22 



Sierra Club Bulletin. 



March 17th. — This morning was fair. We started out 

 about 8 A. M., crossing the stream and struck some good, 

 hard climbing in the forest that covered the other side 

 of the gorge. After two and one-half hours we crested 

 the ridge and made camp at about 7,800 feet A. T. in the 

 mossy forest. We found some of the remains of Miss 

 Gibbs's camp and utilized them in building a shelter for 

 ourselves. We were able to get a fairly good shelter 

 constructed and a fire started before the rain commenced. 

 A steady, cold rain fell all afternoon, but the night was 

 clear. The temperature inside the shelter at 6 a. m. was 

 54°- 



The camp-site was surrounded by a dense growth of 

 ferns and other plants, including the common brake, 

 Pteridium aquilinum, and several gleichenias. Lycopo- 

 dium. cernuum was much in evidence, trailing over some 

 of the trees. Among the commonest trees were dacrydium, 

 leptospermum, and some rhododendrons. Most of the 

 trees were thickly clothed with moss and leafy liverworts, 

 though the densest growth of this sort was found a little 

 farther up the ridge. 



In this neighborhood the animals have so little ac- 

 quaintance with man that they are not very shy. During 

 the afternoon a small, black shrew wandered into camp 

 and even ran around over the bodies of the men who were 

 lying down. When scared away it would run only a 

 few feet and would then return to renew its investiga- 

 tions, displaying far more curiosity than fear. A small, 

 dark-colored bird, which was quite common, displayed the 

 same curious freedom from fear, alighting within a few 

 feet of the men and flying away only a few feet when 

 one tried to frighten it. It would follow one about, 

 and was evidently of an inquisitive and investigating 

 disposition. 



March i8th. — Started out about 8 o'clock, following 

 the ridge up through the very dense, mossy forest. It 

 was a very clear morning, and we had some very fine 

 views out over the lowlands. About noon we reached 



