The Sierra Club Outing of ipip 



15 



find ample pleasure in short excursions to the many lakes with- 

 in a radius of a few miles. In these, and in the near-by streams, 

 the fishing is good. For the more enterprising, there are endless 

 possibilities for side-trips in all directions, into country whose 

 beauty and ruggedness are surpassed in but few parts of the 

 Sierra. 



The accessibility of the Meadows by automobile is an advan- 

 tage or disadvantage, according to one's point of view. A rout- 

 ing of forty automobiles a day past the park checking-station, 

 reported by the forest ranger, indicates this year's volume of 

 travel. During the club's stay at the Springs the Tuolumne 

 River banks were dotted with auto camps, which extended far 

 up Dana Fork and were beginning to creep up Lyell Fork. 

 One's first impulse is to resent this intrusion into Nature's 

 heart, intimacy with which, one instinctively feels, should be 

 reserved for those who can achieve it by physical endeavor. 

 Upon reflection, however, one can but rejoice when increasing 

 numbers of one's fellow-men find healthful pleasure in Nature's 

 gifts. And there are still remoter and less accessible parts of 

 the mountains in abundance for those sufiiciently hardy to 

 reach them. 



The rapidly increasing use of the Meadows by campers has, 

 however, a serious side for the Sierra Club, in that the com- 

 missary's water supply is threatened with pollution. The man- 

 agement gave attention to this question last summer, and de- 

 termined that it would be practicable, at moderate expense, to 

 pipe a supply from Delaney Creek. This would not only be a 

 wise protective measure, but it would, by distributing water 

 through the camp, add materially to the convenience of those 

 whose sleeping apartments are now a quarter of a mile from 

 the river. 



The club was no sooner settled for its two weeks' stay at So- 

 da Springs than expectation began to rise concerning the big 

 side-trip, the six-day excursion to Ritter and the Devil's Post- 

 pile. In preparation for this, as a muscle-hardener, Mr. Colby 

 led a considerable group on July 17th over the Sunrise Trail to 

 Cathedral Lake, a gem snugly set in a granite bench overlook- 

 ing Tenaya Lake far below to the west. After the men and 

 women had separated for a swim and reunited for lunch, the 



