The Yosemite

by John Muir

Affectionately dedicated
to my friend,
Robert Underwood Johnson,
faithful
lover and defender
of our glorious forests
and originator of
the Yosemite National Park.

Acknowledgment

On the early history of Yosemite the writer is indebted to Prof. J. D. Whitney for quotations from his volume entitled “Yosemite Guide-Book,” and to Dr. Bunnell for extracts from his interesting volume entitled “Discovery of the Yosemite.”

Contents

Chapter 1. [The Approach to the Valley]
Chapter 2. [Winter Storms and Spring Floods]
Chapter 3. [Snow-Storms]
Chapter 4. [Snow Banners]
Chapter 5. [The Trees of the Valley]
Chapter 6. [The Forest Trees in General]
Chapter 7. [The Big Trees]
Chapter 8. [The Flowers]
Chapter 9. [The Birds]
Chapter 10. [The South Dome]
Chapter 11. [The Ancient Yosemite Glaciers: How the Valley Was Formed]
Chapter 12. [How Best to Spend One’s Yosemite Time]
Chapter 13. [Early History of the Valley]
Chapter 14. [Lamon]
Chapter 15. [Galen Clark]
Chapter 16. [Hetch Hetchy Valley]
Appendix A. [Legislation About the Yosemite]
Appendix B. [Table of Distances]
Appendix C. [Maximum Rates for Transportation]

Chapter 1
The Approach to the Valley

When I set out on the long excursion that finally led to California I wandered afoot and alone, from Indiana to the Gulf of Mexico, with a plant-press on my back, holding a generally southward course, like the birds when they are going from summer to winter. From the west coast of Florida I crossed the gulf to Cuba, enjoyed the rich tropical flora there for a few months, intending to go thence to the north end of South America, make my way through the woods to the headwaters of the Amazon, and float down that grand river to the ocean. But I was unable to find a ship bound for South America—fortunately perhaps, for I had incredibly little money for so long a trip and had not yet fully recovered from a fever caught in the Florida swamps. Therefore I decided to visit California for a year or two to see its wonderful flora and the famous Yosemite Valley. All the world was before me and every day was a holiday, so it did not seem important to which one of the world’s wildernesses I first should wander.