and trails. Jim toted a heavy pack and pushed along a mileage wheel to measure trail distances, much to the astonishment of passing hikers. He insisted on absolute accuracy, even when it meant discomfort to him. I remember one late afternoon, the sun low on the western horizon, trudging along the West Stringer Trail from Volcano Meadow toward the Kern River. We had walked twenty miles that day, and I felt we had covered enough of the trail and needn't continue the final four miles to the river. Jim was tired too, but he insisted on walking the entire distance and back, He returned to camp well after dark, totally fatigued but in good spirits. His sense of honesty and responsibility to his readers would allow him no shortcuts. In subsequent years Jim covered every trail and feasible cross-country route from Sequoia National Park south to Tehachapi Pass. Out of all this toil, sweat and tears was born Self-Propelled in The Southern Sierra, Volume I, one of the finest trail guides ever written. Fortunately Jim finished work on Volume II before his passing; it will be available soon. Jim's rich but all too short life came to a tragic end on Interstate 5, near Fort Tejon, on the afternoon of August 27th. He was returning to his duties as a summer ranger in Sequoia National Forest when he stopped alongside the highway with car trouble. Standing beside his VW Camper, he was killed instantly when struck by a passing vehicle. Fate plays cruel and unfathomable tricks on some of us. How tragic that Jim's "turn" came when he had so much of life ahead of him.
	John Robinson

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