90 
FOREST AND STREAM 
February, 1922 
Log Cabins 
AND 
Cottages 
(Sixth Edition) 
How to Build and 
Furnish Them 
By 
WILLIAM S. WICKS 
The most popular book on the 
subject ever written. Full ex- 
planations how to build cabins 
of all sizes with directions and 
numerous illustrations. Every- 
thing from a shack to the most 
pretentious Adirondack struc- 
ture, is included. 
Pictures and plans of fire- 
places ; how to build chim- 
neys; rustic stairways, etc. 
PRICE $2.00 
Postpaid U. S. and Canada 
Forest and Stream 
BOOK DEPT. 
9 East 40th St. N. Y. City 
sufficed to dry them when a floating fly 
was desired. 
Each succeeding year of Sierra fish- 
ing has served to strengthen my faith 
in the first three named flies, and 1 hc- 
lieve a good supply of these in, say, 8, 
10 and 12 sizes, will take more fish than 
a fly-book full of fancy patterns; and 
yet I still carry the gorgeous ones. 
The day we again took the up-river 
trail a thunder storm was threatening 
and grumbling to itself back among the 
peaks. That afternoon it came dowm 
the canyon and met us, and we made a 
temporary camp in a thick group of firs. 
Our waterproof tarpaulin served as a 
wedge tent, stretched over a pack rope 
between two trees, and weighted at the 
corners with rocks. From its shelter we 
watched the downpour, and boiled a pot 
of coffee over a tiny fire. Between 
showers I improved the time by putting 
three shoes on our white mule, and tight- 
ening those on our horses. Thus, we 
were prepared for the pioneering ahead. 
We found it impossible to reach our 
intended camping place at Junction Mea- 
dow, so swiftly did darkness come, and 
we were glad to hear a hail from beside 
a campfire in a clump of trees beside the 
river, which we passed just at dusk. 
A stentorian voice bade us, “get 
down, unpack, come over, and eat,” and 
this we did aher a busy ten minutes of 
unpacking and hobbling our animals. 
Our host proved to he a big hearty 
rancher sportsman from Owens River 
\^alley who, with his wife, was spending 
• a summer vacation camping and fishing. 
When we voiced our intention of try- 
ing to reach the little golden trout lake 
far above, Phil and his wife waxed en- 
thusiastic, and decided to join us. The 
next day was spent in preparation — 
principally in bringing in and shoeing 
Phil’s two enormous ranch horses, which 
were serving as pack animals. These, 
the largest animals I have ever seen in 
the mountains, later proved their ability 
and nerve to follow our mules in some 
very had going. 
O UR trail from here up the river was 
had, with many long hard climbs 
over rock slides and around granite but- 
tresses. Still, it was a trail, with occa- 
sional stone “ducks” to guide us at 
doubtful places. 
The river, much smaller up here above 
the main feeders, was very swift, wdth 
many falls and cascades around which 
we had to work a precarious way. At 
noon we reached the real head of the 
Kern Canyon, and faced a very steep 
slope made up of broken masses of gran- 
ite, shale slides, and smooth sloping out- 
crops of bedrock. We walked and led 
our saddle horses, leaving the pack an- 
imals to pick their way behind us. Each 
successive stop, always a little higher 
up, made us feel better, and gave us 
courage for the next problem. 
At last the outfit was safely at the 
foot of a wdde, smooth granite apron, 
which sloped very sharply up to a nar- 
row notch, through which burst the river 
fork from the lake basin. We led the 
horses one at a time, as soon as a pos- 
sible stretch was worked out — and held 
our breath when it came the turn of the 
big horses. The mules followed like 
dogs, and balanced like acrobats while 
smelling out each step. 
In this kind of work it is essential to 
know just what a horse can — and cannot 
— do and to pick out a feasible route with 
unerring ability, for there can he no 
turning back after once starting up the 
apron. 
Several times Phil’s big grey went 
down heavily. There he would lie, pa- 
thetically waiting for our united efforts 
on the long lead rope to assist him to a 
slippery foothold. At other times his 
enormous feet could not balance him on 
the narrow cracks and projections, and 
we would all swing mightily on the rope, 
and trust to luck. He knew as well as 
we that one slide would be an end of old 
Bill. 
Sometime later we suddenly found 
ourselves on soil again, and following 
the creek up through a belt of tama- 
racks, came out to a little lake. An in- 
spection from a rock ledge disclosed 
golden trout swimming about in the clear 
water. We had found our unnamed 
lake. 
Wc camped at a twin lake a little 
further up the basin — for better horse 
feed — and turned the animals out in a 
thick carpet of fine hair grass. Our 
lakes were each nearly round in shape, 
and contained about eighty acres. The 
elevation here was 10,800 feet, and the 
surroundings bleak, after the almost 
tropical verdure of the Kern Canyon. 
Also an icy wind blew down across the 
basin from the snow hanks on the high 
peaks to the north and west of us, and 
we donned coats and sweaters and blew 
on our fingers. 
We fished only experimentally that 
evening, but found the lower lake full 
of good-sized goldens, which would rise 
to anything. In one trip around it, cast- 
ing carelessly, I caught 16 trout, all more 
than a foot in length. 
T here was thick ige on the water in 
our canvas bucket next morning; 
getting dressed and starting a fire was 
an ordeal — to be accompanied by mut- 
tered maledictions at anybody wanting 
to get up so early. Hot coffee, with flap- 
jacks and honey quickly brightened the 
situation. 
We fished until noon, caught many 
trout, then loafed about camp and con- 
sumed a splendid dinner, including a real 
cake, which Mrs. Phil had prepared for 
us. Trout had long since gone from 
our hill of fare, and the remaining bacon 
was guarded jealously. 
That afternoon Phil and Jimmie tried 
still-fishing with grasshoppers for big 
ones, while I worked the surface flies. 
We all caught our limits in fish of a 
pound or better, but landed no large 
ones, although 'Jimmie lost one which 
broke a new leader. We saved a few 
of our best fish each day, to take home, 
and returned all the others which were 
unhurt. These goldens were no differ- 
ent in markings from those in the Cot- 
tonwood Lakes, so far as we could ob- 
serve. They were strong, pugnacious 
fighters for their size, hut we were dis- 
appointed in not raising any really big 
ones. They rose best to flies through 
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