The park is a natural one,—a mingling1 of meadows, headlands, groves2, winding3 streams deeply set in high mountains whose forested steeps and snowy, broken tops stand high and bold above its romantic loveliness. It is a marvelous grouping of gentleness and grandeur4; an eloquent5, wordless hymn6, that is sung in silent, poetic7 pictures; a sublime8 garden miles in extent and all arranged with infinite care.
Grace Greenwood once declared that the skyline of this region, when seen from out in the Great Plains, loomed9 up like the Alps from the plains of Lombardy.[Pg 338]
LONG'S PEAK AND ESTES PARK LONG'S PEAK AND ESTES PARK
Long's Peak, "King of the Rocky Mountains," dominates these scenes. Around this peak, within a radius10 of fifteen miles, is a striking and composite grouping of the best features of the Rocky Mountain scenery. Again and again I have explored every nook and height of this scenic11 mountain wilderness12, enjoying its forests, lakes, and ca?ons during every month of the year.
Frost and fire have had much to do with its lines and landscapes. Ice has wrought13 bold sculptures, while fire made the graceful14 open gardens, forest-framed and flower-filled in the sun. The region was occupied by the Ice King during the last glacial period. Many rounded peaks, U-shaped, polished gorges15, enormous morainal embankments, upwards17 of fifty lakes and tarns—almost the entire present striking landscape—were shaped through the ages by the slow sculpturing of the ice. Forest fires have made marked changes, and many of the wide poetic places—the grassy18 parks—in the woods are largely due to severe and repeated burnings.
[Pg 339]
This locality has been swept by fire again and again. Most of the forest is less than two hundred years of age. During the past two hundred years, beginning with 1707, there have been no less than seven forest fires, two of which appear to have swept over most of the region. There probably were other fires, the records of which have vanished. The dates of these scourges19 and in many cases the extent of their ravages20 were burned into the annual rings of a number of trees which escaped with their lives and lived on, carrying these fire-records down to us. These fires, together with the erosion which followed, had something to do with the topography and the scenery of this section. There are a few ugly scars from recent fires, but most of the burned areas were reforested with reasonable promptness. Some crags, however, may have lost for centuries their trees and vegetation. Other areas, though losing trees, gained in meadows. I am strongly inclined to ascribe much of the openness—the existence even—of Estes, Allen's, and Middle Parks to repeated fires, some of which probably were severe. Thus we[Pg 340] may look down from the heights and enjoy the mingling beauty and grandeur of forest and meadow and still realize that fire, with all its destructiveness, may help to make the gardens of the earth.
A dozen species of trees form the forests of this section. These forests, delightfully21 inviting22, cover the mountains below the altitude of eleven thousand feet. This rich robe, draping from the shoulders to the feet of the mountains, appears a dark purple from a distance. A great robe it hangs over every steep and slope, smooth, wrinkled, and torn; pierced with pinnacles23 and spires24, gathered on terraces and headlands, uplifted on the swells25, and torn by ca?ons. Here and there this forest is beautified with a ragged-edged grass-plot, a lake, or a stream that flows, ever singing, on.
The trees which brave the heights and maintain the forest frontier among the storms, are the Engelmann spruce, sub-alpine26 fir, arctic willow27, black birch, quaking aspen, and limber pine. For the most part, timber-line is a trifle above eleven thousand feet, but in a few places[Pg 341] the trees climb up almost to twelve thousand. Most of the trees at timber-line are distorted and stunted28 by the hard conditions. Snow covers and crushes them; cold chains their activity through the greater part of the year; the high winds drain their sap, persecute29 them with relentless30 sand-blasts, and break their limbs and roots.
Among glacier31-records in the Rocky Mountains those on the slopes of Long's Peak are pre-eminent for magnitude and interest. On the western slope of this peak the ice stream descended32 into the upper end of Glacier Gorge16, where it united with streams from Mt. Barrat and McHenry Peak. Here it flowed northward33 for two miles through the now wonderfully ice-carved Glacier Gorge. Beyond the gorge heavy ice rivers flooded down to this ice stream from Thatch-Top, Taylor, Otis, and Hallett Peaks. A mile beyond the gorge it was deflected34 to the east by the solid slopes of Flat-Top and Mt. Hallett. It descended to about the altitude of eight thousand feet. Along its lower course, the lateral35 moraine on the south side dammed up a[Pg 342] number of small water channels that drained the northern slope of Battle Mountain.
