VACATION DAYS IX YOSEM1TES VV( >NDERL VXD. 



275 



irregular 

 mountains grow- 



are the beautiful Yosemite Kails and 

 Mirror Lake, back is the wonderful val- 

 ley; beyond are the wonders of Vernal 

 and Nevada Falls, Half Dome, North 

 Dome, Cloud's Rest and the 

 outline of snow cappe( 

 ing" higher and fainter until the eye tires 

 with striving to see what the dim dis- 

 tance hides. 



You return once more to the valley, 

 and if you turn up Tenaya Canon soon 

 Mirror Lake breaks upon your view, 

 only a still pool where the river widens 

 and then glides on around the base of 

 Half Dome and joins its waters with 

 those of the Merced. This little glacier 

 basin of still water is so surrounded by 

 high granite walls that not a breath 

 stirs its polished surface and even in the 

 summer months the wonderful sunrise 

 reflected in the depths of the lake does not 

 come until nearly eight in the morning. 

 The trees and dome with their delicate 

 morning tints of violet, amber and 

 changing greens are here perfectly mir- 

 roied far below us. 



I hit if you follow the Merced and enter 

 the Little Yosemite a series of magnifi- 

 cent views are awaiting you. Just be- 

 fore you leave the floor of the valley the 

 waters of the Merced are separated by 

 two densely wooded islands. These are 

 the Happy Isles. Here at the meeting 

 of the foaming waters these islands in- 

 vite you to their alluring shade and many 

 an hour may drift away before you re- 

 cross the natural tree bridge and begin 

 the climb to the higher falls. 



When you have gone some five miles 

 from camp and are crossing a little rus- 

 tic bridge over the Merced one of the 

 most beautiful of all the falls, rightly 

 named Pi-wa-ack, the "Cataract of Dia- 

 monds," breaks upon your view. These 

 are Vernal Falls and the wonderful, 

 foaming volume of plunging water re- 

 minds you of Niagara and although it 

 is smaller than that of the eastern won- 

 der vet it falls nearly twice as far and in 

 its leap of three hundred and fifty feet 

 below its sheet of surging water is shat- 

 tered into millions of brilliants and into 

 billows of white, foaming spray. A mile 

 farther on you come to the last of the 

 large water falls of the Merced. As 

 Dr. Peck says, "The whole of the Mer- 

 ced River here plunges down six hundred 

 and five feet with reverberating and 



mighty 

 bows." 



billows of mist and arching rain- 



CATHEDRAL ROCK AND SPIRES. 

 Their wonderful power of catching lights 

 and shadows and changing them to the 

 most delicate tints of violet and amber can- 

 not be rivaled. 



