28 



Sierra Club Bulletin. 



Towards i o'clock the pack train reached us. The 

 mule bearing the fish cans was brought to the lake shore 

 and the rainbow trout, caught that morning in the Kern, 

 were with due precautions deposited in the lake. They 

 seemed a little dazed after their rough journey, or per- 

 haps they were confused at being the center of interest 

 for so large a group of people, for they had not ventured 

 to swim into the depths of the lake when we left. 



Our plan was to head in a northeasterly direction and 

 camp as high as possible on the slope of the Kaweah. 

 An attractively situated lake (on the map!) was our pro- 

 visional destination. 



We formed a picturesque procession, trailing through 

 the woods, women in scarlet sweaters and short skirts; 

 men, khaki colored, both as to clothing and complexion; 

 and the sedate, slow-moving pack animals. Crossing 

 wee, flower-decked meadows we followed a Httle soft- 

 voiced stream whose merry chatter was lost once in a 

 while in a burst of thunder or rush of rain which sent 

 us scurrying to shelter. The lake was found at last, a 

 pretty little sheet of water, but so meagerly furnished 

 with the elements of comfort that we turned our backs 

 on its rocky shore and scanty timber and descended half 

 a mile to the edge of a meadow where we made camp. 

 Even there the trees were mostly "all high and no wide," 

 as the disgusted Jap cook expressed it, and as light 

 showers continued to fall throughout the night more than 

 one aspiring mountaineer awoke next morning to find 

 one extremity or another resting in a puddle of water. 



After breakfasting by firelight, we quickly formed in 

 line and were ready to start by dawn. Following an easy 

 contour we soon reached timber line, where the more 

 difficult climbing began. 



The South Kaweah, bearing the reputation of being an 

 easy peak to climb from any point of attack, had been 

 chosen by the committee as a try-out for Whitney. It 

 was, therefore, a most startling surprise to our leaders 

 to find the climb almost from the first beset with difiicul- 



