Wilderness Essays
- Jun 24, 2020
- 2 min read
Updated: Jun 13
★★★★☆
Since first stepping foot in Muir Woods in 1997, I have long wanted to read John Muir. So many books, so little time as the saying goes, and so twenty-three years passed until I finally did—and largely because it was impossible for me to get the next book I’d planned to read from the library due to Covid-19 closures. Still, one missed opportunity is an opening for another, and Wilderness Essays was waiting for me on the shelf of one of my employer’s vacation rentals (an impeccably restored 1930s Tudor Revival adjacent to the K-State campus in Manhattan, Kansas) that I happened to be occupying while there on work.
The book, which at first I imagined would serve as something of a “greatest hits” collection, is anything but. No, Wilderness Essays isn’t so much a deck-stacking, mind-blowing blast of the best of Muir as it is a sampler showcasing the diversity of his writing as an adventurer and a naturalist. For the neophyte, this is useful in getting a fuller picture of the man but ultimately frustrating because some essays are bound to be far more interesting than others. Which is which, of course, depends on the reader.
To me, the adventure pieces were the most compelling. Muir is an enthusiastic tour guide with a keen eye, wonderful grasp of words and language, abundant sense of awe, and can-do attitude that is both reckless and exhilarating. As a hiker, cyclist, and outdoor enthusiast, it was impossible not to be swept along with him—and impossible not to want to be there myself. His musings, particularly the one in which he debates the merits of wild versus domesticated wool, were entertaining if slight. Lastly, I found the “inventory” essays, those in which he lists in varying degrees of detail, the flora, fauna, natural features, and sights of a given locale, least interesting. They no doubt served their intended purpose for the audience and publication in which they were originally featured, and while they highlight Muir’s powers of observation, there is, aside from the tantalizing abundance and array contained within, nothing compelling whatsoever about their presentation.
What is most striking, however, is the timelessness of many of these pieces. That is, nature, though ever-changing, is eternal. So, too, is—or can be or should be—the way in which we interact and connect with the natural world. Instagram filters, selfies, GoPro videos, and all the rest aside, an experience in nature is an inspirational one, a spiritual one, a transformative one, one that transcends the self and the physical world. Muir understood this, knew this, felt this—deeply, passionately, fervently—and, within his means, he did everything he could to spread the gospel to the people. The words are there. More crucially, the destinations are there. It’s time for an adventure. Nirvana is waiting … Go find it.
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