On the northern slope of the Peak a boulder36 field begins at the altitude of thirteen thousand feet and descends37 over a wide field, then over a terraced slope. Though probably not of great depth, it will average a mile wide and extends four miles down the slope. It contains an immense amount of material, enough to form a great mountain-peak. Probably the greatest array of glacial débris is the Mills Moraine on the east side of the Peak. This covers several thousand acres, consists of boulders38, rock-fragments, and rock-flour, and in places is several hundred feet deep.
Where has all this wreckage39 come from? Some geologists40 have expressed the opinion that ages ago Long's Peak was two thousand or so feet higher. At the time of its great height, Long's Peak was united with the near surrounding peaks,—Meeker, Washington, and Storm,—and all stood together as one peak. The present shattered condition of these peaks, their crumbling41 nature, the mountain masses of dé[Pg 343]bris on the slopes below, all of which must have come from heights above, suggest this explanation. But to take it as it now is, to stand on this crumbling peak to-day and look down upon the lakes, moraines, polished gorges,—all the vast and varied42 glacial works and ruins,—is for the geological student startling and profoundly eloquent.
Above the altitude of thirteen thousand feet are many fields of "eternal snow," and a dozen miles to the south of Long's Peak is the Arapahoe Glacier; while northward are the Andrews, Sprague, and Hallett Glaciers43 within ten miles. Though all these are small, each exhibits in a striking manner the Ice Age in a nutshell. On the east side of Long's Peak, too, is a moving ice-field that might well be classed as a glacier. By this ice begins the upper extent of the Mills Moraine, and in the gorge just below—one of the most utterly44 wild places on the earth—is Chasm45 Lake.
Most of the glacier lakes are in gorges or on terraces between the altitudes of eleven thousand and twelve thousand feet. Almost all have[Pg 344] a slope or steep rising above them, down which the ice descended while gouging46 out their basins.
Grand Lake, one of the largest reservoirs constructed by the Ice King in the Rocky Mountains, is three miles in length and one in width, cut into bed-rock. This lake is less than nine thousand feet above the sea. It is in the eastern extremity47 of Middle Park, a few miles to the west of Long's Peak. Great peaks rising from it, a great moraine sweeping48 along its northerly and westerly shores, it peacefully shows the titanic49 beautifying landscape labors50 of the ice.
The glacial winter is over. The present snowfall over this section is about one half that of the Alps. Here snow-line is thirteen thousand feet above the sea, while in the Alps it is four thousand feet lower. Down from the heights of all the high peaks pour many white streams ever singing the song of the sea.
In these mountains there are many deep gorges and ca?ons. Most of these are short and ice-polished. The Thompson Ca?on is one of the longest and finest. Its twenty miles of walled length is full of scenic contrasts and pict[Pg 345]uresque varieties. The lovely mingles51 with the wild. In places its walls stand two thousand feet above the river and the daisies. The walls are many-formed, rugged52, polished, perpendicular53, terraced, and statuesque, and are adorned54 with panels of rusty55 veneer56, with decorative57 lichen58 tracery or with vertical59 meadows of velvet60 moss61. Blossoms fill many niches62 with poetry, while shrubbery, concealing63 in its clinging the cracks in the wall, forms many a charming festoon.
In some stretches the parallel walls go straight away, well separated; then they curve, or crowd so closely that there is barely room for the river and the road. At intervals64 the walls sweep outward in short, grand semicircles and inclose ideal wild gardens of pines, grass, flowers, and the winding river. The river is ever varying its speed, its surface, and its song. Here it is a boulder-framed mirror reflecting the aspens and the sky, there a stretch of foam-flow; now it rests in a wild pool pierced with sharp rocks, now it hurries on to plunge65 and roar over a terrace of rocks, then on, always on, toward the sea.[Pg 346]
Speckled and rainbow trout66 dart67 in the streams. Mountain sheep climb and pose on the crags; bear, deer, and mountain lions are still occasionally seen prowling the woods or hurrying across the meadows. The wise coyote is also occasionally seen darting68 under cover, and he is frequently heard during the night. Here among the evergreens69 is found that wee and audacious bit of intensely interesting and animated70 life, the Frémont squirrel, and also, one of the dearest of all small animals, the merry chipmunk71. Within this territory are a number of beaver72 colonies, whose ways I have described in earlier chapters.
