Tag: John Muir

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Almost Somewhere – Nature Book Project 2015

Almost Somewhere review on @handbookofnaturestudy

 

This month’s book was Almost Somewhere: Twenty-Eight Days on the John Muir Trail by Suzanne Roberts (my affiliate link). This was a really fast read for me…something about the story just compelled me to keep on reading. In a nutshell, it is the account of the author and two girlfriends who decided to hike the John Muir Trail right after graduating from college. They meet and hike with various other people during their trail time and each person brings a little something to the story.

The hike took place back in 1993, a time when girls hiking the JMT alone was  still a novelty. The author shares the story from notes in a journal she kept during the hike and each day is described as it unfolded and features mileage, weather, and association they have with other hikers and each other. Each girl brings a different personality and life experience to the hike and I ended up seeing a little of myself in each of them.

Although I may never hike the complete John Muir Trail, this book gave me another perspective on just how rigorous but doable it could be with planning and people who have a goal to achieve something great.

Some Quick Thoughts

  • This book creates a good sense of the struggles and triumphs associated with hiking the JMT.  The author has a nice storytelling style and she includes just enough detail in the plants, animals, scenery, and weather to make it interesting to the reader (at least this nature loving reader).
  • There are lots of quotes from John Muir in the book that really add such a nice seasoning to the accounts shared in each chapter.
  • I loved the way the book ends with a positive note and reflects on how the hiking experience had changed each person.
  • This is definitely not for children or teens, but women twenty years and up will probably glean something from reading this book.
  • There are adult themes like anorexia, bulimia, drug use, nudity, and unmarried sex discussed. The language is a little on the foul side at times but not overpowering. I usually don’t tolerate bad language but in this book it wasn’t a glaring annoyance. Evolution is referred to in several spots if that is an issue for you…it wasn’t for me.

Nature Book Project 2015 @handbookofnaturestudy
Previous Month’s Books and Reviews

 

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The Wild Muir – A Sort of Review

 

The Wild Muir Book Review

The Wild Muir was my first selection in my Nature Book of the Month Project. This book just begged to be read aloud so we did just that. Each chapter is actually a selection from one of John Muir’s many books, chosen to make a wonderful collection in this book The Wild Muir.

We didn’t read the chapters in order because we found it was fun to read the chapter titles and then pick one that sounded interesting to us at the moment. We read first thing in the morning with our coffee, or while riding along on a car ride, or sitting outside in our front yard. I can imagine us reading some of these again on a camping trip while sitting around the campfire. John Muir can spin a tale, drawing you along with his words that sounded like poetry at times. He gave interesting details and shared his thoughts about what he saw and experienced. There were a few chapters that gave us a glimpse into his childhood, his early adulthood, and then long into his career as a conservationist.

Many of us would never dream of attempting the many daring explorations that he set out on or dream of pushing ourselves to the physical limits that Muir did during his life. But, we can experience the thrill of hiking up to mountain peaks, across glaciers, far into the Sierra mountains, and swaying on trees in the middle of a huge winter storm.

His words paint such wonderful pictures…here’s a couple quotes:

“At length, all their plans perfected, tufted flakes and single starry crystals come in sight, solemnly swirling and glinting to their blessed appointed places; and soon the busy throng fills the sky and makes darkness like night.”

“As soon as I got out in Heaven’s light I started on another long excursion, making haste with all my heart to store my mind with the Lord’s beauty and thus be ready for any fate, light or dark. And it was from this time that my long continuous wanderings may be said to have fairly commenced.”

I learned some really interesting stuff from reading his book. Who knew learning about frazil ice would lead to some really awesome YouTube videos? I also never really knew how all those round metal plates got placed on the top of mountains and other spots that we have seen on our hiking expeditions…well, they are there in part due to the Coast and Geodetic Survey which mapped and measured such places. I had to look up dozens of plants and flowers that Muir mentioned in the book to see if I knew what they were or had seen them in my travels. I also looked up lots of geological vocabulary like “moulin“.

Please note this entry includes affiliate links.

I loved this book and highly recommend it as a glimpse into Muir’s life, his writing, and his ideas.

