AN ASCENT OF MOUNT HUMPHREYS 

 By G. R. Bunn 



OUR party of ten left Los Angeles July ii, 1919, and on 

 the 14th bade farewell to roads and civilization at the 

 Hogue Ranch, marked on the United States Geological Survey 

 map as Ross Ranch. A little more than two weeks of joyous 

 wanderings, enhanced by good fishing and glorious scenery, 

 found us camped near the timber-line on Piute Creek ready for 

 a dash at our chief objective. In addition to knowledge gained 

 on a trip in 1913 and information from old Sierra Club Bul- 

 letins and other printed matter, we had seized every oppor- 

 tunity to examine our mountain from different vantage-points. 

 There were the distant glimpses from Muir Pass, from Mount 

 Hilgard, and from the unnamed pass between Lake Italy and 

 Granite Park. Then came the more intimate views from Pi- 

 lot Knob, from the trail near Piute Pass, and from various 

 parts of Humphrey Basin. After collocating all the facts ob- 

 tained by reading and by personal inspection of our objective, 

 the opinion as to the best line of attack seemed to be unani- 

 mous, and when the climbing party left camp on August 3d at 

 7 A. M., with beautiful weather to encourage them, it v/as with 

 high hopes that a few hours later the topmost pinnacle of 

 Mount Humphreys would be beneath their feet. 



Both the reputation of the mountain and our own visual ex- 

 amination of its tremendous precipices had led us to determine 

 that its ascent was too dangerous to be undertaken by the ladies 

 of the party, no matter how good mountaineers they might be. 

 Viewed in the light of that day's later experiences, it seems cer- 

 tain that this judgment was wise. There were but five of us 

 who finally set out for the conquest of the peak. 



An inspection of the United States Geological Survey map 

 will reveal a chain of small lakes lying directly at the base of 

 the main peak, and our route, after crossing a low ridge, led us 

 between the two uppermost of these lakes. Here a fan of talus 

 stretches down nearly to the uppermost lake, and up this we 



