The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1909-06-27

10 SIMP5SN EApolI
tand' 1t wasn't a big pack either).
He did try to roll, and once down we
had a time of II to get him on his feet
again. We were ready to start by
o'clock and quickly covered the last
stretch of level road which brought US
to the beginning of the mountain traii.
This was to be our highway for the
remainder of our tour.
Fording Big Creek
We crossed Big creek by jumping
from rock to rock. having previously
sent -Skoozicks ahead with the aid OF
a few rocks thrown after him when
he had been induced to enter the
stream. The trail which. we were
climbing was steep, which we didn't
mind. But the steepness was contin-
uous, which we did mind. Pal was In
excellent condition, having spent the
two previous months on the ranch. On
the other hand / had done nothing
more strenuous than walk. a mile or
two OF city blocks for many day. Be-
fore going very far Pal replaced me at
the head of the procession. He said
that I might prod Skoozicks along.
But before. I knew it ] was lust about
petered out In spite of Skoozicks'
POOA COuNlllOH ne llAdndScQ 10 lIdYSl
right along.
Before long the darkness settled in
on us and 1 began to feel very lonely
and uncomfortable indeed-but never
a word of it to Pal. Thus we toiled
on Sometimes / would manage to
creep up close enough to Skoozicks to
give him a prod. More often 1 was as
far behind as I dared lag. Once or
twice I so lost my self respect as to
Il I--T-T crn-.-
squaw fashion-but 1 always let go
whenever Pal turned his gaze in my
directions. At last we came to an old
deserted camp
The fact that this spot had been q
human habitation did not recommend it
in the least We knew, however. that
there must be water near. Luckily we
found 1t without difficulty. The fringe
of willows which we had seen in the
distance led us TO a Stream about
three feet across and two inches deep.
1t was also filled clear across with
weeds. but we didn't mind-not for an
instant, not we. With the aid of a
candle we located some wood and
started a fire. After Skoozicks' pack
had been deposited on the ground and
he had been carefully staked out we
began seriously to Consider the meal
question.
My connection with the preparations
for that meal ended when I had gath
cred enough wood to keep the fire
going. Pal had evidently discovered
that was too much "all In to be Of
any assistance in the culinary line
tried to keep up a blum by making
the bed" / had no sooner done so
than / stretched myself out on the
blankets. I don't know of what
dreamed. but it was indeed pleas
ant awakening when Pal announced
that dinner was ready. We had fried
cottontail, beans and -four and water
hapjacks. But they certainly hit the
spot
The next day brought US to Dusey
meadow. We got an early start and
had got up out of the foothills and
into the pines before 1t became very
hot The pines were, indeed, cool and
inviting after the hot. dusty foothills
We shouted for sheer JOY upon enter
ing them and stopped many times to
admire the great bulk and stateliness
Of these giants of the forest At noon
we lunched at the Fence meadow This
was our first acquaintance with those
Sierra meadows, which are as much
finer than the surrounding forest as an
oasis is than the desert sand. Here
we met a forest ranger who was Just
returning along the route which we
had mapped out for ourselves. We
certainly appreciated his kindness in
showing US on our maps how the route
lay, where the difficult places were.
and how much ground we might ex-
pect to cover in one day. That after
noonwe fell in with pack train. We
liked the company and kept UP with It
all the way to Dusey. This was very
ambitious thing to do. because we had
already travelled farther than the pack
train and were not yet in perfect TRIM
We stayed with them, however, and
finally arrived at Dusey, only less tired
than on the preceding night.
Dusey meadow was the most beauti-
full place that either of us had yet
seen. 1t was much larger than Fence
meadow to begin with. 1t must have
contained at least 20 acres. In the
center was the cattle camp, for the
country round about was used as
cattle range. The camp was a rough
log cabin, rustic enough to be truly
graceful The rich green OF the meadow
grass set it OF to great advantage.
We decided to locate before paying our