The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1922-11-16
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had started rescue party and had toted WOOD
up from Timber,Line and had lighted relay fires
"But | had found a way to The summit The
next morning we angled TO the left as we APP
preached The Notch and finally came out on The
HomeStretch Of the present trail. All seven OF
us We're then on The Summit. After the
first thrills were over, we searched for signs Of
previous human visitation and found none. We
built cairn and left record. Maj j. w. Powell,
later Of Grand Canyon fame, made little speech.
Il climbed Longs the second time eight years ago
over the present trail-and | had to smile at the
difference"
The late Edna Louise Smith Of Aurora, H.,
whose life of phlanthropic accomplishment was
prematurely cut short last spring in an automobile
crossing accident was an ardent end able noun
taneer. She assembled Longs Peak many times.
one ascent was made at night in August of 1915
under such unusual conditions that the National
Park Service requested her to write an account
for use in its booklets. Her story is a Rocky
Mountain National Park classic. She and three
women companions with Shep Hustled guide,
started from Tahosa Valley 10000 at II D. m. in
heavy fog and half-rain. Her story includes the
following:
After a short climb were in another world.
The fog a of silvery clouds below us and
from 1t the mountains rose like islands. The
moon and stars were bright in the heavens. There
the sparkle in the air that suggests enchanted
came upon ground white with snow which made
1t seem all the more likely that Christmas pixies
just within the shadows Of the pines might dance
forth on a moonbeam.
above Timber-Line there was no snow but the
moonlight was so brilliant that the clouds far be-
low were shining like misty lakes and even the
bare m0untanside about us looked almost as
white as If snow-covered
AT the western edge Of Boulder Field there was
oh, Il .t,,1o .;.-I,A
in the center Of that curious nick in the rim of
Boulder Field shone the great golden moon. The
vast shadow Of the peak, made doubly dark by
the contrast made us very silent. When we
emerged from Keyhoe and looked down into the
Glacier Gorge beyond IT was hard to breathe be-
cause of the wonder Of 1t all The was
shining down into the great gorge a thousand feet
below and II was filled with a sllvery glow. The
lakes glimmered in the moonlight.
"Climbng along the narrow ledge, high above
this tremendous gorge was like dream. Not
breath Of air stirred, and the only sound was the
crunch Of hobnais on rock There was n supreme
hush in the air as If something tremendous
about to happen.
suddenly the sky, which had been the far-off
blue Of moonlit night, flushed with the sofest
amethyst ana rose, and the stars doomed large
and intimately near, burning like lamps with
lavender emerald, sapphire an1 topaz lights. The
moon had set and the stars were supreme.
AS we made our way along The Narrows the
drama of that days dawn proceeded with kael-
doscopic speed. over the plains apparently with
ont end was sen OF bIllowy clouds, sh'mmerng
with golden and pearly lights. One mountain
range after another was revealed and brought
close by the rosy glow that now filled all the sky.
Every peak, far and near, bore fresh crown Of
new snow and each stood out distinct and lndI-
vldual Arnpahoe Peak held the eye long. Torreys
Peak and Grays Peak were especially beautiful.
And far away, a hundred miles to the south,
doomed up the summit of Pixies Peak.
"Such scene could last but short time. And
# was well for Ms for the moments were too
crowded with sensations to he long borne Soon
the sun burst up from the ocean of clouds below.
On The Su init all was bright and warm. And
In the bright sunlight Of the new day we wondered
whether had seen d reality or vision"