Page:The Tourist's California by Wood, Ruth Kedzie.djvu/242

202 air, undefiled by dust, is most suffused with the white glow peculiar to this alpine glen.

The splendour of the Yosemite so exhilarates the new arrival that he may easily overdo in the rare atmosphere. The village itself is at an altitude of 4000 feet, and the trails breast summits as high or twice as high again. If the visitor has sufficient time at his disposal to rest a day between arduous excursions his enjoyment will be greatly enhanced.

Those who are to remain but a few days, a week is necessary to do the Valley and its environs the barest justice will best employ their time by first taking the trails to the main points of vantage on the south and north walls, and to Tenaya Canyon. The most rewarding trip of all is the one which includes Glacier Point, Illilouette, Vernal and Nevada Falls (about 16 miles round trip). A second climbing expedition will embrace the lower and upper fall of the Yosemite and the crest of Eagle Peak (14 miles return). Persons with the constitution of a Scot may continue across the forest plain on the top of El Capitan to Ribbon Fall and return home by the Big Oak Flat Road, a total distance of about 30 miles.

Mirror Lake, at the mouth of Tenaya Canyon, is a pleasant morning walk or ride of 3 miles from the village. Its chief lure is the reflection of the surrounding shores upon its quiet face at sunrise.