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About The west shore. (Portland, Or.) 1875-1891 | View Entire Issue (Sept. 1, 1885)
TO THE SUMMIT OF MOUNT RAINIER. THEODORE WINTHPOP'S .stories Livo ul I gerated the beauty and charms of Tngot Sound As you look out from either Seattle or Taooma, Nature hor. self givea you a thrill and inspiration of soul, such as genius on canvas or page eannot arouse. A little bay Btretohea out before you, light and pale green by the shore, but shading off toward the broad Sound to deepest amethyst j smooth as the mill pond ice, except where the leaping salmon break the surface of some bay with a hundred little fountains, or an Indian family in their black, red-edged canoe, more graooful than a gondola, glide along the shore. Above the restful waters rise up high bluffs two or throe hundred foot, all forost ooverod, the great firs showing their giant sizes whore they have fallon along the beach, outreaohing the ocean steamers as they pass, three hundred feet in longth. And still bo yond to the westward, over tho high wooded shores, rise the Olympio Mountains, their roundod summits dark green undor their load of spruce and homlock; and still above stand out against the western sky the highor peaks of Constance and Olympus, their dark rocks making a jaggod outline, tinged with a ridge of white. To the east the Cascade Range raises its highor wall six to eight thousand feot, with groat craggy peaks wild and rougli, single precipices thousands of foot in shoor dosoout, black rock ribs and white lines of snow-filled ravines loading up to their snow-capod tops. Yot far up alvc these, so that thoir loftiest summits Boetn but pigmy foothills, towers Mount Rainier, an ideal mountain. Its broad, firm base, itsolf above the snow lino, is planted on the wide mountain range, its steep sides rising up with their eternal snows to regions where the high clouds play; and over all, in the pure othor, bright in the sunlight, looking down from undisturbed quiet on the world, is the summit not a thin spire, but broad and rounded, fit to be the pillar of the hoavens. Last summor, about the first of August, throe of us determined to attempt to gain the summit of this Cascade monarch. As we pursued the route which will doubtless be the one used by climbers in the future, our experience may be of some value. The party oonsisted of a lawyer, a surveyor and mysslf, the latter two of us well accus tomed to the woods, and all young and hardy. Although we had a far easier task than those who may have at tempted the ascent years ago, yet it was fully as exciting to us because we labored under the delusion, common to most Pugot Sounders, that the mountain never had really been ascended. We knew nothing of the trails or alxmt the locality; and we went in a very plolwian manner, without guides or packers, and carrying our tent, blan kets, food, etc, for ourselves. We started from Taooma in the moruing on the Cas cade Branch of the Northern Pacific. We wore whirled across the Puyallup Valley, through littlo prairies cov ered with smooth oat fields and vine-covered hop yards; through the black stuni of half-made clearings; through tangled woods where maple and alder show thorusxlvoa much as hemlock or fir, and tho golden rod and ptirplo astors brighten up the opou spaces. After a fortv-miU journey we reachod Wilkcson, a little coal mining town of about one hundred people, Thore the one littlo store furnished us the nocoBKary supplies of flour and baoou, and tho goixl Irish woman who kept the littlo miners' boarding house spread us our last dinner iu civilization. Though it was rathor humble faro of boiled beet and beans, many times during the succeeding daya of camp life niy soul hutted after the flesh-pot and good sweet broad of that little Wilki-son hotel. - To our delight we found a good pack trail leading to tho mountain, out by President Villnrd's orders in 1883. With our sixty-pound packs this oocupiod us three days, while it could bo mado quite easily in a day and a half with ponies, Pass, ing through forests of hemlocks like tho Adirondack; thon among groat throe hundred-foot firs; crossing tho horse over ravines on bridges of a single log bo von feet through; fording tho Curiam River, nearly milk color from its glacial origin; up and down hills, gradually ascending till emerging from tho almost uubrokeu tunnel of troes, we entered throe beautiful little prairies with soft green grass and flowors. There first we obtained a good viow of the mountains alxut us, their rough, rod dish rocks towering up and shutting out half tho sky, Groat patches of white snow told us wo wore already far alove the level of the Sound, and caused us to hurry on with enthusiastic excitement Then the trail led us along by aigxags up tho mountains, the Urometer show, ing four, five, six thousand foot of altitude. As we skirted along tho crest of this ridge, over gulohoa filled with snow, we mado our first August snowballs. Taking a f i rood rest, we turned to our left,' and just a few fool below wo saw the most beautiful littlo lake that ever rested sroary eyos. We wore tired no longer, but hurried down to it Crater Lake, as it is celled, lies right iu the tops of tho mountains, and is suow fed only. There is an open meadow, with plenty of grass and flowers, st the outlet forming a niaguifioout camping ground. At the further end, half a milo away, rooks rise abruptly from the water to jsggod point a thousand foot altovo. Snow, drifts in every deep ravino and northnrn slope keep jiour ing Into the lake their pure supplies, and half a doieu beautiful cascades break the solitude with thoir emtio monotone. There are fish in the lake, and although it is of molted snow it is not so oold but that a shallow bay gave us quite a pleasant swim. Having pitched our tout we passed a most eomforUblo night, four blanket keej). ing us warm till wo awoko refreshed from nndisturltod slumlior st daybreak. From Crater Lake the trail descend a little for altout four miles along the side of the Puyallup lliver gorge.. From on point on this trt of the road there i one of the mmt beautiful vluws in America, Tho point of view is a groat rock a few steps from one sidu of the trail. Two thousand foot below the Puyallup River comes out from beneath the glacier and goo dashing dwu the gorge iu a line of white foam, with a roar thai eumes up plainly to the ear. To the right the mountain rise up first forent ooverod, thou burrmi rock. To the left a littU