He finally found his friend professor JD Butler near Vernal Falls, conveniently at a moment when the professor was having a difficult time retracing his steps to the lodge. So sure of his insight, Muir virtually ran all the way down to the valley that afternoon. Muir was suddenly struck with a telepathic knowledge that this friend was in the Yosemite Valley, far below. Most notable and astonishing is the day when he was sitting and sketching on North Dome. Such accounts include the time Muir first hiked up to the brink of Yosemite Falls, and felt compelled to climb down a cliff for a better view of the cascade. The descriptions are interspersed with actual events, which are sometimes even sprinkled with humor. Too much continuous time within these pages dulls the otherwise magnificent prose. We all love Muir’s poetic take on the outdoors, but I find it to be most approachable in small doses. A familiarity with the terrain (or at the very least a familiarity with Yosemite National Park) is extremely helpful in appreciating the book. Reading mostly as a journal with evocative descriptions, the book is like a love-letter to the Sierra Nevada – endlessly waxing on about the various facets of its beauty. They’d gradually move the herd up from California’s sun-blasted lowlands to its lofty mountain pastures.ĭelaney was evidently a fan of Muir and his passion for working as a naturalist, telling Muir at the close of the summer that he’d be “famous some day.” Muir seemed to have a limited amount of true shepherd’s work to do, with ample time to roam and immerse himself in the mountains. Delaney” to accompany a crew that would manage a herd of sheep throughout the summer. The writing is full of romantic exclamations that don’t sound like the musings of an older man.įrom June through September, Muir was fortunate to be hired by a “Mr. His youthful voice is left mostly intact in the final book. Though it was published later in his life, My First Summer in the Sierra was based on Muir’s original notes.
The book chronicles his experience working as a shepherd in California’s Sierra Nevada mountains in the summer of 1869. The story is presented as a series of daily notes, complete with calendar dates.
So many of John Muir’s quotations were culled from this book.Īs an avid backpacker and thru-hiker (more or less compelled to worship John Muir), this reads as the ultimate trail journal. My First Summer in the Sierra, with its frank and straightforward title, evokes a sense of wonder and discovery. Of all Muir’s works, this may be the one that I most anticipated.
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