Yosemite [antikvár]

It was in 1851 that the first journalists and writers found their way into Yosemite Valley. The sight that met their eyes staggered the senses. Cliffs so high and granite mountains so huge they amazed even the most hardened explorers; giant Sequoia trees so old they defied any known means of measuring time; waterfalls that seemed to come from the sky and plunge into eternity; and a wilderness so vast and remote that to this day man has not seen it all. At first, its sheer beauty and grandeur caught their imagination and, through their reports, the imagination of the rest of the country. Gradually, however, people who visited the valley became more and more aware of the necessity of preserving this miraculous discovery for future generations. This concern resulted, in 1864, in the midst of the Civil War, in President Abraham Lincoln signing an act giving Yosemite Valley and the Mariposa Grove of big trees to California "to be held for public use, resort, and recreation, inalienable for all time." Thus was established the first state park and the beginnings of the national park movement.People from all over the world who can now share the beauties and wonders of the national parks owe a great debt of gratitude to one man in particular: John Muir. Born in Scotland and raised in Wisconsin, Muir was a writer and naturalist who influenced generations of conservationists and can justly be credited with siring national parks.John Muir went into Yosemite in 1868 and became obsessed with what he saw. He campaigned for years to make a national park of the Sierras and their meadows surrounding Yosemite Valley. His writing had considerable influence, and in 1890 his dream came true: sixteen years later California re-ceded the valley and the big trees to the federal government. It was whole at last.To say, simply, that Yosemite VaUey is beautiful beyond decription is an understatement. The place moves everyone, without exception, and no-one leaves without having been touched by it in some way, even if only by the immensity of it aU.El Capitan, the largest block of granite on earth, defies even the wildest imagination, as do Half Dome, Glacier Point, and other mammoth peaks and pinnacles. They can at first seem frightening: should they come crashing down in some cataclysmic earthquake, it would seem the world would end. Yet when we walk among them for a while they seem to become giant guardians of the fragile life in the valley below."These sacred mountain temples are the holiest ground that the heart of man has consecrated," wrote Muir "and it behooves us all faithfully to do our part in seeing that our wild mountain parks are passed on unspoiled to those who come after us, for they are national properties to which every man has a right and an interest."John Muir was a prophet: Yosemite had been his beacon. Those who read his words and see his land blessed with the "holy spirit of light" can never forget.