On the morning of the third day go to the top of Mount
Dana in time for the glory of the dawn and the sunrise
over the gray Mono Desert and the sublime forest of
High Sierra peaks. When you leave the mountain
go far enough down the north side for a view of the
Dana Glacier, then make your way back to the Tioga
road, follow it along the Tuolumne Meadows to the
crossing of Budd Creek where you will find the Sunrise
trail branching off up the mountain-side through the
forest in a southwesterly direction past the west
side of Cathedral Peak, which will lead you down to
the Valley by the Vernal and Nevada Falls. If
you are a good walker you can leave the trail where
it begins to descend a steep slope in the silver fir
woods, and bear off to the right and make straight
for the top of Clouds’ Rest. The walking
is good and almost 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 rest 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.
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.
