The uppermost crevasse or "bergeschrund" was from twelve to fourteen
feet wide. The melting snow and ice formed a network of rills that ran
gracefully down the surface of the glacier, merrily singing in their
shining channels. After this discovery I made excursions over all the
High Sierra and discovered that what at first sight looked like
snowfields were in great part glaciers which were completing the
sculpture of the summit peaks.
Rising early,--which will be easy, as your bed will be rather cold and
you will not be able to sleep much anyhow,--after visiting the glacier,
climb the Red Mountain and enjoy the magnificent views from the summit.
I counted forty lakes from one standpoint an this mountain, and the
views to the westward over the Illilouette Basin, the most superbly
forested of all the basins whose waters rain into Yosemite, and those of
the Yosemite rocks, especially the Half Dome and the upper part of the
north wall, are very fine. But, of course, far the most imposing view is
the vast array of snowy peaks along the axis of the Range. Then from the
top of this peak, light and free and exhilarated with mountain air and
mountain beauty, you should run lightly down the northern slope of the
mountain, descend the canyon between Red and Gray Mountains, thence
northward along the bases of Gray Mountain and Mount Clark and go down
into the head of Little Yosemite, and thence down past the Nevada and
Vernal Falls to the Valley, a truly glorious two-day trip!
A Three-Day Excursion
The best three-day excursion, as far as I can see, is the same as the
first of the two-day trips until you reach Lake Tenaya.
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