Page 7 - My FlipBook
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Only by going alone in silence, without baggage,
can one truly get into the heart of the wilderness.
W
John Muir (1838—1914) was a Scottish-born naturalist, activist, and
writer who devoted his life to exploring, studying, and protecting
the wilderness.
Starting in the late 1860s, Muir’s wanderlust led him on treks
from Kentucky to Florida, then to Cuba and Panama, and finally
through California’s Sierra Nevadas and Yosemite Valley. When
he wasn’t walking, he was writing. Although he may have thought
“this business of writing books is a long, tireseome, endless job,” he
kept at it and managed to publish several, along with hundreds of
letters and articles.
Still, it was Muir’s deep love for the wilderness that he most
wanted to convey and which led him to found the environmental
organization known as the Sierra Club in 1892. Later, he helped
spur the establishment of several national parks during
Theodore Roosevelt’s administration. Such activities made Muir a
fundamental catalyst for the modern environmental movement.
May John of the Mountain’s words continue to inspire.
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