SIERRA CLUB BULLETIN 



VOLUME 

 TEN 



SAN FRANCISCO 

 TANUARY 

 1917 



THE SIERRA CLUB 

 By Joseph N. Le Conte 



THE true grandeur of our Sierra Nevada was first opened 

 to the world by the discovery of the Yosemite Valley in 

 1 85 1. In spite of the difficulties of travel, a great many people 

 found their way into this famous valley during the early fifties, 

 at a time when access was possible only on horseback and over 

 the roughest of trails. It is not surprising then that these hardy 

 pioneers soon discovered that the Yosemite was only the gate- 

 way to a vast alpine region whose equal was not to be found 

 within the boundaries of the United States. Incited by the re- 

 ports of early explorers, in the summer of 1863 Professor J. D. 

 Whitney, chief of the California Geological Survey, which was 

 created by act of legislature in i860, decided to send an explor- 

 ing party into this remote region. The results of this first scien- 

 tific expedition were so remarkable that in 1864 a second party 

 was sent to explore the basins of the Kings and San Joaquin 

 rivers. The results of this early reconnaissance are to be found 



