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Sierra Club Bulletin 



kindly shade is hard to find. But out of the sun the wind was 

 too cold, and the consumption of much variously flavored 

 snow had made exercise desirable. When word came that the 

 pack-train had crossed the first snow-fields and we could pro- 

 ceed to Vidette Meadows at our pleasure, small groups at once 

 began to descend over a flinty trail toward the lovely lakes in 

 Center Basin. 



Encircling Center Peak, now towering high above us, we came 

 upon an unnamed glacial lake, colorful and perfect. Mirrored in 

 its waters were bluest sky, fleecy clouds, and snowy peak; its 

 edges were beds of mossy green, flower-scattered. With East 

 Vidette to beckon us, we pushed down toward our next camp- 

 ing-place, but each time we stopped to take our bearings that 

 deceptive landmark seemed just as far away. In the late after- 

 noon we^arrived at the junction of Vidette and Bubbs creeks. 

 A long and varied day was drawing to a close. Seventeen of 

 the most wonderful miles ever traveled had been accomplished, 

 and reluctantly we felt darkness creep upon us, as "by punc- 

 tual eve the stars were lit." 



But this Vidette camp at night was one of rarest beauty — here 

 there was the silence of the High Sierra meadows uninterrupted 

 save by an undertone from the smoothly flowing stream, "the 

 floor of heaven . . . thick inlaid with patines of bright gold," 

 and outlined against this glittering curtain towered that majes- 

 tic pyramid, East Vidette. 



From this location knapsack parties went to Mount Brewer 

 or Rae Lake. The main camp became a scene of bustling ac- 

 tivity ; the weighing of food and stowing it in small bags ; the 

 sorting and packing and resorting of the "thirty-five pounds" ; 

 the trying-on of "packs" of food and bed, and attempting to 

 persuade oneself that this unwieldy excrescence is a bundle of 

 joy — all these occupations were everywhere in evidence. The 

 much-heralded beauty of Rae Lake accounted for this restless 

 uncertainty among us, and even the avowedly indolent were 

 strongly tempted to try this one knapsack trip. Rumors of the 

 difficulty of the trip varied widely. Some admitted Glenn Pass 

 to be a stubborn climb through talus and heavy snow, while 

 others promised a comfortable yet thrilling trip, possible to 

 anyone who had survived so far. Fully fifty finally went, and 



