Chapter 1: The Sierra Nevada
John Muir
Muir's call to the mountains was more than a simple yearning for nature. It was an imperative, a guiding force that pulled him away from convention and into the wild. At a time when industrialization urged people to conquer nature, Muir's words insist on the opposite: to heed its call and find peace in its presence. This line, so commonly quoted, speaks to a shift in values—the idea that one's true self might be found not in society but in solitude among the peaks.