John Muir is My Hero

Here are the reasons:

“And into the forest, I go to lose my mind and find my soul.” –John Muir.

My favorite place on earth is Yosemite. I have hiked many trails throughout Yosemite. With love, I found Yosemite; it makes perfect sense why my heroes are who they are. Teddy Roosevelt created the National Park System, and John Muir helped him see the light of preservation.

John Muir was a naturalist with a deep passion for preserving the American wilderness and was exponential in developing the National Park system. In 1903 President Roosevelt visited John Muir in Yosemite, where they camped nightly for three nights, visiting the Bridal Veil Falls area, Sentinel Dome area, and the Mariposa Grove area. John Muir kept Roosevelt up late at night, pleading his case to preserve Yosemite for future generations, and in 1906, Teddy Roosevelt did just that. My family has been enjoying Yosemite for all of my life, and I have passed the love for the National park on to my children and now my grandchild.

“There can be nothing in the world more beautiful than the Yosemite, the groves of the giant sequoias…our people should see to it that they are preserved for their children and their Children’s children forever, with their majestic beauty all unmarred,” ~ Theodore Roosevelt.

There is not a time that I visit Yosemite that I don’t think about John Muir; he explored alone for years and through the seasons and truly loved the area. John Muir co-founded the Sierra Club to continue his advocacy for the Sierra Nevadas and other preservation areas.

There is nothing like driving into Yosemite and spotting Half Dome for the first time on the drive. I have been into Yosemite more times than I can count, and Half Dome still makes my jaw drop. John Muir understood that nature and solitude were good for one's soul. He sought to make sure future generations could be enveloped by nature and its beauty and experience the serenity that nature provides.

John Muir is a prime example of “Not all who wander are lost” he had a destination of preserving the wilderness, and he saw that journey out to completion, and everyone one of us, is still benefiting from his life's work.

The John Muir Trail was a way of honoring John after he passed away unexpectedly. John Muir enjoyed developing hiking routes for people to enjoy the beauty nature had to offer. The Sierra Club coined the trail after John Muir as a tribute, and the trail was officially completed in 1938. The John Muir trail has a following rivaling that of the Pacific Crest Trail.

If you haven’t ever hiked or backpacked and spent some real-time out in the woods, I suggest you visit Yosemite. If Yosemite doesn’t give you the nature bug, I am not sure what will…