At the base of Ft.

Sumpter we leave the trail down which we have come, with the intention of going--without a trail--down Whisky Creek, over several interesting meadows to Five Lake Creek, and thence up by the Five Lakes, over the pass into Bear Creek Canyon, past Deer Park to the Truckee River and thus to the Tavern.
With such an excellent guide as Bob Watson we have no hesitation in striking out in any direction and in a short time Mt.

Mildred (8400 feet) is on our right.
Great groves of willows and alders cover immense areas of the canyon's sides, while we pass a giant red fir with a diameter of fully six feet.
When about half a mile from Five Lake Creek the largest portion of the canyon is taken up with irregular masses of granite over which a glacier, or glaciers, have moved.

The striation and markings are down the valley, and looking up from below the canyon for a mile or more it has the appearance of a series of irregular giant steps, each step gradually sloping back to the step above.

From above the course of the glacier seems clear.