Polk County observer. (Monmouth, Polk County, Or.) 1888-1927, 1910-08-16
CLIMBING MT. HOOD
YAlIHILL COUNTY MAN TELLS
WONDERS OF "TRIP.
Magnificent View and Thrilling Excite
ment OF Climb Compensate For
IL Hours Strenuous Work.


call any less welcome It's rath,
hard to sleep on the ground with n
pillow other than your coat, whe
you're not used to it, especially whe
some sextet of mosquitoes is singin
in your ears, taking turns feasting o
your blood, while the solo parts ar
being sung. So we were very ready I
crawl out of our blankets Thursda
morning when Elijah Coalman, th
big, good-natured guide, stuck hi
head into our tent and informed u
that 1t was time to be moving if w,
were to be enrolled among the Ma
zamas.
Everything superfuous was to be
left behind; even money would be oi
no account on this trip, for as Sam
Miles, the other guide, said, we would
not find any cigar stands or Ice cream
parlors. Those of us who had coats
were to be as those who had none, by
wearing them like shirts with the
suspenders on the outside. Those
with skirts were to exchange them for
something less bunglesome. There
was something weird in drinking the
hot coffee around the campfire at
dead of night, especially with the ex-
citement of climbing Mt. Hood before
one.
After the lunch had been hastily
eaten, the Alpine-stock selected, and
the smoked glasses distributed the
guide called us to Fall in line, ladies
first" Thus we filed out of camp, |
eleven Of us, counting the guides
like flock of geese so far as the or
der of our march was concerned. But
not like geese in the amount of noise
made. Chin music" as Miles called
IL, was to be "cut out" We needed
all our wind" for the climb So we
moved comparatively silently and very
slowly--scarcely more than a snaiI's
pace--about the gait the bride and
groom have to take when they are ,
marching in to Lohengrin. In addition s
the guide would stop every little bit
Tor us to rest, even when some of us /
thought we didn't want to rest AS t
we found later, that was the only way r
most of us could have reached the
summit. a
We hadn't gone far up through the t,
loose, yielding lava dust, stumbling u
now and then over boulders, when it n
seemed In the pale light of the moon n
that the guide was taking us right ir
down into q creek or river We could nj
hear running water, and here was an g;
expanse of something between two in
banks rejecting the light. But what III
was our surprise when the river turn a,
ed out to be one of ice rather than of te
water Here we had solid footing II,
on which we did not slip, owing to the ur
alpine-stocks and the screws in our wi
shoes, that the guides had put there ne
while we We're trying to sleep. once ge
on the Ice, that's where we stay, with of
but one or two short exceptions, dur do
ing the remainder of the climb. ID
The broad ice fields are entered no
from the river we have been following. ex,
We refresh ourselves from a little rea
spring of water, and the guide doles to
out to us some pieces of chocolate
partly possibly, to keep us in a good rea
numor, but rather, as all found, to the
give us some nourishment. We were ing
'nly sorry the pieces weren't larger. we
Gradually the east began to turn drI,
'ray, the stars began to be less brill er
liant, and some one was sure he saw 10 :
At Jefferson. Soon another saw the
'hree Sisters, and then Diamond
'eak The Blue Mountains to the
asst also gradually became visible, hut n
beoane evident ~. .,,s whe
he forest aro, ,,as 80. =. - Oi soma
rom seeinp M choa,o - -, 10 of 81
T the willamette vaIlo,, rya..'' carr
ne sun smiled bIs faIrost 80 blan
id Mt Hood cast h,s ,,o,5o,e,,, a,,l., - form
W of blush haze before us. marking
ainiy over scores OF miles below the
ltline OF the mountain, while the TIL
Ills and peaks on which the sun was Obse
llhlhs We're wrapped in a delicate colur
'uzy mantle of wonderful orange us tn
ne. Tb
On and on we go. little at time guile
the hours pass, till finally, after a
aep climb with the aid Of a rome we
aeh Crater Rock at 7:1O a. m. This
ition on the way Is made a halting Blu.
ace for all the pilgrims to the sum- gethe
T. We are still 1000 feet below the placir
chest point and the hardest climb is server
to come, and 1t becomes conven- eolum
Il place for those whose feet are have
He'd with something more than the
W. III our party however, none The
- :" ia'nt-heartedness. So after Orego
hours rest, during which we eat TO ms
lunches We have brought and within
mt our faces and ears and necks for II,
II iace paint IN the most gorgeous lamett
- to keep from sunburn, We start
again.
low there must be no talking. for
re over-hangs us several tons OF dorsI,.,
< ana earth that are liable TO fall ministI
any minute, and the vibrations Norris,
seq by even the human voice NAV 80 -. .i.e @
uhcient to dislodge enough TO send All
o our doom. We soon pass that the sal
ger and come within a few feet of present
re the old crater Is stilI emitting ~ NJ M,tn
sulphur fumes, dlscoloring the CITY or
all around and making us won six MOI
What IL rpusf ba iia,o tr.,4. NJ tice.
aIon,, . ~ my ihs'ue we DateC
.''"s a h"rro" ridge OF Ice. 1910.
ing on one side into the crater.
on the other is a steep decline Admi
indreds OF feet below. We hold Nv ~, .. :.
the rope. however. and step in
oot-holds that have been hewed
.or us by the guides. and come
10 the big crevasse or crack In Nouc'
&c, some eight or ten feet wide. e,rss.,,,..
GOODNESS knows how deep. A lad LINK. a,
; placed for us 20 walk on. ana OF the 81
BE- TO hold onto ana ~. ,h ". and .
SO ~ -, - All ps
'NN Aheh comes the the said
~ ana last stage OF the climb. present
We go almost straight Al, h,. er with
, OF the sfen. ,,,, A., - - 20 the "a
ihe help Of a rope. until finally ~ Of Pol
ach the very top-aIi Of us. in date Of
g three ladies and a big Fat man Dated
wife and even the guides had '''"
d most seriously whether he
make H.
enjoy the paporam. ~. 49,. ENecut
d. -, -. -'''' out a Link.
Nti'e our NAMES IN Oscar ]