Northward. Over the John Muir Trail 



47 



It is decidedly worth while to spend an extra day in the vi- 

 cinity of the Postpile. Its fascinating columns and many curi- 

 ous aspects deserve careful study. Moreover, in the immedi- 

 ate neighborhood there is a hot spring and a soda spring of the 

 highest quality. Camping is good either at Soda Spring Mead- 

 ow, or at Reds Meadow, a mile away. 



The homestretch now begins. The trail is so well known it 

 hardly needs description. Going north from the Postpile, it 

 passes through Pumice Flat and Agnew Meadows, and then 

 climbs gently up along the east side of the cafion of the Middle 

 Fork of the San Joaquin. And now comes the grand view of 

 the Mount Ritter range — black and white, majestically tower- 

 ing above the canon. 



At the head of the canon the trail forks, the right-hand 

 branch continuing over Agnew Pass to Gem Lake and Parker 

 Pass, the left-hand winding up to Thousand Island Lake. Yo- 

 semite can be reached by way of Parker Pass and the Mono 

 Trail down the Dana Fork to Tuolumne Meadows, but it is a 

 somewhat longer route, and is not the John Muir Trail. There 

 is also another way of reaching Thousand Island Lake from 

 the Devil's Postpile, taking a trail that goes up the west bank 

 of the Middle Fork by way of Shadow Lake and Garnet Lake. 

 Thousand Island Lake is likely to be a chilly camp, for there is 

 not much shelter. Here I must utter my last curse upon the 

 sheep. In the phrase of the Greek mountaineer, ''Oh, that they 

 may perish !" Again I say, it is to be either sheep or travelers 

 in our mountains ; there cannot be both. 



From Thousand Island Lake the trail immediately crosses 

 Island Pass and descends into the basin of Rush Creek. Here 

 for the first time since Junction Pass the John Muir Trail 

 crosses to the east side of the Sierra crest. It is for almost as 

 brief a distance, for after crossing the several sources of the 

 creek the trail climbs to Donohue Pass and descends again to 

 the west side. The trail through Rush Creek Basin is not easy 

 to find in several places, and needs better marking. The upper 

 part of the basin is usually heavily laden with snow, but last 

 season we found it clear even to the summit of the pass. In 

 fact, not once from Kings River Canon to Yosemite did we 

 cross a patch of snow. This is a condition not likely to occur 



