John Muir once suggested, "I am hopelessly and forever a mountaineer", but the namesake of the popular nature preserve Muir Woods , just north of San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge , proved to have a much broader influence over society's shift toward an interest in preserving nature, than that humble self image would suggest. John Muir, originally from Dunbar Scotland, moved with the family to a farm in the woods of Wisconsin, but while farming was never going to satisfy someone with his inherent wanderlust, he did love the land and stayed at the University of Wisconsin at least long enough to develop his love for botany before setting off west on his "thousand mile walk", from Kentucky to the Gulf of Mexico, collecting botanical specimens along the way. He eventually arrived in northern California and became enamored with the state's diverse natural beauty, and he soon found himself dedicated to its preservation. Finding a sense of purpose in that mission, he stated, "I care to live only to entice people to look at Nature's loveliness." Muir would become the lover and defender of the mountains, creating the preservation society, Sierra Club, and acting as its first president.
The Gilded Age had driven unchecked capitalism, stripping lands without conscience and John Muir was an advocate of a more harmonious approach with the intention of respecting nature, and preserving it for posterity. He was both a botanist and a self-taught geologist and was dedicated to many environmental issues throughout California and Alaska over his lifetime. Nowhere are his efforts more obvious than when you stand amongst the sequoia trees in Muir Woods and look up at the giant redwood trees that have grown there uninterrupted, just as nature intended them, approaching four hundred feet tall. The Muir Woods is a physical reminder of his philosophy when he stated, "There's a better way to live, and that is in harmony with nature." The existence of the Muir Woods Park is also a wonderful example of his efforts to preserve majestic public lands for society's enjoyment.
