ON FOOT IN THE YOSEMITE 



in the most inhospitable-looking, impossible-look- 

 ing of stony places. And out of a few grains of 

 powdered granite it manages somehow to extract 

 the wherewithal not merely upon which to sub- 

 sist, but for the putting-forth of as bright a pro- 

 fusion of exquisite bloom as the sun ever shone 

 upon. 



The outlook from the topmost boulder of this 

 Titan's cairn, for it looked like nothing else, was 

 commanding, — valley, river, and mountain,—, 

 but to me, as I have said, the Peak was mainly 

 of use as the conclusion of a walk through an 

 enchanting Sierra forest ; for I, no less than my 

 fellows, have yet to outgrow the primitive need 

 of " a place to go to," even when I go mostly for 

 what is to be enjoyed by the way. 



So much for what might be more strictly ac- 

 counted as climbs to the valley rim. More weari- 

 some, perhaps, because quite as long, while with- 

 out the counterbalancing stimulation which a 

 mountain trail seems always, out of its own vir- 

 tue, to communicate, were an indefinite number 

 of jaunts to Inspiration Point (hateful name!) 

 and into the forest a mile or two beyond. 



Precisely why I expended so much labor upon 



the long miles of this dusty uphill road, it might 



be troublesome todetermine ; but here, also, there 



were so many things to be looked at, and so many 



189 



