“ I CAN ’ T GO ON ANY LONGER ,”
I said to my husband , Michael . “ I have to sit Back then it seemed crazy to me that down .” anyone would spend days in the wild with
It was our third day on the John Muir nothing but a backpack . But my outlook Trail , and although we were only on our sixth changed during a vacation to Yosemite last mile of the morning , I felt like we had already summer , as my husband and I watched hikers finish their treks with an unparalleled air done 20 . On the trail , distance is relative — something my father , who had hiked this of accomplishment . I was struck by the purity of hiking the trail , going out there with same northern portion from Mammoth to Yosemite just a few years before , had warned no car , no cell phone , no to-do list , just you me about . and the trees and your two legs to take you
“ Miles up there are different ,” he had through . I knew I wanted to feel that same said . “ You have a heavy pack on your back , sense of adventure , to test myself like they you ’ re at least 8,000 feet in elevation , and did , along with my dad and — as he pointed constantly going up and down mountains .” out — my college namesake . It was my dad who gave me the idea of hiking I first learned about John Muir around the trail in the first place , when he called to age seven on one of many family trips to say he was home safe after spending a week Yosemite , the site Muir worked to protect in the wild . “ You should hike it too ,” he told for a considerable amount of his life . When me , casually noting that I did graduate from I eventually transferred to UC San Diego and UC San Diego ’ s John Muir College — named enrolled in John Muir College , I felt at home . after the legendary conservationist and The dorms and buildings were named after founder of the Sierra Club . landmarks of the Sierra Nevada , which are steeped in childhood memories for me . And I found the college ’ s educational philosophy of “ celebrating the independent spirit ” best suited me , as it seemed the most flexible in allowing me — a history major — to explore other disciplines of my own choosing , something I think John Muir ’ s spirit would have appreciated as well .
The John Muir Trail is 211 miles long and runs from California ’ s Mt . Whitney to the Yosemite Valley , mostly in conjunction with the Pacific Crest Trail , or PCT . Construction on the trail , which winds through the Sierra Nevada and never goes below 8,000 ft ., began in 1915 — a year after Muir ’ s death . He famously wrote how he loved this section of California and as the “ father ” of our national parks system , he fought hard throughout his life to preserve it . His writings ultimately convinced the U . S . government to protect such wildlands like Yosemite , Sequoia , the Grand Canyon and Mt . Rainier .
Ten years after graduating from UC San Diego , I set out to hike the northern part of the trail of my college ’ s namesake . My husband and I would be through-hiking from Mammoth to Yosemite , more than 50 miles , and spending an estimated six nights in the wild . Though I had zero through-hiking experience before stepping foot on the trail , I had the utmost of inspiration .
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