Existing comment:
From this vantage point you catch but a glimpse of a mountain wonderland. These Sierra Nevada wildlands contain some of the most spectacular scenery on the face of the earth. Jagged peaks drop into glacially carved "yosemite" valleys visited by but a handful of people each year. Bowl-shaped cirques cradle jewel-like tarns, lakes left over from the last ice age and awaiting the next.
What you are viewing is part of the second largest roadless landscape in the lower 48 states. Straight ahead in the distance is the Wilderness of Kings Canyon National Park, administered by the National Park Service. To your left are the Monarch and John Muir Wilderness areas, administered by the U.S. Forest Service.
These wilderness designations were won in the 1960's after a lengthy campaign by concerned citizens. The fruits of their efforts await you at the end of a trail. Or you prefer to journey these paths in your imagination. Books and park programs can help to introduce you to this landscape. Where we travel on foot or in the mind, it is out good fortune to know that these wilderness trails are available for the taking. |