Notes and Correspondence 347 



from Lake Helen down, the country was thoroughly looked over, and it 

 was decided to abandon all the old trails and build the new trail up the 

 river. Several switchbacks had to be used to get up on the first bench, 

 and then for half a mile a very good piece of trail was built, about half 

 of which is on a seven per cent grade, and the rest is 15 per cent. From 

 here for about one-quarter mile around the shore of a lake it is level. 

 From the upper end of this lake to the crossing below Lake Helen some 

 short pitches of 15 per cent and several switchbacks were used, but a 

 majority of this trail will not exceed 10 per cent. 



Just below Lake Helen it will be necessary to cross a patch of snow, 

 which will always be there. From Lake Helen to the top of the Pass, a 

 distance oi 1% miles, a good trail was built, and an effort was made to 

 avoid all soft spots and build the trail away from places where the snow 

 lies longest. One-quarter mile is 15 per cent, the rest averages less than 

 10 per cent. 



At the top of the pass we stopped ; no work was done on the west side. 



Barrier Rock proved to be a very difficult piece of work. The rock 

 laid in floors, tapering to a feather edge on the overhanging side, and 

 when a tread was blasted out these floors would slide off. This was re- 

 peated several times before a tread was obtained that would hold, and a 

 short pitch exceeding 20 per cent had to be used. 



During the month of August thunderstorms were numerous, and dur- 

 ing the latter part of September the nights were very cold. The crew 

 were dissatisfied and trouble was experienced in getting them to stay 

 with the work. Three months of this class of work is too long for an 

 average crew to stay, and as no men could be hired to continue the work 

 the crew had to be disbanded. j^^^ ^ Hughes, 



Foreman Muir Trail 



Bequest to the Le Conte Memorial Lodge 



Mr, James B. Wade, who died in 1916, bequeathed the sum of twenty- 

 five dollars to the Joseph Le Conte Memorial in Yosemite Valley, to be 

 used in the maintenance of the lodge. 



Following John Muir's Cassiar Trail 



After leaving Mount Robson last summer. Miss Nettleton and I re- 

 turned to Prince Rupert and continued up the Inside Passage to Skag- 

 uay. We were unfortunate in having cloudy weather, and except for 

 one glorious day at the Taku Inlet, the high mountains remained per- 

 sistently hidden. Even under such conditions, however, each day 

 brought a succession of beautiful pictures that made the trip one long 

 to be remembered. At Skaguay we took the White Pass Railway as far 

 as Lake Bennett. We had planned, earlier in our trip, to return afoot 