The entire region is a wild-flower garden. Bloom-time lasts all summer long. The scores of streams which splash down from the snows are fringed with ferns and blossoms. There are many areas petalled73 with red, blue, purple, and gold. Difference of altitude, topography, and moisture-distribution induce nearly a thousand varieties to bloom in and to color this glad wild garden. July is white with Mariposa lilies. Wild roses, sweet peas, daisies, tiger lilies, violets, orchids74, primroses75, fringed blue gentians give[Pg 347] their color and their perfume to the friendly air. Here flourishes the Rocky Mountain columbine.
The region is gladdened with many kinds of birds. On the heights lives the serene76, self-contained ptarmigan; the "camp-bird" resides in the upland forests; hummingbirds77 flit here and there; the robin78 sings and re-sings its song over the lowlands; blackbirds swing on the willows79 by the brooks80; the wise magpie81 spreads his spotted82 wings and explores every corner. Along the cascading83 streams is the darling bird of the Rockies, the cheerful water-ouzel. Here, too, the hermit84 thrush charms the air with a wonderful wealth of melody, and here the solitaire, perhaps the most inspiring of all songsters, pours his divine melody amid pines, crags, and the sounds of winds and falling waters.
Numerous trails wind through this region, and over these one may visit Specimen85 Mountain, an old volcano, Fern and Odessa Lakes,—splendid tree-bordered alpine tarns,—Wild Basin, Locke Vale, Wind River, Glacier Gorge, and the summit of Long's Peak. The Flat-Top trail is the greatest one; this touches a variety of scenes, crosses the continental86 divide at twelve thousand feet, and connects Grand Lake and Estes Park.
This splendid natural recreation-ground might well "be held for the use of the people." It is close to the geographical87 centre of the country, is easily accessible, has an excellent climate, and as a National Park it would become a scenic resource of enormous and exhaustless richness.
The End
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1
mingling
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| adj.混合的 | |
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groves
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| 树丛，小树林( grove的名词复数 ) | |
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winding
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| n.绕，缠，绕组，线圈 | |
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grandeur
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| n.伟大，崇高，宏伟，庄严，豪华 | |
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eloquent
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| adj.雄辩的，口才流利的；明白显示出的 | |
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hymn
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| n.赞美诗，圣歌，颂歌 | |
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poetic
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| adj.富有诗意的，有诗人气质的，善于抒情的 | |
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sublime
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| adj.崇高的，伟大的；极度的，不顾后果的 | |
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loomed
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| v.隐约出现，阴森地逼近( loom的过去式和过去分词 )；隐约出现，阴森地逼近 | |
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radius
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| n.半径，半径范围；有效航程，范围，界限 | |
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scenic
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| adj.自然景色的，景色优美的 | |
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wilderness
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| n.杳无人烟的一片陆地、水等，荒漠 | |
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wrought
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| v.引起；以…原料制作；运转；adj.制造的 | |
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graceful
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| adj.优美的，优雅的；得体的 | |
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gorges
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| n.山峡，峡谷( gorge的名词复数 )；咽喉v.（用食物把自己）塞饱，填饱( gorge的第三人称单数 )；作呕 | |
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gorge
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| n.咽喉，胃，暴食，山峡；v.塞饱，狼吞虎咽地吃 | |
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upwards
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| adv.向上，在更高处...以上 | |
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grassy
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| adj.盖满草的；长满草的 | |
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scourges
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| 带来灾难的人或东西，祸害( scourge的名词复数 )； 鞭子 | |
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ravages
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| 劫掠后的残迹，破坏的结果，毁坏后的残迹 | |
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delightfully
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| 大喜，欣然 | |
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inviting
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| adj.诱人的，引人注目的 | |
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pinnacles
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| 顶峰( pinnacle的名词复数 )； 顶点； 尖顶； 小尖塔 | |
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spires
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| n.（教堂的） 塔尖，尖顶( spire的名词复数 ) | |
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swells
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| 增强( swell的第三人称单数 )； 肿胀； （使）凸出； 充满（激情） | |
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alpine
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| adj.高山的；n.高山植物 | |
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willow
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| n.柳树 | |
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stunted
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| adj.矮小的；发育迟缓的 | |
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persecute
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| vt.迫害，虐待；纠缠，骚扰 | |
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relentless
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| adj.残酷的，不留情的，无怜悯心的 | |
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glacier
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| n.冰川，冰河 | |
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32
descended
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| a.为...后裔的，出身于...的 | |
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northward
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| adv.向北；n.北方的地区 | |
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deflected
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| 偏离的 | |
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lateral
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| adj.侧面的，旁边的 | |
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boulder
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| n.巨砾；卵石，圆石 | |
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descends
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| v.下来( descend的第三人称单数 )；下去；下降；下斜 | |
