the John Muir Trail

John Muir was a famous 19th century naturalist. He was a leading early advocate of conservation of natural places of great biodiversity. He was a prolific writer, publishing several books on his experiences walking in the high Sierra. He walked up, down, over, around, and through some of the roughest country in the continental US, and in his later years he founded the Sierra Club, an organization which is still around today and still dedicated to the mission of preserving natural places of great biodiversity for the benefit of current and future generations. There is a trail which runs from Tuoloumne Meadows in Yosemite National Park to Mt. Whitney which is the highest point in the continental US (and the subject of many famous Ansel Adams photographs) located in Sequoia National Park. David and I had the pleasure of walking along the John Muir trail for about 30 miles through some of the most incredible backcountry either of us has ever experienced. It is a magical place: a land of thundering rivers, tranquil lakes, soaring peaks, towering trees, and scampering animals. The high sierra are located in eastern California. They are the only natural habitat in the world for the giant sequoia trees. These mountains support incredible arrays of plants and animals, and they are one of the very few areas in the US which are not crossed by a highway. The only way to cross the sierra east-west is to walk or fly. Considering their location in the most populous and probably most developed state in our union, I am so thankful for the foresight, hard work, and dedication of a man like John Muir to ensure that these places would be protected from the logger's saw and the developer's bulldozer.







Hmmmm...decisions, decisions. Wish I had enough vacation to do BOTH!













On the road...er trail...again.