Adventures

John Muir was an avid naturalist, conservationist and explorer. He was born in Scotland in the early 1800s, but moved to the United States with his family when he was eleven years old.

Yosemite Valley View

Muir was extremely passionate about the outdoors, such that he even hiked and explored much of the western United States in his lifetime. He was a great admirer of the Sierra Nevada Mountains and California in particular, and it was during one of his hikes in the Sierras that he discovered the beautiful Yosemite Valley.

The valley was so mesmerizing to him that he wrote about it in several of his journals and letters. He wrote of rushing waterfalls, soaring mountains, and lush redwood forests. He was particularly in awe of the ancient, “monumental” trees growing in the valley, which he wrote about as if he was in the presence of living gods.

Muir spent years advocating for the protection of Yosemite.

On a sunny day in late spring, several friends decided to take a long drive to Yosemite National Park. They’d heard tales of the majestic peaks of the Sierra Nevada, the lush meadows, and the famous waterfalls. Eager to see them with their own eyes, they excitedly started out on their journey.

Tara and I at Yosemite Valley View, El Capitan and Half-Dome in the distance.

The first few hours of the drive were a blur, the friends spent most of the drive chatting and catching up on the way. But soon, the vastness of the valley spread out before them like a fairytale. They stopped at the roadside overlook to take it all in and make sure they didn’t miss any of the beauty that surrounded them.

Tara at Glacier Point with Half-Dome in the distance.

When they reached Yosemite Valley, they made their way to the iconic Glacier Point, a magnificent overlook on the edge of a cliff. The views were even more stunning than they’d imagined. To the east, the breathtaking granite peaks of the Sierra Nevada cut like shards of glass in the bright afternoon sunlight.