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[[underlined]] Aug. 25 [[/underlined]] Coville & I started for one of the high peaks near Mt. Whitney to get a good long slope above timberline, Took pack horse & man & expected to be 2 or 3 days on the trip. Crossed over the divide to head of Kern River & followed down it some 4 or 5 miles. Got in soft marshes & windfalls & could make little headway.

Found it was a difficult route & the nearest peak a good way off so concluded to give up the trip. Camped on Kern River near large patches of brush & weeds. Found signs of Neotoma. Shot a Lagomys & a Vesperugo fuscus, Sciurus californicus & Tamias minimus & T. chrysodira & Arctomys are common. Found dung of some animal that eats Lagomys. Set all of my traps and made 2 stone deadfalls.

Shot 4 Dendrogapus. Their crops contained Ribes lacustre molle berries, Sambucus berries, leaves of willow & Ribes & a seed pod of Castilea.

A heavy shower passed just above us & did not rain much here, but it raised the water in Kern River nearly a foot in a very short time.

A warm day before the rain.

Brought a mercurial barometer & took one reading at our camp.

Kern R. is about 20 feet wide here, shallow but very rapid.