My First Summer in the Sierra

describes two years period of Muir's life during which he lived in a cabin in Californian mountains. When he came to California and finally settled in San Francisco, John Muir immediately left for a visit to Yosemite, a place he had only read about.

Seeing it for the first time, Muir noted that "He was overwhelmed by the landscape, scrambling down steep cliff faces to get a closer look at the waterfalls, whooping and howling at the vistas, jumping tirelessly from flower to flower."

He climbed a number of mountains, including Cathedral Peak and Mount Dana, and hiked the old Indian trail down Bloody Canyon to Mono Lake.