96 



YOSEMITE NATURE NOTES 



I ■ 



Former Gobin's Hotel, building on left with porch/ ond Hurst's Saloon, shake-roof beyond 



team. Road from lower left is the Old Big Oak Flat Road with the 



Coulterville Road cut-off running off lower right. 



the road consists of parts of the old 

 Tamarack Lodge, moved by Curtin 

 from Tamarack Flat and parts of the 

 original cabin of 1882. Robert A. Cur- 

 tin, brother of John, reports that the 

 name Gin Flat was given to this mead- 

 ow after the first freight team over the 

 Big Oak Flat, presumably heading for 

 Yosemite Valley, lost a barrel of gin 

 here from the wagon. As a result the 

 cowboys and road workers became 

 gloriously "ginned up," thus establish- 

 ing the name. Contrast the mignificent 

 Jeffrey pine near the road with the 

 wind-swept Jeffrey pine on top of Sen- 

 tinel Dome. 



To the right of Gin Flat is a portion 

 of the original Big Oak Flat Road. It 

 can be traveled about 2V2 miles farther 

 to Tamarack Flat and Tamarack Creek 

 campground, and another 2V2 miles to 

 Cascade Creek. Both of these creeks are 

 stocked with eastern brook trout. If you 

 follow this road another couple of miles 

 you will find the site of Gentry, a for- 

 mer toll station at the head of the grade 

 on the old Big Oak Flat Road. 



The roadside from Gin Flat to the 

 White Wolf junction has a fine growth 



of red fir. In this area you will also no- 

 tice some evidence of glacial polish. 



J SOUTH FORK OF TUOL- 

 - UMNE. The South Fork of the 

 ** Tuolumne River starts some 5 

 miles beyond the place where the road 

 crosses it. It usually dries up in late 

 summer or shortly thereafter. 



J SMOKY JACK CAMPGROUND. 

 m This beautiful, small, wooded camp- 

 ™ ground bears the nickname of an 

 early sheepman who, prior to the estab- 

 lishment of the park, became known as 

 a character in this region. Smoky Jack, 

 whose real name was John Connel, 

 started with a few sheep which he 

 herded personally until he became sheep- 

 rich. "He lived mostly on beans. In the 

 morning after his bean breakfast he 

 filled his pockets from the pot with 

 dripping beans for luncheon, which he 

 ate in handfuls as he followed the flock. 

 His overalls and boots soon, of course, 

 became thoroughly saturated and in- 

 stead of wearing thin, wore thicker and 

 stouter and, by sitting down to rest 



