The year 1913, however, was a peculiar year, throughout, for plant life. In the middle of September in Page's Meadows a large patch of ceanothus was in full bloom, either revealing a remarkably late flowering, or a second effort at beautification.
Another ceanothus, commonly called mountain birch, is often found. When in abundance and in full flower it makes a mountain side appear as if covered with drifted snow.
Willows abound in the canyons and on the mountains of the Tahoe region, and they are an invariable sign of the near presence of water.
There is scarcely a canyon where alders, cottonwoods and quaking aspens may not be found. In 1913 either the lack of water, some adverse climatic condition, or some fungus blight caused the aspen leaves to blotch and fall from the trees as early as the beginning of September. As a rule they remain until late in October, changing to autumnal tints of every richness and hue and reminding one of the glorious hues of the eastern maples when touched by the first frosts of winter.
No one used to exploring dry and desert regions, such as the Colorado and Mohave Deserts of Southern California, the Grand Canyon region, the Navajo Reservation, etc., in Arizona and New Mexico, the constant presence of water in the Tahoe region is a perpetual delight. Daily in my trips here I have wondered at the absence of my canteen and sometimes in moments of forgetfulness I would reach for it, and be almost paralyzed with horror not to find it in its accustomed place. But the never-ending joy of feeling that one could start out for a day's trip, or a camping-out expedition of a week or a month and never give the subject of water a moment's thought, can only be appreciated by those who are direfully familiar with the dependence placed upon the canteen in less favored regions.
CHAPTER XXXII
HOW TO DISTINGUISH THE TREES OF THE TAHOE REGION
By "trees" in this chapter I mean only the evergreen trees—the pines, firs, spruces, hemlocks, cedars, junipers and tamaracks. Many visitors like to know at least enough when they are looking at a tree, to tell which of the above species it belongs to. All I aim to do here is to seek to make clear the distinguishing features of the various trees, and to give some of the more readily discernible signs of the different varieties of the same species found in the region.
It must not be forgotten that tree growth is largely dependent upon soil conditions. The soil of the Tahoe region is chiefly glacial detritus.