[Week 6]

5th       We got off together at 7:00 and rode for 2 hrs. through the luxuriant cornfields, orchards and grain fields of the "Merced bottom."  Then rising over the bluff we issued out onto the rolling grain fields which stretch for miles to the river.  About noon it was very hot and we camped a [sic] a very uninviting place,—a house in the midst of a waste of stubble with no fence nor shade.  Made a fire in the blacksmith's forge on the premises, and consumed a very hot lunch after which we hugely enjoyed a fine cool watermelon which we found for sale.  On again 10 miles to Turlock on the S.P.R.R. through the same wide grain fields without a fence or other means of determining boundaries, the farmhouses dropped apparently by chance about a mile apart in every direction.  For 8 miles the tracks of a single combined harvester continued unbroken by the side of a perfectly straight road.  At 6: PM we reached a farm house 2 miles beyond Turlock whose owner consented after long persuasion to allow us to camp on the side of the road, and sold us a sack of barley for the horses.  Fear of fire makes these ranchers suspicious of such campers as ourselves.  We had a good enough camp, and but for the trains rushing past every 2 hrs. of the night, would have had a sound sleep on our bed of sand.

6th       After following the railroad again for some 5 miles we struck off due west for the San Joaquin river.  The ride, thro' everlasting grain fields was monotonous, but, owing to a slight breeze, it was cool enough to be very pleasant.  Camped at a deserted farm house for lunch, and started on again a [sic] 3:00 P.M. reaching the river at Greyson's Ferry about 5: P.M.  Turning north we came to the large ranch of Dick Richard's where we found a kind reception from the foreman.  Cooked dinner in the forge as the safest and most conveniant [sic] place and afterwards enjoyed examining the machinery and stock on this, the largest and best kept ranch we had yet seen.  An immense straw stack offered us a warm and comfortable bed where no locomotive troubled our sleep with its shriek and roar.

          The youthful son of the proprietor, delighted with our rough attire, bowie knives, (daggers, he called them) and guns and by the stories we told of our trip, exerted himself to procure milk, butter and other delicacies for us, and looked with wonderment at our meathods [sic] of cooking. 

7th       The bed was so soft that we slept till five, but thanks to the forge, breakfast, consisting of mush, eggs and coffee was cooked in ten minutes and we were off by 7: A.M.  Going west for 2 miles we struck the Tracy branch of the R.R. which we followed north to Tracy a distance of 12 miles.  Lunching near here, we hurried on again soon turning directly west toward the Livermore Pass, which we got well into by 6: P.M.  Our camp was at the ranch of an Irishman whose wife was a regular virago and before night we and her husband were treated to a fine dose of Irish brogue and tongue lashing.  The strong wind which is said to blow constantly in this valley made cooking a slow and tiresome task and forced us to seek the shelter of a roof for the night for the first time on our trip.

8th       Getting off at 7:A.M. we rode through the pass in the teeth of a strong and cold wind.  I was surprised to find that the slopes of the pass were all farmed by hay raisers, as I had heard of it as a most barren and desolate spot.  To be sure it was far from attractive.  By 10: AM we emerged on the level floor of the Livermore valley, and after stopping for a few moments in the town we took the Dublin road up the valley.  Our noon camp was at the house of a very voluble Dutchman, who was quite pleasant and reasonable.  We just reached Dublin by camping time and by a streak of luck, hit the house of an acquaintence [sic] in inquiring for a camping place.  It was the Dougherty ranch and a Mr de la Montanya of Oakland—known to Prof. and Ross—was the foreman.

          He received us kindly, put our horses in one of the dozen roomy barns standing in the yard and showed us to the "Tramp's Boarding House", a building set apart for such as we with an old range, dishes and some provisions, all of which were placed at our service.  We soon had a fire going and cooked an A No. 1 meal consisting of biscuit, mutton chops, fried eggs, rice and tea.  After dinner we called at the house of our hosts and then made for an open hay shed with our blankets, where we were soon fast asleep.

9th       Today the party separates much to the regret of all.  Merrill and Morgan go to Oakland via the Alameda cañon and Haywards, as they can easily reach home today by that route.  For the 3 Berkeleyites however it is nearer to go by Walnut Creek, making one more camp and getting in early in the morning.  Saying brief good-byes we see the boys ride off and soon start ourselves going north up the Amador [?] valley.  By 10 we reach Limerick, by 11: Danville and camp for lunch about 4 miles past that place.  Starting again at 3: PM we pass thro' Walnut Creek and Lafayette, and make camp at a little ranch about 8 miles from home.  Here we cooked a simple dinner and soon spread our blankets on the lee side of a haystack to enjoy the last ourdoor sleep of our eventful trip. 

10th This morning, after cooking our breakfast we made the aged proprietor of the ranch a present of the remnants of our provisions, and with light packs and spirits, left our last camp.  A pleasant ride over the summit—pleasant in spite of the fog—brought us to the mouth of the cañon and, once more raising the echoes with the UC yell, we completed our glorious trip of just six week's [sic] duration.  The Prof and Joe, after stopping to say good-day to the folks hurried home to see their own anxiously awaiting family, and I, amid laughter, and pleasant converse unpacked for the last time "Captain" and "Old Pack", exhibiting with pride my "diamond" hitch which held the scanty pack together.

Finis