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64.
alone venturs to to climb to the tops of the tallest peaks and even he, when he has attained his goal, [[cross-out]] must pause as his inmost nature is stirred with the unusual sensations rushing through him.
  Our future course now came up for discussion.  It had been our plan roughly to map out a route and then be guided by our desires at the moment of execution.  Three courses lay before us.  We could descend the mountain on the south-east side, visit Lake Tear of the Clouds, a short distance from the summit, the highest body of water in the state and the source of the Hudson River, see Avalanche Lake, beautiful with its steep, rocky cliffs on each side, and finally go north through the pass to Adirondack Lodge.  Or we could spend the night on the summit and see the sunrise in the morning. Or, finally we could retrace our steps, stopping at some one of the many abandoned lumber camps we had passed on the way up.

The first course was the most attractive but we were not acquainted with the trails and our maps had proven inaccurate.  Moreover, our provisions had become so nearly exhausted that we did not dare risk having to spend extra hours in searching out our route should we get off the trail.  However, I have often wished that we had taken this course as we would have seen inter-sesting country and would have gathered rare plants at Lake Tear.

We should have spent the night on Marcy had the weather been more promising.  Off to the west great thunder-clouds were arising and the air "felt" as though we were in for an all night's storm.  As the meteorological conditions seemed to preclude our having any great view of the starry heavens or of the sunset and sunrise, we did not think it worth while to stay on the mountain.  Had it