CAMPING ON THE YOSEMITE ROAD 



By H. D. HOWELL 



The Yosemite tourist, traveling by 

 stage and making the mountainous trip 

 of sixty odd miles from railroad to 

 valley in one or two days, is rarely 

 able to give more than divided atten- 

 tion to the grandeur of the primeval 

 forest through which he passes ; for the 

 driver, concerned chiefly that he fall 

 not behind his scheduled time, takes all 

 down grades, curves included, with his 

 horses in a swinging trot, and the 

 chance of reaching his destination in 

 safety presents itself, perforce, for dis- 

 tracting consideration. It is therefore 

 small wonder that the independent 

 travelers along the same route are 

 scarcely noticed, except as obstacles 

 that increase the danger, since they 

 must be passed, often where passing 

 would seem impossible. Yet here is to 

 be seen a unique phase of American 

 travel — one that is characteristic of the 

 West. 



During the months of June and July, 

 when many are journeying valleyward, 

 that quaint conceit of Carlyle's, "A 

 world without clothes," is strikingly 

 suggested. As a mighty leveler of hu- 

 manity the world a-camping is very 

 nearly a parallel. President Roosevelt 

 himself, with closed lips and glasses of 

 normal size — were sue! a thing con- 



ceivable — unheralded, might here have 

 passed unnoticed. The capitalist who 

 camps for pleasure is not readily dis- 

 tinguished from the cook, who camps 

 for profit. The lone man who person- 

 ally conducts five women may be as 

 self-sacrificing as his position would 

 imply, or merely the victim of financial 

 embarrassment ; in either case he de- 

 serves sympathy. And the women — 

 whether social queens or shop-girls on 

 a holiday, there is little to indicate. 



Old men and women, young men and 

 maidens, all are here ; mothers, too, 

 with infants in arms and children 

 clinging to their skirts, while upon their 

 weary, but determined, faces may be 

 clearly read, "See Yosemite and die." 

 They come in parties large and small, 

 these dust-covered pilgrims to a new- 

 world Mecca, sometimes singly, with 

 only a horse for company. 



Nor is there sameness as to outfits ; 

 anything that pays the toll on the Yose- 

 mite road "goes." Huge vans, built 

 out over their wheels and furnished 

 for housekeeping, prairie schooners, 

 farm wagons, wagons with buggy tops, 

 buggies with wagon tops, vehicles with- 

 out protecting cover, even rolling "dark 

 rooms" for photography ; some new 

 and strong, some reinforced from end 



249 



