Sierra Club Bulletin. 



the deep gorge of Evolution Creek, to the mountains 

 bounding that canon on the south was wonderful. The 

 Hermit thrust its head high above the level of the lake. 

 At times the water was slightly ruffled by the wind, but 

 generally it was smooth and placid, and the reflection of 

 the neighboring bluffs and peaks was perfect. The echoes 

 from the cHffs were clear and distinct and repeated 

 themselves over and over again. This lake was christened 

 by Whitney " Lake Frances." 



We made camp about 2 o'clock in the afternoon, and 

 then Whitney and I went exploring up to the ridge lying 

 between our camp and the great basin which bounds Mt. 

 Humphreys on the west, to determine the best course to 

 take on the following morning. Above us in the ridge 

 was a depression, and leading up to it was a little valley. 

 Our course took us up this valley and past numerous little 

 snow-bound and ice-covered lakes and into some rocky 

 talus. On our way up to the ridge we took careful notes, 

 and came to the conclusion that it would be perfectly 

 possible to take animals up as far as the talus slope. 

 From there on it looked as though we could get animals 

 up by building a trail in a few places. We were encour- 

 aged by the prospect, but when we reached the ridge all 

 hope of ever getting animals over was shattered, for we 

 stood upon the brink of an immense cirque, or amphi- 

 theater, filled with snow and ice, and immediately below 

 us was a precipice of several hundred feet. Some one 

 had been there before, for at this spot there was built a 

 large monument of rough stones. This cirque was one 

 of a chain of cirques which formed the northern face of 

 the ridge. It would be impossible for any one to get 

 across at this place, even without pack-animals, and 



