail leads down to the water’s edge and the descent may be
made either on horseback or on foot; the walk is absolutely easy. There
are launches and rowboats on the lake, which tempt one to explore this
most unusual and exquisite body of water from end to end, or side to
side; the lake is about five miles in diameter. Places to be visited are
Wizard Island, the Phantom Ship, and the various caves in the walls of
the crater, walls which lift their towering heads from 1,456 feet to
8,156 feet into the clear, glistening, deep-blue sky.
Guests are accommodated in the park in tents, or at the hotel, which
though not completed is in use. The hotel stands on the rim and the
front windows command a superb view.
The trip around the rim is not to be compared with anything else that I
know; it is a unique experience; it is as impossible to write of it as
it is to speak of it; one could give no adequate idea of it. Go and see
it for yourself.
The distant views on all sides are superb, as are the wooded valleys of
the park.
Plenty of time should be allowed here; for the real nature lover, there
is mountain climbing to the heart’s content, and for those who are less
strong, the never-ending changes of light and shadow, with all the glory
which colour can give.
CHAPTER TWO
MOUNT RAINIER NATIONAL PARK
SEATTLE
Seattle is one of the largest and most energetic cities of the
Northwest, most beautifully situated on Puget Sound, girded by the
Cascade and Olympic Mountains.
The city is built on seven hills and is the proud possessor of one of
the finest of harbours, a triple harbour one might almost say, for the
great salt harbour proper is connected by canal to Lake Union and again
to the great Lake Washington, some twenty miles long, thus giving an
inland fresh-water harbour of great value.
Seattle’s tallest building, to the tower of which one gladly mounts for
the superb views, is only surpassed by the tall buildings of New York
City. Seattle maintains thirty-four picturesque parks and connects them
by splendid highways. Scenically, as in many other ways, this city ranks
very high.
TACOMA
Tacoma is an industrial seaport, beautifully situated on Puget Sound, of
which it commands a fine view. Here one sees the Cascade Mountains, and
has one of the finest views possible of that truly noble mountain,
Rainier, that is, if the traveller has chosen the right time of the
year. I have sat and waited day after day in mid-summer just to get a
glimpse of any mountain, and failed, but a return trip in the spring
fully repaid me.
Point Defiance Park should be visited, and the Ferry Museum, which
contains an interesting collection of Indian baskets, domestic utensils,
canoes, and implements of hunting and war.
MOUNT RAINIER NATIONAL PARK
This park is situated in western Washington, about 55 miles from Seattle
and 42 miles from Tacoma. When the atmosphere is clear the mountain can
be seen more than a hundred miles away; it has an altitude of 14,408
feet and one of the largest glacial systems in the world radiating from
any single peak.
An excellent automobile highway has been built from Seattle and Tacoma
to the park, and trips are made daily, in good cars. The southern part
of the park is reached by rail to Ashford, on the Tacoma Eastern R. R.
(Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul Railroad), thence via automobile stage
to Longmire Springs, in the park. The northern part of the park is
reached by rail to Fairfax, on the Northern Pacific Railroad, and by
trails from there in; or from Enumclaw R. R. Station and from there by
automobile.
By far the finest entrance is the southern or Nisqually River entrance
via Longmire Springs and the great Nisqually Glacier. The fine
Government road running through the park winds back and forth, beside
the lovely Nisqually River, through fine forests, up the heavily wooded
mountainside, past stretches of brilliant wild flowers, stopping for one
superb view after another, until the great Nisqually Glacier is seen
close by; here we reach the end of the old motor road; from here the
trip had to be made by stage or on horseback a few years ago, the
highway ending where the eternal snows began, but to-day the splendid
motor road goes all the way to Paradise Valley. The traveller who has
been fortunate enough to take this trip will never forget it. The climb
is a steep one, 1,557 feet from Nisqually Glacier to Paradise Valley;
the road is a one-way road only, all cars leaving must pass out before
the entering cars are admitted.
The Narada Falls are visited on the way up the mountain, then comes
Inspiration Point, where a wonderful view of the Tatoosh Range is had;
the road zigzags back and forth, each view of the noble Rainier more
lovely than the last, until we arrive at Paradise Valley and Paradise
Inn, where we are well cared for, be our stay a day, a week, or a month.
From here the mountain towers above us, 8,700 feet, looking as enormous
as it did from below.
The season of tourist travel is confined largely to June, July, August,
September, and the first part of October, although parties of tourists
enter the park for snowshoeing and winter sports. The ideal time is
early in August, when the wild flowers are at their best; I have seen
the valley at this time, with a quivering cover of red, white, and blue;
the exquisite deer-tooth lily, the blue lupin, and the flaming red of
the Indian paint brush. I am told that there are 300 varieties of wild
flowers in this park.
