Note 18 — Chapter XI · GUARDIANS OF THE SCENE

Mount Conness, one of the outstanding peaks in the Tuolumne Meadows region, was named for Senator John Conness by Clarence King, later first director of the United States Geological Survey, but at the time a member of the Whitney Survey. King and James T. Gardiner were the first to climb the peak, making the ascent in 1864. Referring to the mountain, King said that because of its “firm peak with titan strength and brow so square and solid, it seems altogether natural we should have named it for California’s statesman, John Conness.”