The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, June 14, 1903, Page 12

THE SUNDAY CALL. Just a Few of the Things You Don’t Know About the Ideal Spots in California That Will Make Your Summer Outing One Long Delight. ARt er la the world is so r mag scenery and ate California f the we are em assed » ractive places flered for a me The ad- er canyons be rra high- M glacial ake a e t and beau ak e gamiest of he Oregon of save their own shing ed 1 or womar w ey » r iat are and e ook up p " ke e of Mont Bia P er milcs . arbed va bernacies” and abide P E YOSEMITE VALL Vaile as a charm for all . e w nothing that " P beauly and gran- < e bhéigh its vertical wails W loveliness of the er them. This season are unusualy mugnificeat, the ear £ throated from the . ws. Seen from the rim of the alley, the snow fields of the high Sier- e granite slope called Re moothed and furrowed by the g.acke d the peaks that break the 2 a1 scene” to attract the ast while a1 your feet lies the park- ke valle read out like a tinted map o w adows and trees, with f and the crystal s like a line of light an landscape ed with the great val ia gr ¥or the lover j pective man, for whom the trees have tongues and the ak speech, who is nev- £ a han when alone. and whose p sde is Tigh In fello wasnip— 4 to such a one the Sierra forests are ful’ of charm. Among the big trees he does not stop to gather material for travelers’ storice. The trees themselves he loves for thelr own sake, and is responsive to the siiént appeal which comes up from the beart of the forest to be a man and walk out of all shums and pretenses. The grand old veterans of time, whose vigorous youth was vigited by winds that “soothed the twilight of the sultry day’ for swar- thy Egyptians building the pyramids, are yet 8o young in appearance, so far from suggesting age or decrepitude, so un- touched by decay that it is a tonle to move among thcm and the sympathetic man renews bi€ youth and goes his way wiih @ stronger pulse beaf The floor of these vast furests is richly carpeted, and fallen needles and fluted pourer without these sequoia to-day tree-trupks make a delightful symphony g8roves—would be without an idea of what in brown. The absence of undergrowth a tree may be, and to convert them into and of smail forest forms make an eX- lumber is to rob the generations to come cellent camping ground, and water is sel- Of their rightful heritage. dom far to seek. Naothing is more pictur- Fortunately for us ali, the route which esque an a campfire among these includes the Mariposa grove will always giants: nothing more conducive to high be an attractive one. Besides, the Hotel thinking and good fellowship of the truesy. Wawona is a model of its kind, and its kind, and if John Muir could have per- location so fine as to tempt one to tarry suaded Emerson to share his campfire in Iong. The Merced on its way to the vai- the Mariposa grove in 1871, what a talk ley is a delightful stream, while the they might have had! mountuin meadow beside the house, with Perish the ax that is lifted against its red-top and timothy, recalls one’s boy- these “thick trces.” The world would be. hood and the charm of the old haymow. GOL - A TE L L [EYS I'he view from Signal Peak on a good aday is one of the widest in the world, and a great surprise to the visitor. A region known chiefly to the more athletic and adventurous, but now acces- sible to all who can take a horseback trail and camp out, is Kings River Canyon. Tt is reached from Sanger on the Southern Pacific, a stage line of forty-five miles to Millwood and then a day and a half over the trail to Cedar Grove, a long drive, but taken so easily that you find it a constant delight. And Millwood itse!f is not without inter- est for the stray camper. It possesses an outfitting shop which provides a base of supplics; in fact there is scarcely a thing under the shining heavens that cannot be purchased there for the asking. A log- ging road to Converse Basin, cight miles distant, will show you the slaughtered remains of great sequoias, while but two miles farther will show you the new “largest tree in the world,"” the Boole, 109 feet in girth. Just three miles from Mill- wood is the General Grant Nationa! Park, with 125 mammoth trees, and short trips without number will reveal not only all kinds of good fishing, but fine landscapes in various directions. At Cedar Grove an excellent camp is always maintained and the wonderful oT TOM™M BOAT O ravE RE > = AL ASS '?4 e ) AN g T SR ESi e b South Fork