Aug. 12 (Cont'd) country well enough to depart very far from the blazed line, and our driver, afraid of his old tires, would not drive bush anyway. So we had to walk ahead, clearing fallen timber and cutting trees which had grown up since the road was abandoned in or about 1932. The dry, sandy bed of Fitz's Ck., was crossed about 5:30. Darkness caught us between there and L Creek, and we pushed on, clearing road by the lights of the truck, and reached L Creek between 8 and 8:30. Am not sure of the time because I lost my watch. Discovered the loss when we reached camp and I wanted to note the time. A nice hole of water just below the road crossing of L Ck., and the creek running about 5 yards wide. Off loaded just what we needed for the night; the boys soon had a big fire going; and old Joe, miraculously able to carry on by this, attended to dinner. Our 100 lb. supply of corned beef - dry salted - was spread out on bushes laid on the ground. We rigged our camp cots, and some their mosquito nets (mosquito nets not needed in this dry country at this time of year) and Daisy parked herself on the seat of the truck. Next morning after a bite of breakfast, I took Willie and walked back about 2 miles searching for my watch in places where I thought I might have lost it while clearing track. Was nearly back to camp when a messenger arrived to say Geoff had found the watch, half covered by sand, beside the truck. The worst of the road lay between L Creek and the Peach. Country ridgy; many gullies; and patches of messmate sandridge on which the truck had hard going. About 5 miles from our night camp we crossed a big branch of the Peach, with running water, which Shepherd calls Falls Ck. The old battery site on the Peach was reached about 1 o'clock, and we off loaded down in the channel, in the edge of the tall floodbank rainforest. A good camp site, offering shade, and shelter from the strong SE wind. The horses, in charge of Willie Alf Young, arrived about 2:30. Willie Alf had taken the Blue Mountains road, traveled until after dark the night before, and lost a horse carrying a pack saddle. Questioned on his horse count, he insisted that he had left Coen with 5 packhorses. He was just as positive that he had lost only one horse. But he arrived with 3 packhorses and four riding horses, not including the horse he himself rode. Sent word to Thompson by the truck driver re the lost horse or horses and asked for the number to be made up to the five packhorses. It did not occur to me to make a detailed examination of the saddlery before the tank left to return to Coen. When I looked over the gear I found we had but one sursingle for three pack outfits, and two sets of sling straps instead of three. The horses are not in very good condition, and all of them have saddle sores or girth galls. Our Rocky Scrub venture is getting off to a bad start. Yesterday, with Willie Alf Young as guide for the first part of the way, George and I rode toward the Rocky to examine the country and see the track over which our transport will travel. Left camp at 7:45 and got back at 4:45. Traveling was good most of the way, and neither of us suffered much from the ride. Followed the Peach (really a big gributary, called Bonanza Ck. according to Willie Alf) down about a mile, then crossed to a cattle yard and ruinous bark hut on the north bank, where we struck the old trail leading almost due east to the foot of the mountains. The same old blazed trail we had followed from (Croll Ck. to a mile or so below our camp on Bonanza Ck. The long detour, west and then east, was to dodge a spur ridge carrying scrubby vegetation too thick to get through with horses, accord- ing to Willie Alf.