346 



AMERICAN FORESTRY 



templation of 

 its beauties un- 

 til he sudden- 

 ly realizes that 

 his allotted stas- 

 is up. The 

 fact remains, 

 however, that 

 the impression 

 generally is 

 that there is 

 nothing to the 

 Yosemite Na- 

 tional Park 

 other than the 

 Valley itself. 



The Yosem- 

 ite National 

 Park is more 

 readily acces- 

 sible than most 

 of the others, 

 being reached 

 bv a branch 

 line from the 

 main lines of 

 the Southern 

 Pacific and 

 Santa Fe Rail- 

 roads which 

 traverse the 

 great central 

 valley of the 

 San Joaquin. 

 The terminal 

 of the branch 

 line is El Por- 

 tal, from which 

 the hotel on the 

 floor of the 

 Yosemite \'al- 

 ley is reached 

 in an hour and 

 a half by mo- 

 tor bus. El Portal is at an 

 elevation of ajjproximately 

 two thousand feet above the 

 sea level and is just a mile 

 or so outside the Park 

 boundary. The stage road 

 follows the Merced River 

 and cliiubs two thousand 

 feet beside a roaring cascade 

 to the floor of the Yosemite 

 Valley. From El Portal to 

 the floor of the Valley is 

 but ten miles and in this 

 distance the entire Merced 

 River drops through a dif- 

 ference in elevation of nearly 



ONE OF 'JHE .MANY BE-VUTV SPOTS OF THE YOSEMITE 



Mirror Lake is the Morning Mecca of the tourist in the valley. Wlien seen in the 

 Ijefore the canyon hreeze is astir, its placid surface is a mirror that joins the 

 "clothing the palpable and fatniliar with the golden exhalations of the dawn." 



MIRROR LAKE, YOSEMITE 



Bv E. DiTiikiiHW-; 



Before the sun has climbed the rocky wall 

 Or yet the woodland day is well begun, 

 Perfect the mirror lies, revealing all. 

 Before the sun. 



Down the stee]) clifl:' the lessening shadows run. 

 While startled echo answers when we call. 

 And earth and mirrored image seem as one. 



Dimpling the lake, the fishes leap and fall; 

 ( )h, hasten ere the web of morn is spun. 

 To gain this valley, this enchanters' hall. 

 Before the sun. 



two thousand 

 feet, hurling its 

 white spray 

 against the can- 

 yon walls and 

 moss- covered 

 Ijanks that bor- 

 der its course 

 to the A'alley 

 below. As the 

 r o a d climbs, 

 the canyon 

 walls become 

 more and more 

 precipitous, 

 until, near the 

 top. a distant 

 view of the top 

 of the great El 

 Cajiitan is had 

 from occasion- 

 al turns in the 

 road. Water- 

 falls pouring 

 over the sides 

 of the clififs 

 Ijecome more 

 numerous and 

 impressive. 



The road 

 comes out upon 

 the floor of the 

 \'alley after 

 crossing the 

 river at Poho- 

 no Bridge and 

 swings along 

 the southern 

 side of the Val- 

 ley close to the 

 foot of Bridal 

 \' e i 1 Falls, 

 where the tol- 

 erant driver 

 will stop the machine long 

 enough to [icrmit the enthu- 

 siastic ])hotographer to ex- 

 ercise his kodak on the Falls 

 and the great El Capitan 

 across the \"alley. The floor 

 of the X'alley from this point 

 to its head is almost level 

 and the drive along it, were 

 it inipio\ed even as well as 

 the drives in our small vil- 

 lage parks, would be one of 

 the most fascinating and 

 gloriously beautiful to be 

 had in the world. Stretches 

 of the river flowing between 



early morning, 

 rising sun in 



