Winter in the High Sierra. 



^Z7 



WINTER IN THE HIGH SIERRA 



By Charles H. Lee. 



Occasionally, when the Sierra Club Outing is held in 

 the Kern Basin or in the King's River Canon region, 

 small parties travel down from the summit into Owens 

 Valley and find much to interest them in the sleepy little 

 towns at the hem of the mountain-skirts. Few would 

 consider it a privilege, however, to live in one of these 

 towns the year round, even though they were within the 

 shade of the High Sierra. But plenty of interesting work 

 makes any place livable. 



The majestic eastern face of the Sierra Nevada has a 

 strange power over people who live in the" valley, which 

 grows stronger with each returning season. It is com- 

 monly said by the settlers that Owens River water is to 

 blame — that one drink of the magic liquid will so change 

 a man that the summit of happiness consists in living in 

 Owens Valley; and it certainly is true that the natives 

 never wander far from the borders of Inyo County. But 

 whether realized or not, these mountains have a power to 

 attract, and grow to be so much a part of one's life that 

 when separated from them there is always the desire to 

 return. 



Their greatest interest lies perhaps in the infinite 

 variety of color and detail which depend upon the position 

 of the sun, atmospheric conditions, and the seasons. At 

 no two hours is the view the same. There is a constant 

 change every hour of the day and every day of the year. 

 To the native Californian the changes that come with 

 cooling temperature in the fall and winter are very new 

 and strange. In September there appear spots of gold 

 high up on the mountains at the stream fountains. Grad- 

 ually these lengthen into bands which follow down the 

 stream courses and soon become enriched with the scarlet 



