St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1881-10-07
A Vacation Among the Sierra
NeVadaS.---IV.
BY C. A. SAVAGE.


lings is not complete without a des-
cription of one more adventure. About
fifteen or twenty miles to the east of
the Yosemite Valley is II cluster of
Highest of these is bare obelisk with
precipitous sides of smooth granite,
called Mt. Clark. From the time we
had first seen it as we were coming
over the snow fields of the cathedral
valley, it had tempted us. There was
something very fascinating in these
steep rocky cliffs. From every point
of observation we reached about the
valley Mt. Clark was the most prOmi-
nent object to be seen i'll the distance.
Report said its ascent was difficult.
Clarence King had given most thrill
ling account of his efforts in reaching
the top, and the more we looked at it
and thought about it, the more attrac
tive it seemed to us. We must try it,
that was certain.
Our stay in the valley was drawing
to close before an opportunity pre-
sented itself. But on the very last
week we arranged to go. The trip
would take us three days, so we again
secured the services of Brigham, the
mule, to carry our blankets and "grub,"
and started out on horseback under the
guidance of the voiceless Pike.
| There was no question that Pike was
well acquainted with the mountains,
but he certainly was not active in the
temperance cause, unless his part was
to show the evil effects of drinking
We had arranged for him to bring us
the horses early on Monday morning,
but the forenoon was well under way
when the doctor went over to neighbOr
Harris to make inquiries, and found
the bOOsy Pike on the piazza. He
jumped up, saying, "Fm jes' the man
you're lOokin' for!''
When the arrangements were COM
pleted the doctor, the professor and
myself fOrded the Merced on our horses
and pushed on to Shows just under
the Nevada Fall, leaving Pike to bring
himself and Brigham with their re-
spective packs.
Snow hotel is at one of the most in
teresting points about the valley. 1t
is reached only by horse trail, and
the hotel with its Outbuildings, furni-
ture and provisions had to be carried
there piece by piece and board by
board on the backs of horses. 1t is a
very good place to stop, however, and
the landlord assured us with suspicious
loquacity that ''it would take all the
valley to eat Mrs. Snow out ~
j On the way to Shows one may go up
under Vernal Fall, and take a spray
bath gratis. 1t is a charming spot, the
moss and ferns and grass being of the
most vivid green, and rainbows dane
ing all around you. You can at al
most any time disprove the old prov
erb about the end of the rainbow, fol
there under Vernal Fall they back up
against the rocks and allow you to
stroke them like kittens. One must
be well provided with waterproof cloth
4 ing unless he wants bath, but it is q
magnificent sight to look up at the
: foaming Merced, tumbling straight
d down for $50 feet, every drop for the
f instant shining like pearl or spark
d ling like diamond.
After dinner, the doctor and |, leav-
ing our valuable guide to snOoze OF
I the piazza, and the professor to watcl
= him, took little run up the Cap o
: Liberty, conical dome overlooking
/ the hotel and Nevada Fall, and whicl
gets its name from it's peculiar shape
We were impressed anew with til,
+ dignity of the Goddess of Liberty from
$ the fact that her rocky cap was Owe
! 2000 feet high. From that hight Ne
l. vada Fall looked like torrent of milk
t 700 feet long, but there was little els,
. to pay us for the climb, except /;
= splendid fire we kindled in the dry I'M
derbrush, in honor of the heroic Presi
d dent in Washington.
a Four o'clock found us under wa,
10 again on our horses, and at night-fal
ID we spread our blankets, and cooke
E. our coffee and bacon on the Star Kin,
IT meadows at an altitude of over 700
q feet. The name of the patriot preach
8 er who did so much toward saving Cal
"a, ifornia to the Union in the early day
rs of war, is given to one of the mos
IS striking mountains in all the region
"a perfect hay-stack of rock, and 5
5 smooth that we were not tempted
break our vow made on the steep sid
1I GT of South Dome four weeks before. Or
ly very few of the most daring climl
IS ers have ever reached the top.
via MT. CLARK.
in At last our hopes were to be realize
,co Early the next morning we got und'
. way for our final climb which was
close our vacation ramblings.
Pike was sick. The whiskey flas
oT had been made to serve other purpO
es than as an antidote for rattlesnal
bites. He showed us the way, howe
tc er, for five miles over the mounta
ac- side, and along one of the finest IN
raines we had yet seen, until we reac
!. ed point where the horses could