With the Sierra Club in the Kern Canon. 25 



the ford. A short climb out of the Little Kern brought 

 us to the lower end of Trout Meadows, whenceforward 

 it was easy traveling, up the meadows and the long defile 

 that led us to the brink of the Kern Canon cliffs. 



The first permanent camp was established on the neck 

 of land lying between Kern River and the lower Kern 

 Lake. This is the smaller of the two lakes the canon 

 boasts and is admirable for swimming, the water being 

 quite warm. The upper lake, separated from the lower 

 by one of the kernbuts that are characteristic of this 

 canon, is a comparatively recent addition to the land- 

 scape, having been formed less than a half century ago, 

 either by a landslip, or by debris brought down from 

 a small side stream during a flood, which dammed the 

 river at the mouth of its narrow passage between the 

 east wall and the kernbut. The stumps of trees killed by 

 immersion in the lake thus formed are still standing in 

 great abundance, some of them eight or ten feet out of 

 water; others, lying concealed beneath it, make boating, 

 especially in the canvas canoes that enthusiastic fisher- 

 men like to use, a rather dangerous pastime. 



The fishing in this lake and in the river, both above 

 and below it, is a well-known attraction of the Kern, and 

 our fishermen found it a paradise for them this year. 

 Even the inexperienced anglers had a share of the good 

 luck. Dark stories are told of the unsportsmanlike deeds 

 of one of the fair fishermaidens, who was observed to drop 

 her rod with a whoop of delight, splash ankle-deep into 

 the river and haul in a two-and-a-half-pound trout hand- 

 over-hand. And when a pained bystander offered a few 

 hints on the advisability of playing a fish, she remarked 

 tranquilly : 



"Well, I got him, didn't I?" 



But it must be said of our fishermen, that they were 

 most temperate in their enjoyment of the unusually fine 

 sport, and that by common consent all fishing would 

 cease for a day or two lest the fish appetite fail and the 

 victims of the rod be wasted. 



