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Sierra Club Bulletin 



glowing embers when at 4:30 the rising call sounded and we 

 found ice in our water-buckets for the first time on the trip! 

 With numb fingers we tied our dunnage-bags and rolled them 

 down-hill for the last weigh-in. 



Although we were early on the trail to Kearsarge Pass, sil- 

 houettes of earlier climbers were already outlined against the 

 sky. From this famous pass another comprehensive panorama 

 made us loath to be en route. The desert lay in misty haze. Di- 

 rectly below us was Pothole Lake, still frozen over ; behind us, 

 whence we came, was a marvelous wonderland of faintly 

 flushed peaks, hung with snow and partly hidden alpine lakes. 

 The discomforting assurance of an 8000-foot drop in our fif- 

 teen-mile tramp, and half of this distance across sand and sage, 

 forced us to proceed downward. Passing by Pothole and Heart 

 lakes, we came into Onion Valley, whose name belies it, for it 

 was more truly a natural hanging garden where all mountain 

 flowers bloomed in profusion. Especially fine was the delphini- 

 um, or giant larkspur. Following Pine Creek, we finally came 

 to Independence, which eluded us as long as possible, and our 

 weariness was forgotten in the reviving effect of fresh fruits 

 and ice-cream. Our invasion on all food supplies will doubtless 

 be remembered, and we hope the "preparedness" of the Ladies' 

 Aid Society was amply rewarded. A day and a night on the 

 train and on a Sunday morning we were back again among the 

 worries and conveniences of every-day life. This month in the 

 mountains is a singularly rich experience which "strengthens 

 one's appreciation of the beautiful world out-of-doors and puts 

 one in tune with the Infinite." 



