2l8 



Sierra Club Bulletin 



day the party crossed the divide above the Tule and entered the Kern 

 River watershed, camping at Lloyd Meadow, The next day the party 

 crossed the Little Kern and camped in Trout Meadow. Little Kern Lake 

 was reached on the day following, where two days were spent. Camp 

 was then moved to the mouth of the Big Arroyo, and on the day follow- 

 ing to Moraine Lake and Chagoopa Plateau. Here a stay of nearly a 

 week was made. The opinion formed on the previous trip of the club to 

 this region was confirmed, and this was generally conceded to be one of 

 the finest camping spots that the club has ever had in the mountains. The 

 shelter of the thick forest about the lake and opportunity for swimming, 

 as well as the many trips to near-by points of interest, all added to its 

 attractiveness. Several knapsack parties visited Lost Canon, climbed 

 Sawtooth, crossed into Five-Lake Basin, and camped at the head of the 

 Big Arroyo, crossing the divide into the Kern-Kaweah, and thence re- 

 joined the main camp at Junction Meadow on the Kern River, the main 

 party having in the interim moved camp to the latter point. Quite a 

 few members climbed Milestone. Almost the entire party visited Crab- 

 tree Meadows at the base of Mount Whitney (14,502 feet), and 175 made 

 the ascent, which is the largest number that has visited the summit in a 

 single day. This probably sets a record for a mountain of this height. 

 Mount Tyndall and Mount Williamson were also climbed by several 

 members of the party. 



The great feature of the trip was the safe passage of the entire party, 

 including baggage and pack animals, over the recently completed section 

 of the John Muir Trail. Heretofore it has been necessary in order to 

 reach the Kings River Basin from the Kern River, or vice versa, to travel 

 around by way of Giant Forest or cross the Sierra and drop down into 

 Independence, making an arduous detour of several days. The party 

 left its camp in Tyndall Meadow at an altitude of about 11,000 feet and 

 crossed Shepard Pass, which is on the crest of the Sierra at the divide 

 between Shepard and Tyndall creeks. Dropping down from Shepard 

 Pass a little over 1000 feet, the trail turns northwesterly, following up 

 the northerly branch of Shepard Creek, and again crosses the main crest 

 of the Sierra at an altitude of about 13,300 feet at Junction Pass, this 

 pass being between Junction Peak and Mount Keith. The pass itself is 

 a broad level area partaking of the nature of a plateau, and the trail fol- 

 lows out to the north on a divide between two branches of Center Basin, 

 and finally descends into Center Basin itself and thence on down Bubbs 

 Creek to Vidette Meadows, where the club camped that night. While 

 this made a rather long day, the entire party arrived safely in camp that 

 night after one of the most thrilling experiences of any of the outings. 

 To take a party of this size, with all its camping equipment, over a pass 

 that exceeds 13,000 feet in altitude, is an accomplishment the club can 

 well be proud of. Four days were spent at Vidette Meadows while mem- 

 bers of the party knapsacked to Rae Lake and also to Mount Brewer and 

 vicinity. Before crossing Kearsarge Pass a camp was made for a single 

 night at Kearsarge Lakes underneath the Kearsarge Pinnacles, and this 



