John Muir: To the heart of solitude

What pushed John Muir to become the pioneering environmentalist and founder of the Sierra Club? 1867: A sawmill is running at full speed with a terrible noise when suddenly, workers run to rescue a man on the ground. He has seriously injured his eyes. John Muir is twenty-nine years old, and it is likely that he may remain blind. But miraculously, after months of an almost mystical convalescence, he regains his sight. This episode convinces him he’s going to leave everything behind and embrace his lifelong dream: head south to meet the wilderness. Armed with only his courage, his youth, a magnifying glass and a botanical book, he treks hundreds of miles on foot from Indiana to Florida. Imagine an almost pristine wilderness, where only a few dangerous ex-soldiers from the South and former slaves thrown out of the old plantations roam… This biography also covers his other life-changing pioneering trek along the Sierra Nevada Trail which now bears his name. Here, in breathtaking vistas, is the inspiration he got to found the Sierra Club, create the first national parks, and become one of America’s first and foremost environmentalist champions.