154 Sierra Club Bulletin, 



of the Sierra Nevada Mountains, — their scenic culmina- 

 tion, their final triumph."* If this region was the heart 

 of the High Sierra, then, in truth, the very center of 

 this heart was Mt. Humphreys. Judged from a moun- 

 taineering standpoint, it was indeed a most promising 

 country into which we were looking. 



As a result of this glimpse into that promised land, 

 the following summer (July ii, 1904) found a party of 

 four — Dr. Charles A. Noble, Mr. Albert W. Whitney, my 

 brother, E. C. Hutchinson, and myself — camped in Lost 

 Valley, or Blaney Meadows, as it is called, on the South 

 Fork of the San Joaquin River. Hither we had come 

 from San Francisco by the most direct route (via Fresno, 

 Shaver Lake, and the Red Mountain Trail). We were 

 bound for Mt. Humphreys. t 



Lost Valley is an ideal spot for a permanent camp. 

 It is one of the most beautiful of our high mountain 

 valleys (elevation, 7,650 feet). The meadows are fine; 

 the river broad and majestic; the glaciated cliffs tower 

 high above and almost completely surround the valley. 

 For two days we camped on the west bank of the river. 

 During this time we reconnoitered to the eastward, toward 

 Mt. Humphreys. 



Four miles up the cafion of the South Fork, above 

 Lost Valley, a stream comes in from the northeast. This 

 is known to the sheepmen as the " North Branch of the 



* See Mr. Theodore S. Solomons' article, " A Search for a High 

 Mountain Route," Sierra Club Bulletin, Vol. I, p. 230. 



t The mountain was named, in 1864, by the California Geological Sur- 

 vey party under Professor Brewer, and the name first appears on their 

 map made that year. It also appears on a map entitled "Part of California 

 and Southern Nevada," Sheet No. 65, Geographical Explorations and Sur- 

 veys west of the looth Meridian, Expedition of 1871, under command of 

 First Lieutenant Geo. M. Wheeler, Corps of Engineers, under the direc- 

 tion of Brigadier-General A. A. Humphreys, U. S. Army, and on the 

 "Topographical Map of Central California," 1873, J. D. Whitney, Geologist. 

 On these maps, the name is "Humphreys' Peak." 



