Camping Above the Yosemite. 89 



article to linger in that wonderland, but to climb out 

 of it into the High Sierras beyond, into the less familiar, 

 but scarcely less beautiful, regions which Congress never 

 gave away, and which now make up ninety-six hun- 

 dredths of the Yosemite National Park. But a few words, 

 in passing, may be said of the need of a systematic 

 scheme of improvements which should begin in the Valley 

 and radiate to the remotest corners of the park, making 

 the whole reservation as accessible and comfortable for 

 travelers as the Yellowstone. 



California, during her forty years' guardianship, did 

 little but build a post-road, cut a few trails, and license an 

 inn or two. To-day all these are pitifully inadequate. 

 The condition of the post-road makes Yosemite dust a 

 by-word, and yet this is the only path for pedestrians 

 along the Valley floor. Beautiful shady forests stretch 

 at both sides of the road, and along the river are lovely 

 glens and incomparable views, yet during all this half 

 century no trail has been cut ; equestrians and pedestrians 

 have had to drag along in the hot high-road's dust and 

 glare. The floor of the Valley should be riddled with 

 trails, and the post-road should be macadamized and, if 

 possible, oiled once or twice a season from the point 

 where the new railway reaches the reservation. In the 

 greater park above the Valley — all the vast expanse to 

 the north, south, and east — the only wagon-road ever built 

 is the old Tioga mining road, which, through long disuse 

 and lack of repair, through floods and frosts and ava- 

 lanches, has become impassable for wheels and danger- 

 ous for horsemen. Trails also through this magnificent 

 wilderness are few and far between and very rough. 



Thus the whole problem of bringing the park and the 

 people together should be studied by competent engineers ; 

 and Congress should rise to the scale of expense involved 

 in their report. In the Yellowstone the Government has 

 spent millions in the construction and care of good roads 

 and trails ; and millions must be similarly spent in the 

 Yosemite if its wonders are to be accessible to the people. 



