The Mountains of California is John Muir's tribute to the beauties of the Sierra in the book
form. When he came to California and finally settled in San Francisco John Muir immediately
left for a visit to Yosemite a place he had only read about. Seeing it for the first time
Muir noted that He was overwhelmed by the landscape scrambling down steep cliff faces to get a
closer look at the waterfalls whooping and howling at the vistas jumping tirelessly from
flower to flower. He climbed a number of mountains including Cathedral Peak and Mount Dana
and hiked the old Indian trail down Bloody Canyon to Mono Lake. He vividly described not only
his journeys through the mountains valleys andglaciersof Sierra but also the nature and
geology of the area. John Muir (1838 - 1914) was a Scottish-American naturalist author
environmental philosopher and early advocate of preservation of wilderness in the United
States. His letters essays and books telling of his adventures in nature especially in the
Sierra Nevada mountains of California have been read by millions. His activism helped to
preserve the Yosemite Valley Sequoia National Park and other wilderness areas. The Sierra Club
which he founded is a prominent American conservation organization.
