midnight
Rains and snows alternately . At night bitterly cold . Hauled five loads up Canyon to-day . Finished last trip near midnight and turned in , cold , wet and played out . '' The above is a fairly representative day and of such days we were to have many ere we reached the water . Slowly , with infinite effort , with stress and strain to every step of the way , we moved our bulky outfit forward from camp to camp . All days were hard , all exasperating , all crammed with discomfort ; yet , bit by bit , we forged ahead .