Mountaineering on the Pacific Coast 

 Sisson, on the main line of the Southern Pacific. 

 There guides, horses, and camp equipment can be 

 obtained. The trail from Sisson runs easterly for 

 eight miles through a deforested area, rising from 

 3550 feet at the railway station to about 8000 at 

 Horse Camp, the extreme timber line. The night 

 is usually spent there and the ascent of the moun- 

 tain and return to Sisson made next day. The climb 

 of 6200 feet is not dangerous, but very fatiguing, 

 being all over snow or yielding volcanic material. 



At Mount Lassen, an active volcano of the steam 

 explosive type, 75 miles southeast of Shasta, the 

 Sierra Nevada begins. (See Pis. I and VI.) 



This magnificent Sierra extends along the east- 

 ern border of California as a single isolated mount- 

 ain mass. For 385 miles the crest line — the hydro- 

 graphic divide between the Pacific Ocean and Great 

 Basin — is nearly straight, as also the lines, about 

 eighty miles apart, which terminate its slopes upon 

 the east and west. The range is one of the grandest 

 known examples of the "Basin type" of formation. 

 It is a single block of the earth's crust, upheaved 

 along its eastern edge. Westward, a long, gradual 

 rise covers nine-tenths of its entire area; eastward 

 projects a precipitous front of imposing dimen- 

 sions. Southward the crest line rises while the 

 range becomes narrower, so that the most rugged 

 portions are at the extreme south, about Lat. 36" 30'. 



Space forbids even mentioning more than a very 

 few of the abundant points of interest in this range. 



From Mount Lassen to Lake Tahoe, the range is 

 relatively low, and in most places the forest belt 

 crosses the main crest. Though beautiful, it off'ers 

 few attractions to the mountaineer. 



Lake Tahoe is a famous and easily accessible 

 resort just south of the main line of the Southern 

 Pacific. Its northern end is reached by rail. Thence 

 steamers ply. Several excellent automobile roads 

 lead in from both the California and Nevada sides. 

 The lake, 22 miles north and south by about 12 

 wide, lies between two parallel ridges of the Sierra. 

 The main crest to the west contains several fine 

 peaks, notably Mount Tallac (9785 feet). Pyramid 

 Peak (10,020 feet), Rubicon Peak (9193 feet), 

 Squaw Peak (8960 feet), Tinkers' Knob, and many 

 others. On the eastern ridge are Job's Peak (10,600 

 feet), Freel's Peak (10,900 feet), and others lower 

 to the north. Numerous hotels and taverns on and 

 near the lake make the spot particularly attractive 

 to the tourist or automobilist. 



Passing southward, the next easily accessible 

 point is Yosemite Valley, on the Merced River. 



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