The mountains . we explain. Thats abig pine-tree. So by that you can see how tremen-dous those cliffs really are. And our guest looks incredulously at the speck. There was snow, of course, lying cold in the hotsun. This phenomenon always impresses a man whenfirst he sees it. Often I have ridden with my sleevesrolled up and the front of my shirt open, over driftswhose edges, even, dripped no water. The directrays seem to have absolutely no effect. A scientificexplanation I have never heard expressed ; but Isuppose the cold nights freeze the drifts and packthem so hard that the short noon heat c
The mountains . we explain. Thats abig pine-tree. So by that you can see how tremen-dous those cliffs really are. And our guest looks incredulously at the speck. There was snow, of course, lying cold in the hotsun. This phenomenon always impresses a man whenfirst he sees it. Often I have ridden with my sleevesrolled up and the front of my shirt open, over driftswhose edges, even, dripped no water. The directrays seem to have absolutely no effect. A scientificexplanation I have never heard expressed ; but Isuppose the cold nights freeze the drifts and packthem so hard that the short noon heat cannot pene-trate their density. I may be quite wrong as to myreason, but I am entirely correct as to my fact. Another curious thing is that we met our mosqui-toes only rarely below the snow-line. The campingin the Sierras is ideal for lack of these pests. Theynever bite hard nor stay long even when found. Butjust as sure as we approached snow, then we renewedacquaintance with our old friends of the north At every stride we stepped ten feet and slid five THE MAIN CREST It is analogous to the fact that the farther north yougo into the fur countries, the more abundant theybecome. By and by it was time to descend. The camp laydirectly below us. We decided to go to it straight,and so stepped off on an impossibly steep slope cov-ered, not with the great boulders and granite blocks,but with a fine loose shale. At every stride westepped ten feet and slid five. It was gloriously nearto flying. Leaning far back, our arms spread wide tokeep our balance, spying alertly far ahead as to wherewe were going to land, utterly unable to check untilwe encountered a half-buried ledge of some sort, andshouting wildly at every plunge, we fairly shot down-hill. The floor of our valley rose to us as the earthto a descending balloon. In three quarters of an hourwe had reached the first flat. There we halted to puzzle over the trail of a moun-tain lion clearly printed on the soft ground. Whathad
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