with its wealth of wild and impressive scenery is easily reached from there. The Middle Fork—pity names are scarce. so that rivers must be left to these awkward designations—the Middle Kings River abounds in gamy trout, and the hills in game of other kinds. The whole region accessible from Cedar Grove is one of wonderful forests and a profusion of wild flowers, as the heights above, where the mountain river springs is one of many glacial lakes—not less than a thousand, clear, beautiful and little known. Here it is that the hunter finds his greatest pleasures, for bear, mountain lion, deer, wildcats, grouse. quail and squirrels are easily found in their haun and now and then he can take a day's rest and find that the trout fishing is not to be surpassed anywhere. HINTS TO THE CAMPERS. The camper is the one who fully enjoys *he valley and every moment of the out- ing. and really there is no better way to see all of wonderful region. It mat- ters little if you are a millionaire with money to throw away or a clerk who has been saving for this unusual treat, nature treats all alike, and she invites all to come into her parior and to stay as long as they please. If people only knew how simple a thing true camping hey esitate and consider the so long and in mistake of f A 2d that = n ree tir t hoard again, and old Mother H s ® Of bacon there shonld be fu 1 a half pounds a day f ea s canned tomatoes one au 1 sack of flour, one sack of Mexican beans for they are not only good t k w 5> to the ribs; small K o se pounds of sugar be kept in a tin t small insects a s no waste, which Js considered when one is fi miles from the end of Nowhere A bucket of is positively neces- sary, but only the fastidious need butter Who has been out for several weeks and not found out how awfully good the gravy made from the bacon grease and flour is when served bov 1y steam ing bread? Certainly nothing better could be asked for. Yet for those who think but ter one of the absolute nécessities it is wisest to buy that which has been pickled for it will keep, unless the weather is very warm For campers there are three don'ts and one meex suggestion: Don’t forget can dles. Don't forget matches. Don't for; a pint bottle of alcohol. Without cand you are very apt to be in utter darkness and without matches—and they are so easily forgotten—you are more than apt to come as near to starving as you wi ever fondly hope to be. The alcohol sto up more gth than a gallon whisky, and is good to have on hand in case of sickness or snake bites. The suggestion is oat meal. How many people know that water can be made palatable and that it will lose its bad ef- stre of fect when strained through oat meal?” Such is case matter how murky and bad may look, by mixing up a quantity of the meal and then allowing it to stand until at least a part of it has set- tied, the water may be tgken withou making you ill. This hint, however, hard Iy applies to California resorts, the water generally the purest and tbat nature distills. being cold: In the line of clothing little or not is wanted. Some advocate the of old clothes, as they are more comfor able than anything else. but it must remembered that they are easier to tear than anything else, and the very fir thing you know you are far from ejviliz tion and without as much as propriety mands you should wear A sult of overalls is cheap, and f more they will outlast anything else using also less it be buckskins, and they cost m than the average person cares to pa when something eise will do quite as we The es, of coufse. must be heavy and well nailed, for they make climbing mu casier and do not The hat should wear out as quick be either. wide and such character that any amount of toss- ing about will not succeed in breaking yet it must be of felt, as it might tu cold and be needed to protect the head at night For cooking. a coffee pot, a dishpan, tin cups and plates, tin spoons, one large spoon, one butcher knife, knives and forks, a hatchet and a Dutch oven are quite necessary For the benefit of those who haver visited Mother Earth in her home it might be well to say that a “Duteh over is what might be called an overgrowr stewpan. In other words. it is large in all ways, both circumference and height, and has a cover =0 that it may be put over the coas and then coals in turn put over it to get the oven effect. And how splendidly It does bake. bread, made of flour and water and cooked in the open, 15 good enough for any man on ecarth. There is practically little else to be