climbing steeply to a sagebrush desert plateau. The road, not now open to motorized travel, crosses some ridges, curves up to the left (North), and reaches the crest of the ridge at about 11,000 feet. There, it intersects the Toiyabe Crest Trail and follows the same route to the summit. It is wild, beautiful country. We spotted a Cougar, bounding with great leaps of 15-20 feet each, across the last saddle before the switchbacks begin. It hurried into the grove of stunted Pines as though chagrinned to have been caught in the open by mere homo sapiens. Back at Don's Datsun at 3:15 PM, we drove back to the main road and turned North, up the Reece River Valley, about 45 miles to Austin. Carols Country Kitchen provides a hearty dinner in a pleasant atmosphere. Twelve miles East of Austin Nv. New 376 leaves US Hwy 50, going South to Tonopah. Take it. After only two hundred yards, a narrow, but good dirt road goes left (East) to the Toquima Valley, Spencer Pot Spring and the roadhead for Mt. JEFFERSON. It's about 30 miles along this road 'til it intersects the road coming down from Eureka. The combined roads continue South another 20-30 miles to a sign on the right which reads, in part: "Meadow Canyon". Turn right. Follow the very narrow, winding road, past an intersecting road on the right at about 1 mile, across a creek (dry in August, but very wet in Spring), past a Circa l870 stone cabin at 3.5 mi. up to a road going off to the left. There is a sign there which says: "Jefferson Summit". Turn left and follow the road, carefully, a mile or so to the obvious saddle, where the road continues but goes down. Do not go down! Look for the dim track off to the right and take it. These roads up to here (about 8,500 feet) are easily passable for almost all passenger cars. There is parking and camping area here. It is open, broad, sage country. Mt Jefferson rises, invitingly, a couple of miles north. Any car can continue a short distance further, toward Mt. Jefferson. 4-wheel drive vehicles may take a right-hand fork of the road, go through a gap in the barbed wire fence, and continue upward to the point where the fence ends at a short, rock face. The pleasant, easy hike begins here. It encompasses approximately 2,600' of gain spread along 2 1/2 - 3 mi of distance. A good use trail covers most of the distance, with judiciously placed "ducks" marking the rough route in some spots. The summit supports a solar generating panel and two antennae. It also provides beautiful, clear views of some very interesting country, beckoning the adventuresome to don a backpack and spend some time exploring an area rich in early-Amen can history and dotted with the ruins of gold and silver mining efforts. While we were yet afar off, we saw some animals running the summit ridge. We took them to be Prong-horned Antelope, but they could have been deer? We reached the vehicle at Noon (12/15). After driving back to the main road - stopping to examine the old, stone cabin at the creek-crossing (& discovering that the wooden portions of it were joined with square, handforged nails), the more recently built corrals, etc - we continued South, through the semi-abandoned mining town of Belmont to Tonopah. We unanimously recommend the Mizpah Hotel for both it's food and the service. Some quick figuring showed that its about the same distance from Tonopah to L. A. whether you go back over to Bishop and then down Hwy 305 OR you drop directly South on Hwy 95 and cross on one of the several laterals to Baker, thence back to L A on Hwy IH 15. We went to Bishop and arrived in Irvine at about 11 PM, tired, sleepy but thoroughly pleased with the 4-day weekend (3 climbing days and 1 sight-seeing day).--Lou Brecheen.

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