Colby Pass and the Black Kaweah 



125 



we reached the pass and heard from far in the distance a mighty 

 shout. Our party at the lake far below had been watching with 

 glasses as the advance was made up the rocky slope. 



From the pass to Junction Meadow (via the Kern-Kaweah) the 

 way was open. Professor Dudley had brought animals up the 

 stream.* Abernathy had been up to the pass with burros. f Earl 

 McKee had been up from the Kern afoot, and had reported the 

 going fairly good, except at the lower end of the river, where packs 

 must be carried a short distance. The only question remaining was : 

 Could the pack-animals be brought up the last thousand feet to 

 the pass ? Our saddle-horses had been led up, but could the pack- 

 animals navigate the same trail? There were two particularly bad 

 places in this slope — one, where a large boulder projected into the 

 trail so that the stirrups struck in passing; the other, where two 

 large boulders came together too close for the packs to pass. 



The return to our camp at the Whaleback Basin took about two 

 hours. Reaching there we found that McDuf&e had returned down 

 Cloudy Cafion to our main camp to greet our newcomers and to 

 escort them up to the basin camp the following day. He left word 

 that we should decide whether the pass should be attempted with 

 the packs. That night around our rousing camp-fire we discussed 

 the advisability of the attempt. The unanimous vote was "Yes." 



What is more glorious than these evenings in camp ? — the twilight 

 fading into dark, and then the utter darkness beyond the camp- 

 fire's glow; the absolute stillness, save for the crackling fire with its 

 myriads of firefly sparks; the murmuring brook near by; now and 

 then the crash of a rock from the Whaleback cliffs across the 

 meadow; then there are good friends gathered in the camp-fire's 

 genial warmth, listening as Mrs. McDuffie reads thrilling tales of 

 James Capen Adams, mountaineer and grizzly-bear hunter, Clar- 

 ence King, and other wild tales of adventure ; — the fire dies to glow- 

 ing coals, and as the moon rises over the great wall of the Western 

 Divide, flooding the basin with soft, mellow light, each one seeks 

 his tamarack bedchamber for a peaceful sleep, to dream of un- 

 trodden trails, unpassed passes, and unknown Kern-Kaweahs be- 

 yond. At such times, truly "All's well with the world." 



The next morning at daybreak McKee and Brown were off with 



* See SiERM Club Bxh^letin, vol. II, No. 3, p. 188. 

 t See Sierra Club Bulletin, vol. IX, No. i, p. 3. 



