The Wilderness World of John Muir

I've been reading The Wilderness World of John Muir: a selection of his collected work edited by Edwin Way Teale. I have thoroughly enjoyed this. I was kind of turned on to Muir by the Ken Burns documentary The National Parks. Muir is viewed by most as the original conservationist, but he was so much more than that. John Muir was also a worship leader! He led this nation in worshipping God alongside of his creation. He showed us the rocks and the hills crying out to their maker and challenged us to get out there with them and join in.

I highly recommend this book! Here's an excerpt I read today from Muir's essay titled "Shadow Lake". Early in the history of Yosemite NP, shepherds grazing their herds in the park was a big problem. They decimated the landscape and Muir fought hard (along with the soldiers stationed in the park) to keep them out. One of Muir's favorite spots was Shadow Lake (now Lake Washburn) about 8 miles from the Valley. In his essay, Muir describes the beauty of this lake in the fall. All the colors of the turning leaves and wildflowers were stunning. Few people knew about this spot, and Muir didn't tell many about it, hoping to keep it pure. Then...

On my last visit, as I was sauntering along the shore on the

strip of sand between the water and sod, reading the tracks of the wild animals that live here, I was startled by a human track, which I at once saw belonged to some shepherd;...and after tracing it a few minutes I began to fear that he might be seeking pasturage; for what else could he be seeking? Returning from the glaciers shortly afterward, my worst fears were realized. A trail had been made down the mountain-side from the north, and all the gardens and meadows were destroyed by a horde of hoofed locusts, as if swept by a fire. The money-changers were in the temple.