The summit of the mountain is accessible from Paradise Valley, and from
St. Elmo Pass, on the northern side. The difficulty of the ascent
depends largely upon the condition of the snow fields, which varies from
year to year. _It is dangerous and should not be attempted unless the
party is accompanied by an official guide._
Campers are made welcome and are provided with all sorts of
conveniences, from the simplest canvas tent to the fine electrically
lighted and heated tents. Those who wish the full camping experience may
buy groceries at the pavilion and do their own cooking over open fires.
While at the same time those who wish the regular hotel comforts can
have them at the inn. Guides, horses, and outfits are furnished by the
Rainier National Park Company to those desiring to take long or short
trail outings. In recent years the trails have been extended and new
trails are opened each season; we are told that they now extend over 150
miles.
SUGGESTIONS FOR MOUNTAIN CLIMBING
The western part of the United States is so full of wonderful mountain
peaks that the desire to climb one or more is sure to be one of the
results of a western trip.
There are many important rules to be observed before undertaking one of
these ascents. Firstly, those who intend visiting any of the national
parks should be careful to go well supplied with warm clothing,
including warm sleeping apparel. Proper boots are essential; they should
be made of good heavy material and have thick, strong soles. Skirts
cannot be worn in real mountain climbing, either bloomers or
knicker-bockers are necessary. The latter garment one sees so many of
the women campers wearing that they are not at all conspicuous. It is a
great convenience to have with you a shoulder strap with which to fasten
on the extra jacket or sweater necessary for use on the crest; arrange
to have nothing in the hands but the stout walking stick which is
indispensable.
Under no consideration should any party start out to climb any of the
great mountains without the aid of a registered guide. The trails may
easily be lost, especially so as they lead frequently over snow fields
where the footprints melting from day to day make a full and accurate
knowledge absolutely essential. Again, there are important rules as to
hours of starting and arriving, in order to avoid being overtaken by
dark, or in case of being overtaken by one of the many sudden, blinding
snowstorms; also a knowledge of how fast or how slowly one should climb,
what food and drink should be taken, etc., etc., is necessary. Real
mountain climbing is not in any way like an ordinary tramp, in fact, as
we are told of something else: It is not by any to be entered into
unadvisedly or lightly, but reverently, discreetly, advisedly, and
soberly.
Where it is a possible thing, those who contemplate climbing a real
mountain should spend several days in the higher altitudes of the
mountain regions, climbing about the foothills and becoming accustomed
to the rarefied atmosphere. Strong stimulants, tea and coffee, should
not be taken, and no heavy, fried food eaten while preparing to climb.
To those who wish further information on this subject, again I suggest
that they write to the Department of the Interior, or to the National
Parks Association, either of which places will send full detailed
information.
CHAPTER THREE
LAKE CHELAN AND THE COLUMBIA RIVER REGION
LAKE CHELAN
In the Cascade Range, in north-central Washington, lies a remarkably
beautiful and, at present, little-known lake. This exquisite body of
water, some 50 miles long and about one and a half miles wide, nestles
in an ancient glacial cirque basin 1,075 feet above sea level, with
peaks one mile high surrounding it. Little has been said of this region
heretofore because of its inaccessibility, but to-day it is easily
reached by the Great Northern R. R.
From Wenatchee a train trip of a little more than one hour beside the
lovely Columbia River takes you to Chelan Station, and from there an
auto-stage takes you the last four miles to the foot of the lake.
Hotels have been built at both the upper and lower end of the lake,
where you will be taken good care of. But the thing to do here is to
take one of the camping trips and see the magnificence of the
surrounding country; the Field Hotel at the head of the lake arranges
these trips, providing all the necessities for a very reasonable price.
Boats of all varieties are to be had on the lake; only those who cannot
spare the time to see the lake in the more leisurely way should use the
motor launches, for this beautiful, green, river-like lake should not be
hurried over; if you are on it for sunset you will not be satisfied
until you have had a glorious sunrise the same way.
I am told that the fishing, in the many streams which empty into the
lake, is unusually fine.
Those who consider going to Lake Chelan should write to the Great
Northern R. R. for their excellent literature on the subject, also read
Walter Prichard Eaton’s “Green Trails and Upland Pastures,” from which I
should like to quote several pages if space were unlimited.
THE GRAND COULEE[4]
“In the heart of the vast lava plains which occupy a large part of the
States of Washington, Idaho, and Oregon, lies the Grand Coulee, a
natural feature of grandeur and wild beauty which is well worthy of a
place among the wonder sights of America, but which is practically
unknown and unvisited at present....
“The Grand Coulee is a dry gorge or canyon, cut by the Columbia River,
when it was diverted from its course ages ago in the glacial period....
“It extends nearly 100 miles across a part of the so-called ‘Big Bend’
region of the Columbia River....
“This enormous dry canyon, with its numerous beautiful lakes and its
site of a great prehistoric waterfall, which was as high as the Victoria
Falls of the Zambesi River in Africa and of much greater extent, may be
visited by tourists travelling over the Northern Pacific Railway, by
leaving the main line at Spokane and travelling over the branch line 125
miles to Coulee City, a small town situated on the level floor of the
Upper Coulee, just at the point to get most of the interesting views of
this curious region.”