Across the Sierra Nevada on Skis 



299 



able, winter-camping with pack and skis offers many delightful con- 

 trasts to summer trips. Even on the old and beaten routes such as 

 this one, there are no disturbing sights or sounds, no crowds of peo- 

 ple, no dust or dirt or draggled evidence of former campers. The 

 solitude is unbroken and refreshing, the prospect on every hand 

 lovely and free from the disfiguring taint of careless occupancy. It 

 is easy to fancy yourself the first white man to thread this wilder- 

 ness, and as you see the untracked snow on every side you realize 

 that in very truth you are. It is entirely probable that small cabins 

 along the route can be secured by arrangement with the owners, 

 stocked with provisions in the fall, ready as a base for winter use. 

 Some of the cabins at Fallen Leaf Lodge are used in this way by 

 Mr. Price and his friends. Some at Phillips' are suitable for such 

 use. Other resorts would undoubtedly be glad to have the use of their 

 plants extended beyond the short summer season, and would make 

 favorable terms to Sierra Club members. 



What more delightful vacation could be planned than one in the 

 heart of the midwinter Sierra! With books to read, the wet days 

 could be pleasantly passed. The smashing winter storms would be 

 only fun with a snug warm cabin to retire into. In the periods of 

 calm, bright weather there would be peaks to climb, excursions to 

 make, lakes to visit — all familiar in a way, but all vastly different 

 from their summer selves. 



It will not be long, I think, before the Sierra Club will route its 

 winter trips, from cabin to cabin through the snows, as it now does 

 its summer excursions, making possible, for a few enthusiasts at 

 least, that return to the untouched primitive Vv^orld which in sum- 

 mer grows each year more difficult to find. 



