Record of an Early Exploration of Tenaya Canon 281 



feet up, got up beside Mr. J. I followed, holding on to the rope 

 and, when within distance, was seized by Mr. J. and drawn up 

 to them. In the gloom of the evening we retraced our steps 

 and after a hard clamber reached a flat rock, overlooking the 

 upper of the two falls, surrounded by great rocks. Here we 

 concluded to camp out all night in preference to attempting to 

 get down in another way on the mountain or in seeking our 

 trail of the morning. Whilst there was yet a little light left, 

 Mr. J. got some wood, of which there was plenty near at hand, 

 and built a good fire on the flat rock, while Mr. S. went out to 

 see if he could find some other way to get out of our difficulty. 

 He soon returned, however, and we three sat down by our 

 bright fire in doleful anticipation of a cold and cheerless night, 

 hungry, without even coats to shield my companions from the 

 cold air that followed the rushing water down the canon. Mr. 

 S. improvised a bed to obviate the necessity of lying on the 

 hard rock by cutting the leafy branches off the near trees and 

 placing them beneath us. We all lay down by the fire, quiet 

 and yet unable to sleep, the fire toasting our side nearest it 

 while the wind chilled the other side. Mr. S. found a semi- 

 cave in which he built a fire and made a bed for Mr. J. in which 

 he was shielded from the wind. The night passed slowly and 

 drearily. 



"Hutchings, Oct. 24: The moon shone beautifully down in 

 the valley and about midnight stood above our deep canon, 

 gleaming on the worn rocks and intensifying the shadows. The 

 morning, as it drew on, brought with it more intense cold, and 

 all the wood we could throw on our fire failed to ward off the 

 chills. Dawn at length stole in upon us and we prepared to 

 seek our trail of yesterday. We plodded over the rocks and 

 got up upon the mountainside, where with much labor we suc- 

 ceeded in following up the trail until it struck the main Mono 

 trail. Then, as fast as possible, hurried down into the valley, 

 put the saddles on the horses, poor animals who had suffered 

 for want of water, and rode as fast as we could to Mr. Hutch- 

 ings' house. Here all day we have been lying listlessly about 

 the house, reading and whiling away our time, resting our- 

 selves and preparing for our trip to the Nevada and Vernal 

 Falls tomorrow." 



