On the Trail zvith the Sierra Club. 55 



merriment. Occasionally some floundering mule loosened 

 from his pack a dunnage-bag which usually responded 

 immediately to the pull of gravity. Then one or two 

 packers would slide after it down the steep snowy slope, 

 berating the situation with a volubility that would have 

 amazed a steamboat captain. In the case of one or two 

 of the party the effects of the altitude manifested them- 

 selves in accelerated heart-action to such a degree that it 

 was deemed wise for them to proceed only after long 

 pauses. But finally all gained the top of the pass in 

 safety. Ten thousand four hundred feet above the level 

 of the Pacific ! Treble the figure and you have not yet 

 measured the altitude of the mountaineer's feelings as he 

 stands for the first time on the cornice of the great snow- 

 wall that spans the mouth of Farewell Gap. Along the 

 line of the descent, eastward, lay the valley of the Little 

 Kern. A long white ribbon that hung on the steep 

 mountain-side marked the path of the stream from its 

 birthplace among the alpine snow-fields to its noisy career 

 in the valley below\ On the horizon to the northwest 

 a mountain barrier lay thrown athwart the valley of 

 Mineral King. Behind it gleamed snow-peaks, and a 

 depression in the range, clad with misty pines, was 

 Timber Gap, the crossing of the Giant Forest trail. Re- 

 luctantly we turned our backs on this panorama and 

 made a rapid descent into the valley. The proximity of 

 some meadow large enough to provide fodder for the 

 pack-animals usually determines the choice of a camping 

 site. Bullion Flat was made to fill the requirements, 

 although some thought it rattled. Ere the alpen-glow 

 began to glorify the heights our Chinese cooks, under the 

 direction of Mr. Miller, chief of the commissariat, had 



