“The more I see of deer, the more I admire them as mountaineers. They make their way into the heart of the roughest solitudes with smooth reserve of strength, through dense belts of brush and forest encumbered with fallen trees and boulder piles, across canons, roaring streams, and snow-fields, ever showing forth beauty and courage.”

Scottish-born American naturalist and writer

John Muir was a Scottish-born American naturalist and writer, active in the 19th and early 20th centuries. He is remembered as an early and influential voice for preserving wilderness in the United States. Muir also worked as an environmental philosopher, botanist, zoologist, and glaciologist. He is associated with the names “John of the Mountains” and “Father of the National Parks,” titles that reflect his lasting role in shaping wilderness preservation and the language around it.