We were afraid to build a fire inside lest the
straw thatchings would catch lire, and so we huddled together in the
corner, rolled up tightly in our blankets. But it was cold, nevertheless.
We had no door to close the opening into the hut, and instead had piled up
branches of cedar and hemlock against the doorway. But a bitterly cold
northwest wind was blowing down the river, and we couldn't keep warm, no
matter what we did. Most of the boys were ready to go right home, but we
stuck it out until the morning, and then after we had toasted ourselves
before a blazing bright fire, and had eaten a hot breakfast, we forgot
much of the discomfort of the night and were ready for more "fun." We
thought we would spend the next night in our tree house, and so, right
after breakfast, we packed up our blankets and some provisions and started
for the Jacob's Ladder.
Mountain Climbing.
Each fellow was provided with a pair of ice creepers of the same sort as
we had used in connection with the rennwolf (see page 170). In addition to
this each boy was provided with a home-made alpine stock, consisting of a
stout wooden stick in the end of which a large nail was driven and the
head filed off. Thus equipped we came to the foot of the cliff, and much
to our delight found it one mass of ice from top to bottom.
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