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boulders
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| n.卵石( boulder的名词复数 )；巨砾；（受水或天气侵蚀而成的）巨石；漂砾 | |
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wreckage
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| n.（失事飞机等的）残骸，破坏，毁坏 | |
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geologists
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| 地质学家，地质学者( geologist的名词复数 ) | |
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41
crumbling
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| adj.摇摇欲坠的 | |
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varied
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| adj.多样的，多变化的 | |
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glaciers
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| 冰河，冰川( glacier的名词复数 ) | |
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utterly
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| adv.完全地，绝对地 | |
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chasm
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| n.深坑，断层，裂口，大分岐，利害冲突 | |
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gouging
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| n.刨削[槽]v.凿( gouge的现在分词 )；乱要价；（在…中）抠出…；挖出… | |
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extremity
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| n.末端，尽头；尽力；终极；极度 | |
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sweeping
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| adj.范围广大的，一扫无遗的 | |
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49
titanic
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| adj.巨人的，庞大的，强大的 | |
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labors
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| v.努力争取(for)( labor的第三人称单数 )；苦干；详细分析；（指引擎）缓慢而困难地运转 | |
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51
mingles
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| 混合，混入( mingle的第三人称单数 )； 混进，与…交往[联系] | |
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52
rugged
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| adj.高低不平的，粗糙的，粗壮的，强健的 | |
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53
perpendicular
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| adj.垂直的，直立的；n.垂直线，垂直的位置 | |
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54
adorned
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| [计]被修饰的 | |
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55
rusty
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| adj.生锈的；锈色的；荒废了的 | |
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56
veneer
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| n.(墙上的)饰面，虚饰 | |
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57
decorative
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| adj.装饰的，可作装饰的 | |
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lichen
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| n.地衣, 青苔 | |
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59
vertical
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| adj.垂直的，顶点的，纵向的；n.垂直物，垂直的位置 | |
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60
velvet
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| n.丝绒，天鹅绒；adj.丝绒制的，柔软的 | |
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moss
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| n.苔，藓，地衣 | |
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62
niches
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| 壁龛( niche的名词复数 )； 合适的位置[工作等]； （产品的）商机； 生态位（一个生物所占据的生境的最小单位） | |
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63
concealing
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| v.隐藏，隐瞒，遮住( conceal的现在分词 ) | |
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64
intervals
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| n.[军事]间隔( interval的名词复数 )；间隔时间；[数学]区间；（戏剧、电影或音乐会的）幕间休息 | |
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65
plunge
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| v.跳入，(使)投入，(使)陷入；猛冲 | |
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trout
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| n.鳟鱼；鲑鱼(属) | |
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67
dart
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| v.猛冲，投掷；n.飞镖，猛冲 | |
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68
darting
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| v.投掷，投射( dart的现在分词 )；向前冲，飞奔 | |
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evergreens
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| n.常青树，常绿植物，万年青( evergreen的名词复数 ) | |
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70
animated
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| adj.生气勃勃的，活跃的，愉快的 | |
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chipmunk
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| n.花栗鼠 | |
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beaver
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| n.海狸，河狸 | |
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73
petalled
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| adj.有花瓣的 | |
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74
orchids
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| n.兰花( orchid的名词复数 ) | |
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75
primroses
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| n.报春花( primrose的名词复数 )；淡黄色；追求享乐（招至恶果） | |
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76
serene
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| adj. 安详的，宁静的，平静的 | |
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77
hummingbirds
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| n.蜂鸟( hummingbird的名词复数 ) | |
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78
robin
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| n.知更鸟，红襟鸟 | |
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willows
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| n.柳树( willow的名词复数 )；柳木 | |
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80
brooks
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| n.小溪( brook的名词复数 ) | |
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81
magpie
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| n.喜欢收藏物品的人，喜鹊，饶舌者 | |
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82
spotted
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| adj.有斑点的，斑纹的，弄污了的 | |
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cascading
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| 流注( cascade的现在分词 )； 大量落下； 大量垂悬； 梯流 | |
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84
hermit
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| n.隐士，修道者；隐居 | |
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85
specimen
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| n.样本，标本 | |
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86
continental
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| adj.大陆的，大陆性的，欧洲大陆的 | |
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87
geographical
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| adj.地理的；地区(性)的 | |
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