Alpland

A region of superb mountain grandeur where peak after peak lifts its frosty head above the clouds, where the remnants of the last great Ice Age still lie in thick fields upon the shoulders of the mountains and flow down in slow frozen rivers or leaping green streams to the valleys below; a region of tremendous distances, of high waterfalls, deep canyons, and black upsoaring cliffs; yet a region, too, of green loveliness, of grassy valleys and thick pine forests, of emerald alplands bright with flowers, of lakes, pure and brilliant in colour as precious gems.

Forget-me-not Pass was an alpland filled to overflowing with colorful flower displays: red Indian paintbrush, purple asters, yellow buttercups, and, of course, myriads of blue forgetme-nots.

If you're a hiker who loves walking along rattling rivers or past forested lakes, or padding on rain-forest trails softened by mosses, I'd suggest you add one star to every lowland hike and subtract one star from every alpland hike in this guide.