New Britain herald., 1915-08-12

across the open country over ridge
after ridge, across stream after
stream, until We came to the north
erly fork of Gray Creek, where We
made a camp. We had reached the
altitude of about $500 feet, and snow
drifts lay deep all about us. But fire
wood was abundant and our little
nook among the tall frs promised
every comfort that a knapsacker neod
expect.
In default of extra bedding we took
hot rocks to bed with us.
Up at Dawn.
The night passed comfortably and
we were up at dawn ready for the
assault on Mount Clark confident also
of success. AS we climbed the snow
Law even deeper about us. The forest
of fir and mountain pine gave way to
the harier white-bark pine. The
tree of UNDERLINE. Up to the top of
the ridge it crept, at the top a mere
shrub, bent and twisted beneath the
winters weight of snow.
AS we climbed, our horizon to the
south and west widened. We were
) ouette toward the snowy divide sep
arating us from the South Fork of
the MERGED where lies Wawona and
the splendid Mariposa grove of Sc
quotas. Yosemite valley was but g
blue rift in the forest with only it's
great domes, Half Dome, Sentinel
Dome, and Starr King, rising into
any prominence.
Far different was our view to
eastward from the crest. Our ridge
ended on the east in an abrupt pro-
c1plce. Through a broken "chiIn-
ney'' or windowlike aperture in the
rocks, we looked down 500 feet into
great snow field filing all the
eastern basin, and beyond this lay
the cleft of the MERGED Canyon, and,
still beyond, the magnificent snowy
peaks of the summit crest, Lyell,
Mcclure, Ritter, Dana, a host Of
others, all above 1900 feet, all shin
ing and cleaning in the brilliant SUM-
shine with a radiance that hardly
seemed to belong to this world.
Compensated Disappointment.
we'll for us that this glorious vision
was compensation for all the many
miles we had climbed, for we got no
farther that day-and Clark still re-
mains unconquered. For we had an
ticipated the season for mountain
climbing by fortnight or more, and
the slope that should have offered
an easy rock climb to the summit
was now a preciptous wall of treach-
erous snow. We had no rope, no
Ice ak, not even knife with which
we might have cut steps, and the
icy edge where rock and snow met
summit.
Up and down the ridge we prowl-
ed, over every ledge, into every
feated in the end
For an hour or more we remained
upon the ridge feasting our eyes on
the marvellous panorama-a hundred
miles of snowy range, a magnificen,
alpine region, the greater part OF
which is now almost inaccessible
soon to be opened to travel by the
construction of the John Muir trail
After luncheon in camp a 15-milt
walk back still lay ahead of us. Our
defeat lay lightly upon us, for man.
mountains SUBMITS have been our
in the past, and we had, after all, tn
inspiration and the uplift of tn,
glorious upper regions of snow ever
if the exhilaratio of the summit
had been lacking. Down among the
great below of yellow pines, under
the spreading arms of sugar pines and
out upon open crests covered with
manzenita and chinquapin we has
tened past Nevada and Vernal and
down through Happy Isles where the
thrushes sang their evening songs.
and into our Yosemite valley.