Our trail now mounts abruptly 400 feet to ~Buena Vista Pass~ (Alt. 9600). To the right about half a mile is ~Buena Vista Peak~ (Alt. 9600), and to the left and running east is ~Buena Vista Crest~. Excellent views are obtained from the trail as it crosses the open ridge. Near the summit the granite has fractured perpendicularly, forming regular rectangular slabs. An 800-foot descent thru the open forest in the next two miles takes us to the picturesque little ~Royal Arch Lake~ (Alt. 8800). This is a small lake, deep on the north and east sides, and shallow near the southwest margin. It is named from the arches in the steep northeast granite wall, which are similar to the Royal Arches of Yosemite Valley but on a smaller scale. The lake was well stocked with eastern brook trout in 1897 and fishing is excellent, especially in the deep water along the rocky northwest shore. There are fine camp sites here and good horse-feed. Skirting the west margin of the lake our trail follows the small stream about one mile to the main ~Chilnualna Trail~. Eastward is ~Buck Camp~ (two miles), ~Moraine Meadows~ (seven miles), and ~Fernandez Pass~ (eleven miles). We turn westward to ~Johnson Lake~ (Alt. 8550), about a quarter mile distant. This is a small, round, deep lake beautifully set in meadows and forest. It is bountifully stocked with eastern brook trout and rainbow trout. The locality is ideal for camping. Further westward are ~Crescent Lake~ (one mile), ~Grouse Lake~ (two and a half miles), and ~Chilnualna Falls~ (six and a half miles). TRAIL TRIP 23 YOSEMITE OR GLACIER POINT TO MORAINE MEADOWS _via_ THE MERCED PASS TRAIL (From Yosemite, 22 miles--10 hours. From Glacier Point, 18 miles--7 hours) The ~Merced Pass Trail~ has been replaced to a large extent by the more scenic and better built Buena Vista Trail, which offers a short-cut to the splendid fishing lakes in the upper basin of the South Fork of the Merced. For those whose destination is the wild country at the headwaters of the San Joaquin River, the Merced Pass Trail is still the preferable route. The upper basin of Illilouette Creek abounds in glacial phenomena and fishing is reported good. From Yosemite we follow the ~Vernal and Nevada Falls Trail~ (Trail Trip 1) as far as the rim of ~Panorama Cliff~ just above Nevada Falls. Here we turn to the right on the ~Mono Meadow Trail~, which bears due south four miles to the main stream of ~Illilouette Creek~. To reach this point from ~Glacier Point~ one should follow the ~Vernal-Nevada Falls Trail~ (Trail Trip 2) for two miles, turn to the right on the ~Buena Vista Trail~ (Trail Trip 22), and after three miles more turn to the left on the ~Mono Meadow Trail~. A short distance will take one to the banks of ~Illilouette Creek~.