John Muir

1. John , Muir

My First Summer in the Sierra

In the summer of 1869, Scottish-American naturalist and author John Muir spent the months of June through September in the Sierra Nevada Mountains of California accompanying a group of shepherds while they led a flock of sheep to the high country to graze. During that time, Muir took every opportunity to explore the Yosemite area extensively-hiking, camping, writing, and sketching. Muir's diary entries describing the land, flora, and fauna he encountered became the basis for the book My First Summer in the Sierra, first published in 1911.Muir's journal entries from that summer reveal his growing wonder and awe at the Yosemite landscape, as well as his endless curiosity for the natural world. On a grand scale, he trekked into remote areas for sometimes days at a time. He climbed Cathedral Peak and Mount Dana and trekked through Bloody Canyon to Mono Lake. On a more modest scale, Muir observed the flora and fauna that surrounded him with the keen enthusiasm of a naturalist. He described in detail the area's trees, shrubs, flowers, mountain meadows, glacial features, and animals.In the years that followed the publication of My First Summer in the Sierra, Muir went on to advocate for the protection and preservation of wild landscapes. In 1892, Muir co-founded the Sierra Club and became the organization's first president. Muir also played an instrumental role in the establishment of several national parks including Yosemite, Sequoia, and Kings Canyon.My First Summer in the Sierra remains among John Muir's most popular works. The book's inspired and lyrical accounts of an iconic wilderness, written at a time in Muir's life when his character as a naturalist and wilderness advocate was taking form, earns it a prominent, influential place in the annals of nature writing and the history of wilderness preservation.

1. John Muir

The Story of My Boyhood and Youth

1. John Muir

The Story of My Boyhood and Youth

1. John , Muir

Travels in Alaska

Travels in Alaska, which John Muir was working on at the time of his death, is based on journals Muir wrote during his visits to Alaska in 1879, 1880, 1881, 1890, and 1899. From the moment he embarked from San Francisco in May, 1879, "off for icy Alaska," Muir sensed he was on an extraordinary adventure. Venturing on foot, by canoe and dogsled, he experienced equal excitement discovering an unfamiliar species of flower, bird, or tree, or the spectacular Glacier Bay -- all of which he conveys with consummate artistry. Here also is a record of such harrowing experiences as rescuing his companion while the two hung over a thousand-foot precipice and narrowly escaping. death between grinding walls of glacial ice. Travels in Alaska culminates with Muir's vivid description of the "supreme, serene, supernal beauty" of Alaskan auroras observed during his penultimate trip in 1890. "Men like Muir (Robert Marshall was another) continue for us the spiritual reclamation of North America. At their keenest, they evoke for us something of the freshness of an hour and a day when, before the intervention of culture, men saw the world for the first time as something wonderful and new." - John Haines, from his Foreword About the author: John Muir (21 April 1838 - 24 December 1914) was a Scottish-born American naturalist, author, and early advocate of preservation of United States (US) wilderness. His letters, essays, and books telling of his adventures in nature, especially in the Sierra Nevada mountains of California, have been read by millions. His activism helped to save the Yosemite Valley, Sequoia National Park and other wilderness areas. The Sierra Club, which he founded, is now one of the most important conservation organizations in the United States. One of the most well-known hiking trails in the US, the 211-mile John Muir Trail, was named in his honor. Other places named in his honor are Muir Woods National Monument, Muir Beach and Muir Glacier. In his later life, Muir devoted most of his time to the preservation of the Western forests. He petitioned the U.S. Congress for the National Park Bill that was passed in 1899, establishing both Yosemite and Sequoia National Parks. It was due to the spiritual quality and enthusiasm toward nature which he expressed in his writings that he was able to inspire his readers, including presidents and congressmen, to take action to help preserve large nature areas. Muir's biographer, Steven Holmes, states that Muir has become "one of the patron saints of twentieth-century American environmental activity," both political and recreational. ...

1. John , Muir

Religious and Moral Sentiments Metrically Rendered From Sanskrit Writers

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1. John , Muir

The Mountains Of California (1894)

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