t level and from the
west end of Clouds' Rest take the Clouds' Rest Trail which will lead
direct to the Valley by the Nevada and Vernal Falls. To any one not
desperately time-poor this trip should have four days instead of three;
camping the second night at the Soda Springs; thence to Mount Dana and
return to the Soda Springs, camping the third night there; thence by
the Sunrise trail to Cathedral Peak, visiting the beautiful Cathedral
lake which lies about a mile to the west of Cathedral Peak, eating your
luncheon, and thence to Clouds' Rest and the Valley as above. This is one
of the most interesting of all the comparatively short trips that can be
made in the whole Yosemite region. Not only do you see all the grandest
of the Yosemite rocks and waterfalls and the High Sierra with their
glaciers, glacier lakes and glacier meadows, etc., but sections of the
magnificent silver fir, two-leaved pine, and dwarf pine zones; with the
principal alpine flowers and shrubs, especially sods of dwarf vaccinium
covered with flowers and fruit though less than an inch high, broad mats
of dwarf willow scarce an inch high with catkins that rise straight from
the ground, and glorious beds of blue gentians,--grandeur enough and
beauty enough for a lifetime.

The Upper Tuolumne Excursion

We come now to the grandest of all the Yosemite excursions, one that
requires at least two or three weeks. The best time to make it is from
about the middle of July. The visitor entering the Yosemite in July has
the advantage of seeing the falls not, perhaps, in their very flood
prime but next thing to it; while the glacier-meadows will be in their
glory and the snow on the mountains will be firm enough to make climbing
safe. Long ago I made these Sierra trips, carrying only a sackful of
bread with a little tea and sugar and was thus independent and free, but
now that trails or carriage roads lead out of the Valley in almost every
direction it is easy to take a pack animal, so that the luxury of a
blanket and a supply of food can easily be had.

The best way to leave the Valley will be by the Yosemite Fall trail,
camping the first night on the Tioga road opposite the east end of the
Hoffman Range. Next morning climb Mount Hoffman; thence push on past
Tenaya Lake into the Tuolumne Meadows and establish a central camp
near the Soda Springs, from which glorious excursions can be made at
your leisure. For here in this upper Tuolumne Valley is the widest,