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National Geographic : 1902 Jun
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EXPLORATION IN THE CANADIAN ROCKIES fell victims to the baggage-smasher on their eastward journey. After lunch I carried my camera to the top of a mountain 3,000 feet above our camp, or 8,700 feet above sea-level. This peak lies north of the lakes and is comparatively easy of ascent. The en tire east side is a steep grassy slope, which ends abruptly in a jagged edge of cliffs. Looking over this to the west, one stands on the sharp crest of a tre mendous precipice of very unusual for mation. It is no less than a perfectly smooth wall, which sweeps out of the valley in a magnificent curve more than 2,500 feet in height to the rough edge of the arete. This narrow ridge is crowned, far above tree line, by scrub spruce trees, gnarled and distorted by wind into weird and fantastic shapes. The dwarf Alpine flowers were also in teresting. I found some golden rod in full blossom, with stems and flowers perfectly developed, not more than one and one-half inches high. Far more exceptional was the discovery of some epilobizmr (latifolium), a beautiful plant related to the fireweed of the lower val leys, at 8,500 feet altitude, which is al most i,ooo feet above previous records. The last part of the climb was more rugged, and involved several hundred yards along a knife edge at the summit. Two eagles were perched on the highest crag as I approached. A vast pano rama, including the upper Kananaskis and Elk Valleys, with the Opal and Mist Mountains beyond and the main range of the Rockies on the other side, was disclosed from this peak and made a fine reward for the climb: The ridge crest was so narrow that I could not stand behind the camera, but had to focus and expose plates by a method adapted to such emergencies. Fortu nately the wind, which was blowing very strong in the valleys, as I could see by the white caps on the lakes, was only a gentle and unusually warm breeze at this great height. We left the Kananaskis Lakes to fol low the river back to the railroad on August 24. Owing to a serious error in Dawson's map of this region, we lost nearly two days' time by following a wrong trail, which, after leading us through miles of muskegs and burned timber, brought us to a gap in the Mist Mountains, with no sign of a trail going down the Kananaskis. On the second day at noon we found ourselves back at our starting point, but satisfied now to follow the trail which the Indians had used. Our march down the Kananaskis was accomplished in three long days' march, the last 20 miles of which were much facilitated by the now disused lumber road. The original plan of our exploration was reversed-first by the fact that the upper Spray Valley does not lead di rectly to the Kananaskis Lakes, as Daw son's map surmises, and then because we missed the opening to the pass itself later. This in nowise defeated our ob ject, and undoubtedly the accident led us into as interesting discoveries as would have been otherwise possible. After comparing a sketch of the coun try we passed through with Dawson's map of the region, on either side some interesting facts are disclosed. Among them it seems that the second valley we had discovered east of the Palliser, and which we entered on August io, is probably not a tributary to the Elk, though we had first thought it was. Where we left this valley the altitude is 5,060 feet, or nearly 300 feet lower than the Elk at a corresponding point due east. The Elk Valley is known to have very little fall in that region, and it hardly seems possible that this river, which runs south eight degrees west, enters the former and has a still less descent. Moreover, in case there is such a gentle fall to the Elk, there should be an abundance of fish, which is not the case. I am inclined to think this is the source of the Bull River. 199
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