New Britain herald., 1915-08-12
TOURISTS Climb
in JUNE SHOWS
Woman Pioneer Of Sierra Club De-
SCribes Early Yosemite Tramp
(By Marion Dandall Parsons, Treas
urer of the Sierra Club

Yosemite, June 5-Yosemite valley
is at the very height of it's beauty
The deciluous trees are in new leaf
NAPLES and dogwood in tenderest
brightest green, oaks tipped with
PASTEL shades of pink and red in
prophecy of their autumn glory, aza-
leas in full bloom, and the meadows
q ripping mass of exquisite grass
frightened with flowers. In June,
too, the rivers are at their highest
and the falls in widest beauty while
the fast melting snow still lies deep
In the upper forests and on the
higher mountain slopes.
After week or more in the valley,
following the better-known trails,
getting muscles in condition again af-
ter city-bound days, we were an
Xious to see what spring was like in
the snowy upper country. According
ly, as pack animals were not to be
obtained for love or money, we pre-
pared to make pack animals of our
selves. and knapsack over to Mount
Clark 11,509 feet) on the south
western boundary of the park, the
most prominent peak of the MERGED
group.
There were four of us in the party,
TWO men and two women, and we
planned to be out two nights with a
comfortable margin of provisions for
third night. if necessary. Bacon.
bareback, and that blessing to noun
talneers, soup made up the bulk OF
our commissary, REINFORCED, how
ever, by raisins, chocolate dried fruit,
beans, spaghetti, and cheese. Our
personal outfits, of course, were re-
duced to bare essentials A sleeping
bag, weighing about eight pounds "a
sweater, change of hose, tooth
brush, towel, Il box of matches, and
tiny roll of adhesive tape would
about complete the list Tin buck
cts, small frying pan, and a tin
cup and spoon apiece comprised the
camp equipme emit.
Share Alike With the Men.
We women who ':knapsack' pride
ourselves on being able to do our
share, so while we do not pretend to
carry such heavy sacks as the men,
we carry our own outfits and a part,
at least, of the general commissary
supplies. Short-skirted f1annel-shirt-
ed, with hobnailed boots to the knee
and shocking bad hats" we are as
easy in our own clothing and as re-
CARELESS of wind or weather as the
men themselves.
1t was rather hard for us to nerve
ourselves to meet the stares and
queries of the tourists we met along
the valley trail over which our trip
must begin. All the way up to Little
Yosemite we were beset with ques-
tions-Where were we going Didn't
we find it very hard work? Wouldn't
we get lost? Weren't we afraid of
getting sunburned? We had an incJi-
nation to sliHk sham efacedlv bv
these proper-looking folk
In Little Yosemite we made d camp
beside the smoothly flowing MERGED,
and after lunch set out on a ramble
up toward the base of Half Dome.
Up the Clouds Rest trail we elm bed,
and then pushed through the forest
to the brink of Tenaya Canyon, a
forge almost as deep as Yosemite
Valley ITSELF inaccessible to all but
the hardest mountaineers. The great
chasm more than 1000 feet deep, lay
at our feet. Half Dome toward ma
jestically against the sky, and still far
Their we could see the Swallowed cliffs
of Ell Captain and the Cathedral
Rocks.
A Buck In Velvet
My companion On this ramble elect
ed to climb Clouds Rest before re-
turning to camp, SO I made my way
back to Little Yosemite alone. Near
the foot of the trail, in a glorious lit
tie mountain meadow, I surprised a
beautiful buck, the largest l have ever
seen in the Sierra. His horns were
in velvet, and he stood so near me
that I could see the quick nervous
| movement of his nostrils as he watch
ed me. For two or three minutes
we stood there regarding one an
other. Then, with nonchalant wag
! of his funny little tail, he turned and
made off through the woods, as I'M
hurriedly and indifferently as if I, too
| had been woodland creature. Per-
haps I looked it. After his depar-
| ture I examined the meadow more
| closely. 1t was a little gem of it's
| kind, sloping from a ledge of granite
| that was covered with gnarled and
! crooked BUMPERS. At the first glimpse
| I thought it an unbroken sheet of the
| tiniest blossoms of yellow mimulus,
! but, on kneeling down, II species Of
| flowers revealed themselves, all the
| daintiest and most delicate of their
| kind-yellow violets, white forget-me
| nots, gilias, white saxifrage, and the
! smallest pink tea l have ever seen.
knapsa cker's camp is a simple
| affair-a bed of pine needles, a few
| stones rolled together to make a fire
| place, a pile of firewood gathered to-
| gether; and there is home. BY 5
| o'clock netx morning we were astir.
! AS our energetic leader busted him.
self with the breakfast fire, a doe
came out of the woods and stood mo-
| tionless for a long minute watching
! him before she quietly stole away.
Where ones possessions are SO few
| washing dishes and packing is mat
| ter of scant ceremony. In less than
an hour we were ready for the rail,
| or for the march, rather, as we ex-