[Week 4]

22nd     Left the valley today, on our way to the high Sierras.  Took some time to get things in order, after our long camp so we did not get under way till 800.  Went up the Eagle Peak trail which is very steep ascending a narrow cañon alongside the Yosemite falls.  On the way up we visited the foot of the great fall but owing to the lowness of the water there was little to see.  Arrived in the Eagle Meadows about noon and found plenty of feed and wood but poor meadow water.  After lunch Joe Prof & self walked up to Eagle Peak and enjoyed the magnificent view there afforded of the valley and distant peaks.  Before coming down Joe & I gathered wood for a signal fire on the summit that night.  Got back to camp where we found that Merrill & Morgan had piled up an immense campfire.  After an early dinner we 4 boys rode up to the peak in time to roll some rocks and see the sunset which was magnificent.  When it grew dark we lighted our fire which was a very beautiful one and yelled and fired off the shot gun till we were tired.  A few answering yells were wafted faintly up to us from the depths below.  The return to camp was rather difficult owing to the darkness but Ross and I managed to find it with the aid of an occasional match and by feeling with our feet.  We went to bed by the light of the finest campfire, by all odds, we have yet had.  7 miles

23rd     Started about 8. for Lake Tenaya.  The road led through fine forests of Tamarack Pine Spruce & Fir interspersed with beautiful meadows.  Reached Porcupine Flat—a beautiful meadow containing several fine streams about 10:30.  There Joe & I left the party to ascend Mt. Hoffman, a peak nearly 12,000 ft. high while the rest went on to the Lake.  Rode our horses up the ridge about a mile,—hitched and walked the rest of the 6 or 7 rough, trailless and steep miles.  The mt. consists of a series of 6 or 7 peaks, all nearly of a height which form a vast amphitheatre, at present the source of Yosemite creek and formerly the head of the Yosemite creek glacier.  When we finally reached the highest peak at about 1:30 the view was simply grand.  On one side the grand amphitheatre dotted with snow fields and deep blue lakes with the higher mts. forming a background.  Turning, all the high and imposing peaks of this section of the Sierras passed before us from Mt. Conness to Mt. Star King and Black Mt.  The peaks and domes about Yosemite were nearly all visible but not very marked except Cloud's Rest and South Dome.  Among the 14 lakes we counted were Lake Tenaya and May.  A huge golden eagle, wheeling about the wild black precipices added to the wildness of the scene.  On the descent which was much smoother than the ascent owing to the knowledge we had gained on the mt. we saw 3 bucks but tho' I had the shot gun they were too far for a shot.  We reached the flat again about 4:00 PM and started to find our companions having, according to the map about 4 miles to go.  We were now for the first [time] on the Tioga road; but it was much washed out and progress was slow.  Our 4 miles lengthened out into 8 and we found the camp on the shores of the beautiful lake at about 6:30.  The others had reached it only at 3: PM. and so had had a late lunch.  Our lunch of cold flap-jacks and snow had left us with good appetite for the evening meal.

          The Prof. was much pleased at our observation in having distinguished 2 new trees along the road, the Williamson Spruce and a variety of the Sugar Pine which he had seen on the road also.  The first named is one of the most beautiful trees we have yet seen.  Most of the forests in this region however are of the Tamarack Pine, a handsome but rather small tree.

24th Had a very cold night but slept tolerably well notwithstanding.  In the morning the proprietor of the cabin where we stopped showed Ross and I the "diamond hitch" for the pack and we are quite jubilant at having mastered it.  The road followed the edge of Lake Tenaya for some distance and then lead [sic] thro' a country fairly well wooded but with much bare granite and a great many domes all showing evidence of the passage of the great Tenaya glacier which had its terminal moraine just below Mirror Lake in Yo Semite.  After traveling completely around Cathedral Peak we came into the Tuolumne meadows and shortly afterwards reached Soda Spring at 12 N.  Here we had lunch and enjoyed the soda water which besides containing much carbonic acid is impregnated with iron.  It reminded me very much of the soda water at Summit Soda Springs.  Just as we were about to leave camp in came 4 U.C. boys whom we had been wishing to meet—Drew—Raymond—Chesinet [?] and Dyer—and a couple of young fellows named Hixon & Marsh who had left us in Yosemite.  They were all just from the summit of Mt. Lyell and were full of enthusiasm about the ascent, the dangers and the view.  Their account fired at least Joe and I with the determination to reach the same spot if it were possible.  We parted after a very pleasant interview and after a trip of about 8 miles went into camp on a creek at the foot of Mt. Dana.

25th So cold as to trouble my sleep considerably.  The camp fire had however set fire to a large stump and in the middle of the night I removed to its immediate neiborhood [sic] thereby disposing of the disturbance.  At 8:00 the 4 boys set out to climb Dana, the Prof remaining in camp to rest an [sic] cook beans!  Merrill rode on account of his foot, the rest of us walking.  The road as far as the saddle between Mts Dana and Gibbs was mostly through luxuriant meadows down which a sparkling stream of freshly melted snow water dashed and foamed.  Here we met the first band of sheep we have yet seen.  From the saddle to the top the way was entirely over large boulders and loose slate, and as the distance was about 3/4 mile [this is crossed out and changed to two miles] and the elevation 1000 [changed to 2000] ft. the walking was quite slow and fatiguing.  Joe and I far outstripped the other two beating them an hour from an even start at the saddle.  We reached the summit about 11 o'clock and had a very fine view, the air being clear and free from clouds.  The scene was somewhat disappointing to me.  Tho' we were 1500 ft. higher than when on Hoffman, we had not a much more extensive survey nor did the various peaks, outside of Mts. Ritter, Lyell and Warren, stand out so distinctly.  Cathedral Peak and its surrounding group lost most of all in this respect, their striking and unique forms being lost against the background of the Hoffman group.  On the east the scene was varyed [sic] by the expanse of Mono Lake but the surrounding desert with its dead volcanoes, sagebrush plains and barren moraines took from the blue waters of the lake half their charm.  In addition to Mono we counted nearly 50 lakes & ponds of various sizes and at the foot of the small glacier which rests on the eastern face of Dana was a true glacial lake, milky white from the snow and finely powdered granite constantly deposited by the glacier.  After a 3 hr. stay on the summit we descended, making camp in 1 1/2 hr.  The remainder of the P.M. was spent in sewing, shoe repairing and similar occupations and after an early but delicious dinner consisting of beans, rice, bacon, bread and tea we gathered wood for a camp fire and talked over our plans for the next few days.

