Dear Gary,

Just yesterday I was telling my best friend that I desperately need to commune with nature, and I think about it four or five times a day. My body and soul are really begging for reprieve and healing from the hectic city life!

When I think about giving my 2-year-old an education, I don´t ponder the best schools and education systems, instead, I imagine taking him to Yosemite and wonder when our peregrination should start-- is 3 too early, will he forget everything? Will the magic of those wild mountains still be around in its unspoilt beauty when he is 5 or 6? Should I try to go back regularly?

It is urgent and imperative in my mind that I show my son, above all, the majesty of nature, and the importance of being intimate and very much in communion with it. The rest, math, science, IT, will follow.

John Muir calls me too.

Thanks for your article.

"the winds go to every tree, fingering every leaf and branch and furrowed bole; not one is forgotten; the Mountain Pine towering with outstretched arms on the rugged buttresses of the icy peaks, the lowliest and most retiring tenant of the dells; they seek and find them all, caressing them tenderly, bending them in lusty exercise, stimulating their growth, plucking off a leaf or limb as required, or removing an entire tree or grove, now whispering and cooing through the branches like a sleepy child, now roaring like the ocean; the winds blessing the forests, the forests the winds, with ineffable beauty and harmony as the sure result."

the one place where I go to escape from the rantings of the "progressives" is the place I'll probably find most of them.

And they'ed throw me over a cliff if they knew I was among them.

Would we really make progress Tiberius by throwing you over the cliff?

tiberius, if the rantings of progressives upsets you then you must be a sado-masochist; a masochist to return to this site, a sadist to subject us to your posts.

What a wonderful, poetic essay. It makes me so happy to have chosen Yosemite and the Sierras to spend my 50th birthday in August. If only I could be there in spring like the first time I ever went there.

Having lived in Hawaii the last 24 years, my husband and I both miss the mountains terribly. But I'll be sure to pass this article onto my daughter who is now spending her freshman year in the same California college I went to.

You are so right. Nature can help alleviate the insanity of the times we are going through now.

That's gorgeous. It made me cry.

We went backpacking with the kiddos when they were 3 and 7 years old.

Their packs carried their clothes (mostly T-shirts and socks and some warm stuff), snacks, some personal items and a personal water bottle. My hubby and I were loaded down like pack mules, of course.

There is nothing like getting away from the distractions and schedules of our lives. If you take the trip, DON'T create schedules and daily mileage plans, etc. Let it flow - give him time to kneel down and study a bug or whatever.

Take a camera and take plenty of pictures because it will help remind him in later years. My kids are full-grown with kids of their own and they still talk about our excursions.

Kamiya's essay took me back to an evening in Yosemite that was one of the most beautiful of my life. I was just poking down the paved path near Curry Village, alone, looking up at the stars. The mountains were glowing. I had never seen such a sight.

Later, someone told me to go look at El Capitan, or Washington Column, the next time the sun went down. So I did, and I saw the pillars glittering with tiny dots of light: climbers suspended from pitons preparing to spend the night on the rock face.

Night on earth. How lucky we are. Thanks for the reminder.

John Muir would crap his pants if he could see Yosemite today. that's IF he could SEE it, but there's too much smog in the valley and he might accidently walk into the hundreds of tourists walking around shopping in the valley looking for the 4-star restaurants and a new bikini to wear......

I read your article with relish, and enjoyed the references to John Muir, a man whose writings I've deeply admired...but for a fuller account of the man I urge you to read Donald Worster's essay "John Muir and the Modern Passion for Nature" (Environmental Review, 10,1 Jan 2005)..I'm pretty sure it's on JSTOR. In it you see that his writings about Yosemite were those of a young man full of idealism...his later years were sadly typified by his love of the finer things in life and conciliation with big business concerns.

(or as dear mr. vonnegut might say "so it goes")

Gary, what a delight to find discussion and some self-revelation regarding beauty and the wilderness. While your legs and back are young enough, you should consider, just once expanding your backpacking into the season of snow.

I don't know enough about the Sierra's to recommend a destination, but I can tell you from my own experience that wilderness in the winter, with the incredible beauty of snow cover, the magnificent solitude and the phenomena of winter wildlife are unmatched at any other time of year.

The cold is a challenge but clothing and equipment are now so good that staying warm requires some study and just a little more effort and discipline. Oh yeah, it also requires a willingness and ability to carry another 10 to 12 lbs. for a 3 day trip. It is so worth it! If you love the wilderness, you owe it to yourself to at least consider a winter trip. Even if you only do it once, you will cherish the memories as long as you live.

I omitted an important thought in my previous post. Stay below the tree-line, no summits or technical climbing unless that is already within your range of experience. There is plenty of joy and adventure in the winter without the risks associated with climbing.