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After
admiring the views from Mt Eisenhower for few minutes, we bid farewell to
its battered sign and headed down the mountain's south-facing slope. It's
a much longer, but not nearly as steep hike down to the southern junction
with the Crawford Path. Along the way, I stopped to take a picture
of some Labrador tea growing near the trail. Native Americans used the
leaves of this evergreen shrub to make a tea, but he flowers are supposed
to be poisonous.
The
views south to Mt Pierce and beyond were promising. The terrain looked
fairly gentle, and the way pleasant. We were getting closer to our last
peak of the day.
Back
on the Crawford Path again, as we traveled further from Mt Eisenhower, the
trail passed over numerous small rises and down into scrubby hollows. In
one small damp hollow, there was a patch of cotton sedge growing amongst
the scrubby groundcover and thin grasses. This plant, which usually grows
in boggy areas, is like a cotton ball on a long thin stalk. This is the
first time I've ever noticed it growing along the trail. In fact, it's the
first time I'd ever even seen it, and I had to look through my alpine
flower books back at home to figure out what it was.
Eventually,
the trail began to climb gently, and Mt Pierce began to loom closer. Just
before the junction with the Webster Cliff Trail, we stopped for a short
rest and drink on the soft mossy ground beside the scrub. From this trail
junction, Mt Pierce is just a short hike uphill, after which we planned to
head down its steeper southern face to Mizpah Spring Hut, and down into
the notch. |
Labrador
tea. Native Americans used the leaves of this evergreen shrub to
make a tea. The flowers are supposed to be poisonous. |
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