Page:The Tourist's California by Wood, Ruth Kedzie.djvu/268

From Wikisource
Jump to navigation Jump to search
This page needs to be proofread.

224 THE TOURIST'S CALIFORNIA frog Lake is wilder than that above Hetch Hetchy and the Tuolumne's canyon. All three valleys are distinguished by " vertical walls and flat floors." East of Fresno above the head-waters of the Kings, Kaweah and Kern Rivers, the two hundred-mile wall of the southern Sierras is at its grandest and highest. Mt. Whitney is the su- preme apex of this barrier which rises between the desert and the Pacific and is in some places miles wide. Massed below Whitney are Williamson, Tyndall, Brewer, Goddard, Rixford and other summits which approach within one to two thou- sand feet its own altitude of over 14,552 feet. On the slopes of the Snow Range stretch vast se- quoia forests that are superior to all others. The nearest route from Fresno to Kings River Canyon is by way of Sanger (14 m. east of Fresno on a branch of the Southern Pacific) and Mill- wood (auto-stage from Sanger, 40 m.). Mill- wood is a large lumber camp in which there is passable hotel accommodation. The saddle trail proceeds 35 miles northeast. Camping outfits and animals are available at Millwood. The in- clusive cost of saddle-horse, pack train, provisions and tent need not exceed $4.00 a day per person if a party is formed for the trip. Those averse to camping in the open may find lodgings at vari- ous wayside hostels. General Grant National Park is 3 miles east of