Reports. 



261 



REPORTS. 



REPORT OF THE OUTING COMMITTEE. 



The Outing of 1907 stands out as the most successful the Club 

 has ever undertaken. The executive details, including the trans- 

 portation and pack-train problems, and the management of the 

 commissary, were as nearly perfect as it is possible to make 

 them. The glorious scenery — including, as it did, the peerless 

 Yosemite Valley, the emerald, flower-enameled Tuolumne 

 Meadows, encircled by picturesque groups of snow-clad peaks, 

 and the beautiful gem-like Hetch-Hetchy Valley, — made a trip 

 that cannot be excelled anywhere in the world. The entire party 

 of one hundred and fifty was complete some time before the date 

 of departure. A side trip to the wonderful Merced Canon region 

 with its two mountain gems, lakes Merced and Washburn, was 

 taken by more than one half the entire party. 



A knapsack party of fifteen left the camp in Merced Canon, 

 and, crossing the North Fork of the San Joaquin River, climbed 

 Mt. Ritter from the west. Another party of five had climbed 

 the mountain from the east only a day or two previous. Many 

 members of the main outing party climbed Mts. Lyell, Dana, and 

 Hoffman, and crossed the crest of the Sierra, descending to 

 Lake Mono and the vicinity of the volcanic craters. The great 

 fall of snow and the lateness of the season made the mountains 

 more than ordinarily picturesque; and all the waterfalls were 

 in their prime. Two knapsack parties, numbering twenty-eight 

 in all, made the famous trip from the Tuolumne Meadows down 

 to Hetch-Hetchy Valley, where they rejoined the main party. 



The completion of the Yosemite Valley Railroad to El Portal, 

 only a short distance from the lower end of the valley, eliminated 

 the long, tiresome stage ride, and it is now an easy matter to 

 visit either the Tuolumne Meadows or Hetch-Hetchy Valley, 

 compared with the difficulties presented by these trips in the past. 



The members of the party were unusually congenial, and the 

 spirit manifested throughout the entire Outing was splendid. 

 We had the rare pleasure of John Muir's companionship during 

 the earlier days of the Outing. 



The trip was singularly free from accidents, as have been 

 all of the Annual Outings. The only occurrence that tended to 

 detract from the care-free joy of the party was the sad death 

 of Mr. Arthur D. Smith in Yosemite Valley, after he had left 



