John Muir's shunning the easy way up makes us aware of challenges then and now. The Smithsonian experiments cause us to ponder the heavens. All these stories, so well related by Paul Richins in this book, add spice to the ascent, no matter which route you take. Although the summit of Whitney is the end result of each hike described herein, it's the chase rather than the conquest that should appeal to many readers. The interior of the High Sierra, invisible from any road and visited by relatively few people, is one of the magical spots on our planet.
Elegant lakes occupy grand cirques.
Streams of diamond clarity dart toward the canyons below. Marmots whistle from the talus, and mountain bluebirds hawk for insects near their nests in golden snags. Many of the routes Richins has chosen lie in timberline country, that narrow zone lying between the lowland forests and the naked crags above. Traveling through this region is usually easy, and the vistas are endless. Sometimes thunderstorms disturb the calm, and shadows race each other across the landscape.