Class C is general; dry and wet meadows, talus covered with earth, solid rock under 10 per cent, that requires only roughening, gravel and dirt slopes that do not require blasting, scattered boulder strewn flats and benches. The following costs were prorated in the above: Transportation, including wages of packer hire, of horses, loss of one animal, and feed.... Subsistence, including wages of cook. Total...... .$ 965.00 1237.19 443.74 .$2645.93 The cost record shows $237.80 more charged against it than the expenditures. This is accounted for by: Powder used, left over from last year.... ..$137.80 100.00 $237.80 A few outstanding bills have not as yet been received, but they are figured into the cost record. We have on hand practically enough equipment for next year. Powder on hand, 500 lbs. Will need 300 lbs. 20 per cent stumping for next year. The greatest difficulty was experienced at Barrier Rock, some few miles below Muir Pass, on the Kings River side. This reef rises abruptly from the stream bed on both sides, and it was necessary to blast almost a half tunnel in order to get through it. Mr. McClure will, however, understand this, as he viewed this place on our trip last year. This year was a difficult labor season, for even under normal conditions it is hard to keep men at these high altitudes. FUTURE PLANS I want to strongly recommend the use of all present and future appropriations on the Sierra Section, from Muir Pass north until completed. I base this recommendation on the fact that we are now fairly well organized, and have the equipment on the ground to continue, and it seems to me to be poor economy to divert small or large sums to start work on other portions that are perhaps in better shape to handle temporary travel than we are. The section from Palisade south can wait till the last, as travel can go down Kings to Simpson Meadow, and over to the South Fork by fairly good trails, while north the route is in bad shape. LOOKING UP SOUTH FORK OF SAN JOAQUIN RIVER Toward Mount Goddard, from near Hell-for-Sure Trail Photo by H. H. Bliss SIERRA CLUB BULLETIN, VOL. X. PLATE CCXVI. for 40 miles, opened trait to Mr Conness, & made the ascent to summil practicable. Then recupied the station for En Agemuth, Latitude, Verticals, & Magneties. Jure, Getz, August September 1890. Stations observed upon Mt. Mucho 127. ms. Mt. Diablo 143. Round Top 72. Met Grant 517 RECORD OF U. S. COAST & GEODETIC SURVEY Left by party under Professor George Davidson on the summit of Mount Conness, 1890. Removed from the mountain by Walter L. Huber, July 24. 1917; now deposited in the official records of the Sierra Club Next year I plan to start the crew at the bridges on the South Fork of the San Joaquin, and then work up to Muir Pass via Evolution as the season advances. To work to good advantage, the low country must be worked early, and when the snow goes off sufficiently on the higher elevations, stop work low down and attack the higher portions. There is usually only about 30 days you can work elevations of 11,000 feet or over, so we must get at them when the opportunity presents itself. If we finish the Evolution Section, we can continue work from the Piute Bridge to Seldon Pass. I would, of course, plan to reserve enough money to get started in 1919 pending an additional appropriation. I sincerely hope some better method of payment can be devised. It is impossible to keep men and maintain credit if bills are not paid more promptly. I want to take this opportunity to commend very highly the work of Mr. Hughes as foreman of the crew. He has carried the work under some very difficult conditions in fine shape, and I hope he can again be assigned to it. I attach map, photographs, and memo of Ranger Hughes on the FOREMAN'S MEMORANDUM OF SEASON'S WORK The trail crew for this year's work left Cascada on June 24, and June 26 they reached Aspen Meadow, 11⁄2 miles above the Piute Creek bridge. On June 27, camp was established and the tools assembled. On June 28 work was commenced at the bridge, working from there southeast up the South Fork of the San Joaquin. The foreman and Mr. Jordan, who went in with the crew to help lay out the trail, were impressed with the idea that this year we were going to build a better trail than we had ever built before, and the lowest percentage of grade obtainable was to be carried, and it must not exceed a maximum of 15 per cent. A survey was made from Piute Bridge to the foot of the hill, at the mouth of Evolution Creek, a distance of 31⁄2 miles. A very good grade was obtained, only in one place was 15 per cent used, and that only for a few rods, the average grade for the entire 31⁄2 miles being less than 6 per cent. It was proposed to build the trail up the South Fork, keeping on the north side of the river, and bridge Evolution Creek, and thereby avoid crossing the South Fork twice. A good trail could have been built from the ford up, but it was found impractical to bridge Evolution Creek, and not even a good ford could be found, so this idea had to be given up. The ford across the South Fork, below the mouth of Evolution Creek, has proved to be a very dangerous ford during high water. A man was drowned there last summer, and prior to that several head of stock had been drowned. This year we lost a pack mule on this same ford, for which the State has to pay. Below the ford some good bridge sites are available, but the expense of building a trail up the river from them would be prohibitive. A site was selected a short distance above the ford, well out of the path of snowslides. A good foundation of solid rock, well above high water, was obtained on the north side. On the south side a reef of rock came down to the river, but had to be supplemented by a rock crib eight feet high. Cement was used to chink between the rocks on the side facing the river, and about four feet on each side. The span measured 68 feet and the stringers five by eight, with an average length of 40 feet, were hewed out, tent posts, caps, and mud sills were framed in extra lengths, the hangers were cut and flooring was split out, and everything was piled so that it would not warp. From the lower bridge site to the upper one, a distance of 68 chains, the old trail ran through a meadow, and some very soft places had to be crossed that would have to be corduroyed, so a new route was surveyed around the meadow on the south side on an average grade of three per cent, which will always be high and dry. The upper bridge site is a short span of 32 feet. It is about one-quarter mile above the mouth of Evolution, and as Evolution Creek carries about as much water as does the South Fork above it, there is much less water to cross than at the lower bridge. On the south side of the river we have a good foundation of solid rock well above high water. On the north side a bent 32 inches high, set on solid rock, can be used. All timbers for this bridge are framed and properly piled, with the exception of some flooring. No timber is available here that can be split, and poles will have to be used. Some trouble was experienced in keeping men. A spirit of unrest seemed to be in the air, and four men quit. They claimed that there was no sense in working in so isolated a region when better wages and conditions could be had for the asking in places nearer to civilization. A different system of packing was used this year; the pack train was kept with the crew and not allowed to stay over in Cascada any longer than was necessary to load the pack animals. The main part of the supplies were packed in during June and in the early part of July, and stored at Aspen Meadow. Extra stock had to be hired for this, and two men sent with the pack train, as the streams were too high for one man to safely handle the stock. On August 10 this piece of work was completed, no very difficult places were encountered, and most of the blasting was done around two points, one below and one above Aspen Meadow. An average tread of 30 inches was maintained on this piece of trail. On August 10, the camp was moved to the Muir Pass, and a camp established four miles below the top of the Pass at the last lake below Lake Helen; on the Kings River side work was commenced at Barrier Rock by the drillers, and the graders worked towards the Pass. Notes were taken in the Pass of soft spots and places where the snow was lying, and a preliminary route was marked out. Below the pass, |