128 



Sierra Club Bulletin. 



the general plan adopted at once before any great amount of 

 work is put upon them. It is urgently requested that an appro- 

 priation of not less than $150,000 be secured for putting the road 

 from El Portal to the hotels in proper condition. The visitors 

 to the valley are entitled to this consideration, and to my mind 

 it is of first importance. 



During the past year about three miles of the worst portion of 

 the road was so far macadamized as to be ready for the top dress- 

 ing. A temporary dressing was put on, which has worked quite 

 well, and this portion of the road is remarked upon by every per- 

 son coming over it. About $17,000 was expended under two 

 contracts with the Warren Improvement Company last year, on a 

 percentage basis, which was found to be most satisfactory. A 

 similar contract for aligning, straightening, and macadamizing 

 the road on the south side of the Merced River, which will aggre- 

 gate about $13,000, has been let this year to Chadwick & Sykes, 

 and work thereon is in progress. 



In addition to the fifteen miles of road extending from El 

 Portal to the Sentinel Hotel there are about fifteen miles on the 

 floor of the valley. These are all dusty and unpleasant to travel 

 upon, and should receive attention as soon as the main road is 

 repaired. Besides these roads there are four miles of road leading 

 in the direction of Wawona, which originally lay within the state 

 grant, and four miles leading toward Groveland, which was form- 

 erly a part of the Big O^k Flat road. Other than these all roads 

 lying within the park are toll-roads, being the Big Oak Flat, 

 Coulterville, and Wawona roads, which are kept in fair condi- 

 tion by the corporations owning them, and the Tioga road, which 

 is not passable except for people on horseback. The owners of 

 the latter road attempt to keep up the appearance of control over 

 said road by sending out a wagon during the last week in August 

 and cutting their way through the woods, sometimes on the old 

 road-bed and sometimes off. 



There are three main trails leading from the floor of the valley 

 to the top of the rim about the valley. These trails are traveled 

 by about 10,000 people each season and require constant care. 

 They are in quite good condition, but it needs constant work to 

 maintain them. The total length of these trails is about twenty- 

 four miles. The trails throughout the park proper are in fair 

 condition, but as very little work has been done on them since 

 they were originally built, some need repairing. This can readily 

 be done at small expense by employing day labor. The following 

 trails have been constructed this season by Thomas H. Carter, 

 working under contract, for the sum of $3,500: From Rancheria 

 Mountain, via Bear Valley, to Kerrick Canon; from Kerrick 

 Cafion, via Slide Canon, to Matterhorn, connecting with existing 



