Pardon our digression to Greeley. We have spent so much time on him, not because he occasionally scribbles illegible manuscript for a new and struggling paper in a small eastern village, but because he came faster, arrived sorer, stayed fewer hours, saw less of the valley, and slandered it more than any one else has ever attempted.
Olive Logan spoke disparagingly of the Yosemite Fall, but the Fall is still there. She adds some slanderous remarks about the conduct of the drivers along the route, to which the only fitting answer would be these questions: "When a man or a woman, all alone in a room, looks into a mirror, and doesn't see a gentleman or lady reflected therein—whose fault is it? Is the difficulty in the glass or in front of it?"
But let us start. From San Francisco to Yosemite there are three routes. All of them carry one, first, to or near Stockton, which city we reach by rail or river, and all of them bring us, at last, into the valley by one of the only two trails which enter it. Between the outer ends of these trails and Stockton, or vicinity, lie the various intermediate places or way stations which have given name to the routes which pass through them, and concerning which the tourist chiefly needs reliable information.
Looking upon any good map, not drawn in the exclusive interest of some one of these rival routes, you can easily see for yourself, spite of all agents' representations, which is the most direct way, geographically or topographically.
We now mention these in regular order, reckoning from north to south; that is, down the map, as we used to say at school. For convenience, we may distinguish the three routes as the upper or north route, the middle route, and the lower or south route.
Big Oak Flat Route.
The upper or north route is commonly called the Big Oak Flat, or the Hutchings route. If we go by this, we can either go directly into the valley, or make a detour by way of the Calaveras Big Trees. The following table showing distances, times and conveyances, by the straight and quick way.
TO YOSEMITE VALLEY—DIRECT.
| From | To | Miles. | Hours. | By |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| San Francisco | Stockton | 90 | 10 | Steamer. |
| Stockton | Milton | 28 | 1¼ | Car. |
| Milton | Chinese Camp | 24 | 4 | Stage. |
| Chinese Camp | Garrote | 14 | 2½ | Stage |
| Garrote | Tamarack | 32 | 6 | Stage |
| Tamarack | Yosemite | 11 | 4 | Saddle. |
| 199 | 27¾ |