Nature Book Project 2015 @handbookofnaturestudy

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Quotes for Nature Lovers – John Muir

“Oh, these vast, calm, measureless mountain days, inciting at once to work and rest! Days in whose light everything seems equally divine, opening a thousand windows to show us God. Nevermore, however weary, should one faint by the way who gains the blessings of one mountain day; whatever his fate, long life, short life, stormy or calm, he is rich forever.” 
My First Summer in the Sierra, 1911

All who have enjoyed a visit to Yosemite National Park owe a debt of gratitude to John Muir and his work in preserving this magnificent place for us to explore, to find refreshment in its beauty, and to feel the inspiring spirit of this one of a kind place on earth.

In my up-coming series from Yosemite I will be sharing some of my magical moments….once in each season, sharing with words and hopefully video. The first visit will be coming quickly in April with a visit to the trees and birds of this park that John Muir loved so much.

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“Never Saw a Discontented Tree”

Oak tree in the sun with shadows

“I never saw a discontented tree.They grip the ground as though they liked it, and though fast rooted they travel about as far as we do They go wandering forth in all directions with every wind, going and coming like ourselves, traveling with us around the sun two million miles a day, and through space heaven knows how fast and far!” ~John Muir

Trees in winter are amazing. As much as I like the leafy greenness of spring and the blazing colors of autumn, a winter tree with its bare branches showing is so appealing to look at…almost like a sculpture.

Hiking the Trail with Fog Over the River

Our local area has been plagued with fog for the last week and it makes me so grateful that we live just high enough in elevation to be above the fog line. Sunday afternoon we decided to venture the trail to the river and as we started out we could see the fog sitting low in the distance. It is about a mile and a half walk from the parking lot to the river along this winding ranch road and where the fog is lies the river.

Boulders with tree, moss, and lichen
Along the trail are lots of trees and rocks. My son and I both really liked the way these particular rocks were stacked and painted with lichens and moss. The oak tree on the left seems to be holding them all up but in fact, I think the rocks are sheltering the oak.

American River with Greenstone
The rest of the hike was refreshing because it is a gentle downhill slope to the river. The sun was bright and as we approached the river we could hear it roaring! I scrambled up onto the rocks for a closer look at how wide and deep the water is this time of the year.

That is pure snow melt….freezing cold and crystal clear.

American River with rocks and sky

The fog had lifted and now the skies over the river were blue and cheerful. We sat for a long time and watched the water flow by. As long as you were in the sunshine it was warm.

Winter Weed Colors
Not all of us hiked on this day. Mr. A brought his mountain bike and he took the high trail up on the ridge…somewhere up on the top of that hill. He was a muddy mess when we got back up to the car but he had enjoyed the time alone on the bike.

I’m sure we will travel this trail a few more times this spring and with each trek we will see the progression of grasses and wildflowers. For now we were content with the trees, the sky, and the refreshing goodness of a good hike down a familiar trail.

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California Poppies and John Muir

Time for poppies. I love it when I see these golden orange flowers along the road and on the hillsides because I know that spring has arrived in our part of the world.

Isn’t this a happy flower? No wonder it is our state wildflower.

From the Handbook of Nature Study, page 565:
“The California poppy is native of California; there it blossoms during the months of February, March, and April in greatest abundance. It is found in the desert as well as among the foothills.”

Pages 563 to 565 in the Handbook of Nature Study are devoted exclusively to the California poppy. The HNS also has a lesson on poppies in general starting on page 560.

Now this little beauty was starting to bloom on the same hillside but I don’t know what it is.

This I do know and it is purple vetch….anything purple is okay in my book.

Quote from Muir Among the Animals:
“When California was wild, it was one sweet bee-garden throughout its entire length, north and south, and all the way across from the snowy sierra to the ocean…..Descending the eastern slopes of the coast range, through beds of gilias and lupines, and around many a breezy hillock and bush-crowned headland, I at length waded out into the midst of the glorious field of gold. All the ground was covered, not with grass and green leaves, but with radiant corollas, about ankle-deep next the foothills, knee-deep or more five or six miles out….Sauntering in any direction, hundreds of these happy sun-plants brushed against my feet at every step, and closed over them as if I were wading in liquid gold.”

I can close my eyes and imagine how beautiful a place John Muir found in the early days of California’s history. If you are a fan of John Muir’s, this is a must read book.

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