The High Mountain Route. 



15 



amidst scenery more picturesque than we had been ac- 

 customed to amongst the heights. Altogether the pros- 

 pect was so pleasing, that we decided to stop over a day 

 here for resting and clothes washing. Hutchinson cele- 

 brated with a splendid dinner, to which he invited our 

 newly made acquaintances, and topped it off with a 

 whisky gelatine most artistically concocted. 



Next day we enjoyed the luxury of getting up late; 

 washed clothes in the Hot Spring, most modern of con- 

 veniences, and enjoyed to the fullest extent a thorough 

 "loaf." 



On the 1 6th we took the good trail up the river, crossed 

 Piute Branch, and made a half -day's trip to the mouth 

 of Evolution Creek, there camping for the night. On 

 the 17th we took the sheep trail up Evolution Creek. 

 It worked up the benches to the right of the fall to a 

 large meadow, then crossed the creek at the head of the 

 meadow, and continued up the north side. It passed 

 through a succession of exquisite meadows to the amphi- 

 theatre at the base of Hermit Rock. From this point 

 to Evolution Lake, under the shadow of Mount Darwin, 

 there is practically no trail, and the going is a little 

 rough, but we experienced no delay and made camp at 

 the north end of the beautiful lake a little after noon. 

 The afternoon was given over to resting and getting 

 ready for the hard day that the morrow had in store. 



The Goddard Divide was now before us, — the key to 

 the whole situation. If we failed in crossing it our plan 

 of a High Mountain Route failed, for the great spurs 

 and canons between Mount Goddard and Woodworth 

 Mountain formed an impassable barrier to the west of 

 the Aliddle Fork of King's River, which does of neces- 

 sity force the traveler as far to the west as Tehipite 

 Valley. The only possible chance of avoiding this awful 

 chaos of peaks was to pass to the east of it, and make 

 use of a gap near the junction of the Goddard Divide 

 with the Main Crest. To be sure the Geological Survey 

 had crossed it in 1907, but at a time when everything 



