What seemed from a distance to be a smooth slope I found to be a dense intricacy of fallen saplings, overgrown with fern and willow higher than a man’s head. With my usual desire to climb to the top and see the view I continued for about four hours, walking along the tree trunks and falling into the fern. I startled several large animals, but I could not tell what they were, and the noise I made crashing through the brush frightened them away before I could reach them.