In the Sierra 



bars of glaciated granite. Here the moun- 

 tains seem to have been cleared away or 

 set back, so that wide-open views may be 

 had in every direction. The upper end of 

 the series lies at the base of Mt. Lyell, the 

 lower below the east end of the Hoffman 

 Range, so the length must be about ten or 

 twelve miles. They vary in width from a 

 quarter of a mile to perhaps three quarters, 

 and a good many branch meadows put out 

 along the banks of the tributary streams. 

 This is the most spacious and delightful 

 high pleasure-ground I have yet seen. The 

 air is keen and bracing, yet warm during 

 the day ; and though lying high in the sky, 

 the surrounding mountains are so much 

 higher, one feels protected as if in a grand 

 hall. Mts. Dana and Gibbs, massive red 

 mountains, perhaps thirteen thousand feet 

 high or more, bound the view on the east, 

 the Cathedral and Unicorn Peaks, with many 

 nameless peaks, on the south, the Hoffman 

 Range on the west, and a number of peaks 



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