, 1890-08-28
"OLD BALDY'S" CREST
Three Adventures From Spokane
Falls Make the
Ascent
Weird Glimpses OF the Mountain
at Twilight-Panorama
From the Peak.
WRITES FOR THE REvlEw.l

lwRiTrgs FOR THE REvIEw
Ever since our arrival In this great
Northwest, tho round, bald crown
of Mount Carleton has loomed up Us
n standing challenge to scale his
cloud-capped summit, and get II
view of that extensive region away
to the north aud east, which is still
unsurveyed and unsettled and we'll
nigh inaccessible except by an In
dian trail. There were three Of us,
Messrs. j. M. Moore, j. w. May
nard and myself, besides two mis-
mated cayuAes and dog. We loft
Spokane last Monday afternoon and
drove due north about fifteen miles to
Mr.. Maynard's ranch, where we
stayed all night. Next morning we
took an early start, by way of Chat
taroy, on long drive, mostly
through heavy forests scarcely
touched hy the axe us yet, OCCASION
ally running across stray ranch In
the wilderness. But one fact im-
pressed us, and that was that not
one-fifth Of the good tillab!e soil Is
at present under cultivation. Near
ly all the land up to the foothills Is
filed upon by hardy pioneers, even
far beyond the present surveys; and
when the forests e.lall have been
cleared up there will be thousands
of acres of fine ranches, Us fine AS
any in the state.
AS we were not making Nellie
BLY, trip to break the record, we did
not reach the top of the main foot
hill till 2 O'Clock r. NJ, having
stopped down ut Big Meadows To
look over their system of Irrigation,
which waters perfectly two fine
timothy ranches. From this hill "A
sister peak rises 1000 feet or more,
which seems to eclipse the main
mountain lying right behind
IL. But when ut q o'clock that
evening we got fair look at Old
Baldy from the top Of this peak, he
loomed up ,and swelled out and en-
larged our conceptions OF bis mag
nitude as never before.
We camped here for the night by
spring of very cold water, near
the top. A train of Indian squaws
and their ponies laden with buckle
berries came up and cainped some
distance below us, and evidently
their high-salaried singer was along
with them, for despite our weari-
ness we were compelled to lie awake
far into the night listening to the
vocal gymnastics OF this dusky
prima donna.
Next afternoon we packed our
ponies again, having left our wagon
on the foothill the day before, and
made the last pull for the top OF
Badly. This last climb was by far
the most fatiguing. owing, L pre-
sumo. to the great rareiaction OF the
air, which necessitated an extraor-
, iinary amount of lung expansion
for a given amount of labor.
Those tortuous and torturing, and
altogether discouraging scrambles
up those two mountains and
, dragging a pack pony along will
, ever stay by us, In the list of pain.
full memories. And, by the way,
for ways that are dark and paths
, that are devious, the Indian trail
, stands par excellence. We had
noticed now 1t runs along all right
/ with as many turns a. possible)
, and then "peters ouip entirely, only
to reappear again; also how II splits
, and leaves you In suspense as to
/ which you shall take until finally
, the branches re-unite.
, Well, OH our homeward journey,
after halting awhile in a berry
patch, we noticed branch trail
looking as it it would avoid much
of tho fallen logs in that part
, of the trip. so we took
this branch; and truly 1t led US on
by seductive Windnlgs and in an
. easier path, until we pulled up In d
! gulch at the foot of a mountain July
, three miles from our proper terlni
! nus, and no way out but ~ clinL
. right back over 1t all.
But to return to the mountain
D top. All the weariness Is quickly
4, forgotten in contenplatingt won
, derlul extent, and diversity, ano
: beauty of the panorama unfolded tt
your view on all SIDES. AS yot
stand on the granite peal
: ut the north end and iool
l north, you see the fertile
= Colville valley and mountain
9 of mineral awaiting development
; extending far into British America
to the northeast you catch aglimps,
of the Calispel valley through II riff
, in the mountains and on beyont
4 lies the rich Koolenal country; right
. at the base is lovely yulch where
six men are washing placer gold; tt
= the east lie Hoodoo lake and LAX,
, Tesemini, OF Spirit lake, botf
, famous in Indian legend; farther I,
: the east is Lake Pend d. Oreille, calleC
by a traveller from across the sci
Paddy O'Reilley's lake; on beyont
. il rise the rich mountains o.
. Idaho and Montana; to the southeas
! we notice picturesque Lake Cnu
I diAlene In the distance; u littl,
nearer is Post Falls and the Spo
kane river, and nearer the base ar
Sucker lake and Newman's lake
TO the south, across Spokane prairie
we see beautiful Liberty lake, ant
on as far AS the eye can reacl
stretches the bountiful Palous
country in rolling pillows, only en-
larged reproductions of her waving
grain fields.
: Next we behold our own fair Spo
kane, and as we looked down oi
her at night, her electric light
scintillated with a sostcned radi
ance like thousands of firetiies abov
a meadow.
Away to the south. west aud Yves
rolls the Big Bend country. such
fruit, grain and stock country as on
ly Washington can boast OF. Ant
still beyond are dimiy seen the peak
of the Cascades. Toward the north
west lies the OkanOgan mountains
u great treasure house OF wealth ye
"A. L..