26th     Morgan and Merrill got off early this morning on a trip to Mono Lake, partly to secure a supply of sugar and other eatables and partly to see the famous Bloody Cañon and Mono Lake country.  The rest of us broke camp about 8:00 to go to the foot of Mt. Lyell, preparatory to the ascent of the same by Joe & self on the morrow.  Passed a sheep camp on the way where we obtained a quarter of mutton for 50 cts part of which formed the basis of a fine lunch.  After lunch I washed my soiled clothes, did some writing, had a good nap, and built a camp-fire to counteract the chilling breezes which blow down from the vast snow-fields of Mt. Lyell just above our camp.  Toward evening I made the interesting discovery that the river had suddenly risen over a foot; the snow, melted during the day having just reached our camp.

27th Joe & I rose at 3:30, lighted up the camp-fire, and cooked our breakfast of bacon, rice refried mush and coffee.  Then waited till 4:30 for daybreak at which hour we started upon The ascent of our trip.  2 1/2 hours walking over steep hillsides interspersed with meadows brought us to the foot of the great glacier and 1 hour spent in the novel pastime of climbing up the vast snow expanse took us to the lofty and rugged summit.  The view that met us as we mounted the last boulder was far too vast and wild for any description, but the nearer portion was what we most observed.  At our feet lay the headwaters of four large rivers.  Towards the north the glacier, dazzlingly bright in the newly risen sun, and rendered picturesque by the innumerable "ice blades" of every size and shape, fed the icy waters of the Tuolumne.  The amphitheatre in which the glacier takes its rise is an enormous one, and is fenced by 6 or 7 jagged peaks connected by knife edges of rock so thin as to cause one to wonder how they could stand.  To the west the Merced flowed from a chain of lovely lakes locked in the bosom of another vast and deep amphitheatre or "cirque" as the Prof. calls it.  South and on a line with the wild black summit of Mt Ritter the San Joaquin found its birthplace and to the east Rush creek hurried from a large milk white glacial lake to join the alkali waters of the great Mono Lake.  All the high peaks previously seen, such as Conness, Warren, Dana, Gibbs, Ritter and Hoffman, loomed up more than ever from our great elevation while far away to the south, hundreds of snow covered peaks told of the region where Whitney reigns as monarch of the Sierras.

          We added ours to the eleven names already deposited on the summit, and soon started down in order to recross the glacier ere the snow was softened.  I led the way and had no more than placed my foot on the first steep slope of snow than away I went, arms, legs and pack all awash and did not stop for at least 200 feet.  After the first slight fear was gone I wished it had been a longer slide.  Taking my advice Joe let himself slide and came down in better style than self.  After leaving the glacier the descent was rapid and we surprised Prof. by arriving in camp just after he had been looking for us on the top at 11: A.M. 6 1/2 hours after starting.  As the previous party had taken 6 hrs. to ascend alone, we were not a little proud of our time.

          A delicious bath prepared me for lunch.  It was much needed for in addition to wearing dark glasses Joe & I had thoroughly blackened our faces with charcoal as a protection against snow-blindness and our faces were frightful when we got home. 

          We packed up and were under way by 2 P.M. for Soda Spring there to camp and meet Charley and Ross.  The road seemed long but was easy, running through meadows separated by the huge dump-piles of the former great Tuolumne glacier.  Throughout the 10 miles which we rode the evidences of comparatively recent glaciation were very frequent and striking.  Were well settled in camp by 6:00 P.M. and the boys joined us soon after with glowing accounts of the Mono trip, and, still more important to us, abundance of sugar and butter.  We had a royal dinner of bread with butter, rice boiled as well as fried, mutton chops and tea.

28th     After a fine sleep we reluctantly rose, got breakfast and packed up, for we had to travel tho' it was Sunday according to our plans.  After striking the Cathedral meadows and Cloud's Rest trail we had a splendid ride amid fine Spruce, Tamarack and Fir woods.  Through the cathedral meadows the scenery was very fine, we being just beneath the lofty pinacles of Cathedral & Unicorn Peaks and Tenaya peak.  At the end of this meadow we missed the trail and traveled till noon down a steep and rugged cañon walled in by most tremendous precipices of granite showing in close proximity and on a grand scale the perpendicular and the domelike cleavage.  Being at length barred by the roughness of the cañon we returned and lunched near where we lost the way in a very lovely meadow.  In the P.M. we easily regained the trail and by night reached Hopkin's [?] meadows at the foot of Cloud's Rest, the whole way being through a steep but finely wooded country.  Our camp in the midst of a splendid group of 200 foot Silver Firs was one of the prettiest we have had and the Fir bough beds were extremely conducive to good sleep—so much so that I could not keep awake to hear the Prof's talk on Mono Lake.