174 



Sierra Club Bulletin. 



than when we were ascending, in that its altitude had 

 been measured by our footsteps; a grand panorama was 

 visible of distant peaks, mellow in the light of afternoon. 



One moral effect of our day's climb it may be is 

 worth recording, since a similar result is, I fancy, a 

 not unusual experience. There is nothing like an hon- 

 est day's toil of this sort, and a touch of hardship shared 

 together, even though it be slight, to bring men into close 

 accord. Our experience is typical of many another's 

 under similar circumstances. When we had started out 

 in the morning we were perhaps not quite in perfect 

 harmony, a state of equilibrium not always easy exactly 

 to maintain when more than two people are thrown into 

 such close relationship as necessarily exists in camp, but 

 this day on the heights, with its pleasant difficulties 

 overcome in common, had brought us again en rapport. 

 Our second breakfast, between 7 and 8, had possessed 

 perhaps the slightest possible trait of constraint, but on 

 the way down how different! Here was a love-feast, 

 nothing less, every slightest note of discord stilled, only 

 kindness to all mankind in the heart, and the fullest 

 serenity of spirit in which to partake of food. Truly, 

 whatever one eats tastes good in such a frame of mind; 

 tea becomes ambrosia of the gods, and the banquet 

 nourishes soul and body alike, and — Heaven be praised! 

 — long sustains the memory. 



Perhaps nowhere better could this narrative be closed 

 than in such an idyllic frame of mind, one destined to 

 endure. Our return to camp was just after dark, where 

 our senior partner had hot supper awaiting us, thick bean 

 soup and cutlets, — how delightful to hungry men! He 

 had spent the day in stocking with trout the upper reaches 

 of water in Deadman's Canon, and on the day following 

 our party was broken up by his departure for home. 

 We lingered for a time, doing a little restocking of waters 

 ourselves, but soon retraced our steps to Horse Corral 

 Meadow and came out by the way of Millwood. 



