Notes and Correspondence 



319 



3 :oo A.M. The immediate ascent, after leaving the suspension-bridge, is for 

 fifteen hundred feet over a well-made but very arduous trail. We were well 

 along the Tonto plateau by dawn. The transition from the moonlight, so bright 

 had it been, was hardly noticeable until we faced about on a turn of the trail 

 just in time to see the first rays of the sun illumine some delicate, fleecy clouds, 

 turning them to ribbons of gold. Another beautiful day was upon us. Quite 

 literally, we had "stolen a march" on it, and had already extracted from it 

 three incomparable hours of interest, joy, and fascination. About 11:00 a.m. 

 we reached the rim at El Tovar, twelve miles from Camp Roosevelt and forty- 

 five hundred feet above the Colorado River. It had been a marvelously unique 

 morning's tramp, one which I shall ever remember, and which I can compare, 

 from the viewpoint of rare interest, even though the similarity of setting does 

 not exist, only with a tramp I took a few years ago in India, leaving Darjeeling 

 at 3 :oo A.M. to go to the famous Tiger Hill to see the sunrise on Mount Ever- 

 est, in the world's loftiest range of mountains. And doesn't one almost have to 

 think of Everest, Kinchinjunga, and those other Himalaya peaks to make a 

 colossally adequate comparison with the mightiness of this Grand Canon? 



To the Members of the Sierra Club : 



Two years ago, on Washington's Birthday, a nucleus of members of the 

 Sierra Club organized the Contra Costa Hills Club for the purpose of endeav- 

 oring to conserve the natural beauties of the East Bay counties of California 

 and to awaken a wider appreciation of their scenic charms. 



Five of our fifteen directors are members of the Sierra Club. Several of our 

 recent week-end walks have been taken jointly with Sierra Club parties, with 

 the result that some mutuality of interest in the purposes of each club has been 

 developed. 



We are now engaged in an intensive publicity campaign to induce the Oak- 

 land City Council to halt the impending subdivision of the beautiful grove of 

 redwoods above "The Heights" of Joaquin Miller. This region has long been 

 a favorite objective of Sierra Club parties. The skyline ridge ramble to Red- 

 wood Peak has been termed "a classic" among local walks, according to a re- 

 cent schedule. 



We believe these redwoods are just as worthy of preservation as more distant 

 groves which many of us may never see. These trees are for the most part 

 within the border of the city of Oakland, and millions of future residents and 

 visitors in the years to come should see them grow to maturity in a public 

 preserve. 



Inviting the co-operation of Sierra Club members in this campaign and in 

 our other endeavors which they may approve, I am 



Respectfully, Harold Feench 



Complete set of Sierra Club Bulletins, from January, 1907, to date, may be 

 purchased at clubroom for five dollars per set (22 numbers). 



