To the Memory of John Muir 



149 



others who looked after the camping. I shall never forget the 

 equipment he brought on his first trip with me into the High 

 Sierra. It was in the late fall, when we were likely to meet a 

 snow-storm at any time. And in fact two such storms over- 

 took us — one in Mokelumne Pass, the other in Mono Pass. Our 

 route lay in the high mountains from Lake Tahoe to Bloody 

 Canon. The outfit he brought consisted of the clothes he wore 

 and a small leather grip containing a clean shirt, a change of 

 underclothing, and some extra socks. In spite of the lateness 

 of the season, the high altitude, the icy nights, the almost cer- 

 tainty of snow-storms — in spite of all these, he carried not so 

 much as a single blanket ! 



In reply to my inquiry as to the whereabouts of his bed, he 

 replied that he had tramped the mountains for years, but had 

 never carried one. I was amazed, but the condition confronting 

 us permitted no compromise. I told him, therefore, that, al- 

 though he had frequently slept on the ground without covering 

 in summer when many years younger, he was too old to do so 

 now, particularly at this late season of the year. I told him 

 also that I had a good sleeping-bag, just big enough for one, 

 with no extra blankets for two, and, further, that it was out of 

 the question for me to set out on such a trip with a companion 

 who had no bed. Recognizing the justice of my argument, he 

 compromised by asking, "Where can I buy a bed in the moun- 

 tains?" This problem was soon solved and the trip was carried 

 out as had been planned. It may be added that, although my 

 ground-canvas was a large one and did duty for us both, as we 

 slept close together, yet the severity of the weather was such 

 that he suffered nearly every night from cold. He made no 

 complaint, but was always up and had a small fire burning and 

 coffee brewing before full daylight. The incident is mentioned 

 merely to emphasize a peculiarity of his character — that he 

 rarely made any provision beforehand for his own comfort. 



Another marked peculiarity for a woodsman was that he 

 never carried a gun or killed game either for sport or meat, pre- 

 ferring to eat dry bread. 



He was a light eater and never seemed really hungry. Even 

 when tired after a long tramp or arduous horseback ride, he 

 would rather talk than eat, and, as many who have camped with 



