The Yosemite

I read a book by John Muir entitled, "The Yosemite." This was a coffee table version of his book adorned with photographs and annotated by Galen Rowell. You will need a good size coffee table for this book. It's too large to hold in your lap comfortably. The photographs are truly awesome. John Muir is the founder of the Sierra Club. He assisted our country in preserving the natural wildness of Yosemite Park in California. He was somewhat of a hermit - living in the wild for months at a time. He once met President T. Roosevelt at Yosemite. Together they ditched the press and the people in attendance and went off camping by themselves. I can't imagine such a thing happening now. I skimmed through a lot of the pages because it was describing a park I haven't been to yet. I paid attention to the chapters on the rock formation, the trees, plants, animals and birds. John Muir was a strong man. He was able to hike and climb without gore tex, nylon ropes, and GPS. He describing walking across a glacier one spring day when an avalanche occurred under his very feet. He described the feeling as things went out from underneath him and how he tried to swim and stay afloat on that giant pocket of snow as it traveled down a mountainside. When it was all over he stood up, dusted himself off, and walked away unharmed. Not only was he a great outdoors person but he led a charmed life. I really enjoyed reading his words while seeing photographs of what he was writing.