high mountain country and this was my first opportunity to really indulge myself. Before I had been working for somebody or under the necessity to get someplace. Much of the time I did not know exactly where I was, only where camp was, and several times I stayed out all night because it was easier to hole up in some cave, overhang, or under a fallen tree than to hike back to camp. My friend was not a worrier and for all I knew he didn't give a damn.
What I refer to in the story as the ghost lake was just a large pool of melted snow-water, probably only inches deep, but I never checked to find out. Several times I saw bears, one digging for a marmot, another turning over dead logs to look for grubs or whatever. I had good binoculars with me that I'd borrowed from my friend, and often I'd sit for a half hour or so just studying the country, watching the animals, and seeking out trails or possible routes. However, in that high country, as in many such places, following trails was always good business. Somebody had gone that way, and if it was worn, many people had, so it was possible. Many routes that seem good end in steep drop-offs and one has to climb all the way back. If there is a trail, stay with it. That's my advice. Look around if you like but when you move on, stick to the trail.
It was the first time in my life that I had leisure and I made the most of it. I doubt if I was ever more than seven or eight miles from camp but it was mostly up, choosing my way with care.
In my years of wandering about in wild places, often alone, I have never taken unnecessary chances, and anyone who does is a fool. Recklessness is not bravery. I am inclined to agree with the explorer Roald Amundsen that what we call adventure is simply bad planning.
WILLIAM TELL SACKETT: The eldest of the five Sackett brothers of his family, he grew up in the Tennessee-North Carolina Mountains, joined the Union Army in the Civil War and rode most of the time with the Sixth Cavalry. He fought Indians in Dakota and Montana and rode on a cattle drive from Texas to Montana. The great love of his life was in his Civil War period, a tale yet to be told. He also appears in THE SACKETT BRAND, MOJAVE CROSSING, THE LONELY MEN, TREASURE MOUNTAIN, LONELY ON THE MOUNTAIN, and as just another working cowboy in DARK CANYON.
ANGE KERRY: An Irish-Spanish mixture; Tell found her in a cave high in the mountains above Vallecito Canyon. Discovered her, almost lost her, but eventually married her. It just goes to show you a man's not safe anywhere, even at the end of a ghost trail past a ghost lake in a place where no one is likely to be.
CAP ROUNTREE: Mountain man, cowpuncher, stage driver, he's done it all and carries the scars to prove it. Nobody knows how old he is and he isn't talking. Some say that Pikes Peak was a mere hole in the ground when he first came west. He also appears in THE DAYBREAKERS, THE SACKETT BRAND, and LONELY ON THE MOUNTAIN.
MORA, NEW MEXICO: On the Mora River, in Mora County. The name's origin has been credited to several sources. Some say it was named for the mulberry, some for a dead man found by Ceran St. Vrain, but it was probably a surname.
ELIZABETHTOWN: A onetime copper and gold mining town, about 5 miles east of Eagle Nest, in Colfax County. First settled about 1865. Prospectors found gold on Willow Creek. Town named for a daughter of John W. Moore. Now almost a ghost town.
WILL BOYD: Gambler, gunman; he loses a mustache under peculiar circumstances not altogether related to cosmetics.
JOHN TUTHILL: A banker whose interests ran beyond interest. He knew that gold was where you found it and he didn't mind one bit if the gold belonged to somebody else. John Tuthill knew a lot about gold and even where gold was likely to be found. What he didn't know was a lot about mountains when the weather has been nice in the late fall. He didn't know much about weather in a country where if you don't like the weather you just wait five
What I refer to in the story as the ghost lake was just a large pool of melted snow-water, probably only inches deep, but I never checked to find out. Several times I saw bears, one digging for a marmot, another turning over dead logs to look for grubs or whatever. I had good binoculars with me that I'd borrowed from my friend, and often I'd sit for a half hour or so just studying the country, watching the animals, and seeking out trails or possible routes. However, in that high country, as in many such places, following trails was always good business. Somebody had gone that way, and if it was worn, many people had, so it was possible. Many routes that seem good end in steep drop-offs and one has to climb all the way back. If there is a trail, stay with it. That's my advice. Look around if you like but when you move on, stick to the trail.
It was the first time in my life that I had leisure and I made the most of it. I doubt if I was ever more than seven or eight miles from camp but it was mostly up, choosing my way with care.
In my years of wandering about in wild places, often alone, I have never taken unnecessary chances, and anyone who does is a fool. Recklessness is not bravery. I am inclined to agree with the explorer Roald Amundsen that what we call adventure is simply bad planning.
WILLIAM TELL SACKETT: The eldest of the five Sackett brothers of his family, he grew up in the Tennessee-North Carolina Mountains, joined the Union Army in the Civil War and rode most of the time with the Sixth Cavalry. He fought Indians in Dakota and Montana and rode on a cattle drive from Texas to Montana. The great love of his life was in his Civil War period, a tale yet to be told. He also appears in THE SACKETT BRAND, MOJAVE CROSSING, THE LONELY MEN, TREASURE MOUNTAIN, LONELY ON THE MOUNTAIN, and as just another working cowboy in DARK CANYON.
ANGE KERRY: An Irish-Spanish mixture; Tell found her in a cave high in the mountains above Vallecito Canyon. Discovered her, almost lost her, but eventually married her. It just goes to show you a man's not safe anywhere, even at the end of a ghost trail past a ghost lake in a place where no one is likely to be.
CAP ROUNTREE: Mountain man, cowpuncher, stage driver, he's done it all and carries the scars to prove it. Nobody knows how old he is and he isn't talking. Some say that Pikes Peak was a mere hole in the ground when he first came west. He also appears in THE DAYBREAKERS, THE SACKETT BRAND, and LONELY ON THE MOUNTAIN.
MORA, NEW MEXICO: On the Mora River, in Mora County. The name's origin has been credited to several sources. Some say it was named for the mulberry, some for a dead man found by Ceran St. Vrain, but it was probably a surname.
ELIZABETHTOWN: A onetime copper and gold mining town, about 5 miles east of Eagle Nest, in Colfax County. First settled about 1865. Prospectors found gold on Willow Creek. Town named for a daughter of John W. Moore. Now almost a ghost town.
WILL BOYD: Gambler, gunman; he loses a mustache under peculiar circumstances not altogether related to cosmetics.
JOHN TUTHILL: A banker whose interests ran beyond interest. He knew that gold was where you found it and he didn't mind one bit if the gold belonged to somebody else. John Tuthill knew a lot about gold and even where gold was likely to be found. What he didn't know was a lot about mountains when the weather has been nice in the late fall. He didn't know much about weather in a country where if you don't like the weather you just wait five
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