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Sierra Club Bulletin 



stream flowed through the broad green meadowlands, which were 

 starred with flowers and bordered by tamarack pines, while far up 

 the valley to the east the dark-red slopes of Dana and Gibbs and the 

 gray granite of Kuna Crest stood out against the clear blue sky. 

 Under the pines by the Soda Springs the club settled down in its per- 

 manent camp, though, with the first main side-trip only two days 

 off, the stay for many was not to be a long one. 



During the club's stay in the meadows short but interesting trips 

 were made to Elizabeth and Budd lakes. Eleven of the former 

 party climbed Unicorn, and five of the latter reached the topmost 

 point of the Cathedral Spire. Then the first main side-trip left the 

 meadows for a six days' tramp in the northern part of the park, 

 including Matterhorn Canon and Benson and Rodgers lakes. Over 

 one hundred and twenty of the one hundred and eighty or more on 

 the outing took this side-trip. The first night's camp was made at 

 the junction of the Tuolumne River with Conness Creek. Most of 

 the party went on down the canon that day past California and 

 Le Conte falls to the rush and roar of the great Waterwheels. The 

 lodgepole pine and western junipers of Conness Creek here give 

 place to Jeffrey and sugar pines. The last half-mile is a scramble 

 through a tangle of manzanita where the trail splits into half a 

 dozen tracks, each ending after a few yards in rocks or brush. All 

 along the bank of the river tea parties were held on rocky ledges 

 where the water went hissing past beneath tall sugar pines. Those 

 who had had the forethought to bring fishing-tackle added fresh 

 fried trout to the usual menu. 



From Conness Creek the party moved through Cold Meadows 

 and Virginia Canon to the second night's camp in Matterhorn Canon 

 among the whitened skeletons of insect-killed tamarack pines. Next 

 day, owing to adverse trail conditions, part of the route was aban- 

 doned, and the main party went direct to Benson Lake, where two 

 nights were spent. A party of fifteen knapsackers, however, led by 

 Mr. Clyde, followed out the original itinerary, traversing the little- 

 known northern end of the park and visiting Rock Island Lake and 

 Kerrick Canon. On the first day of this trip a party climbed Matter- 

 horn Peak and learned from the Sierra Club register that only 

 twenty-three people had made the ascent since the book was placed 

 there in 1899, which is proof of its remoteness, for the view from 

 the summit was well worth the effort. Northward the sky was dark 



