DISTANCES DECEPTIVE
At 12 o’clock sharp, I came around another bend and there ahead, across a valley stood a sharp precipice. They had told me that right behind this precipice lay the Le Conte Lodge.
I stood a minute, and tried to judge how long it would take to get there. Distances in the mountains are very deceptive. Out West you can see a long way, hence an actual distance is much farther than it looks. I remember once, in the high Rockies, figuring it would take an hour to get to a certain ridge, but it actually took three hours.
So with this in mind, I estimated one hour to get to this precipice. And shiver these old timbers, if I wasn’t there in 10 minutes. The climb was over, and I hadn’t even eaten my sandwich.
Just as I topped the ridge, I turned around in the direction of Park Headquarters, and looked far down toward where Ranger Edwards was probably nestling behind his desk, and I puckered up my mouth and said, “Five hours Pvvvvvvtt.”
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P. S.—And now that I’ve used up this whole column bragging on myself, I suppose I’ll have to get to work tomorrow and tell you what I saw on the trip. Hope I can think of something good.