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John Muir Wilderness: John Muir spent his life advocating for the safeguard of wild areas of
the Sierra Nevada. He thought that public support for the protection of
these lands would come about if more of the public experienced these areas
and appreciated the areas as much as he. John formed the Sierra Club for just this reason. The John Muir Wilderness
encompasses lands that Muir explored in the late 1800's.
Many areas appear as he had seen them. The
581,000 acre John Muir Wilderness is the largest wilderness in California.
It extends over 100 miles the length of the crest of the Central Sierra
Nevada and encompasses both the Sierra National Forest and Inyo National
Forest. It is characterized by marvelous central California mountain wild
land: high peaks, wide-ranging and striking meadows, deep canyons, hundreds
of bright streams and crystalline lakes.
Wilderness is an area of undeveloped federal land that appears “to have been
affected primarily by the forces of nature, with the imprints of mans’ work
substantially unnoticeable,” according to the
Wilderness Act of 1964. Unlike national parks, wildlife refuges, or
monuments, Wilderness designation from Congress provides the highest level
of natural resource protection available in the world. Any portion of a
park, refuge, or monument can be designated as Wilderness. Potential
wilderness includes those road less and wild areas that we have yet to
crisscross with roads and alter with development. Wilderness is our antidote
to the sprawl that consumes our open space.
"Everybody needs beauty as well as bread, places to
play in and pray in, where nature may heal and give strength to body and
soul alike." John Muir
The John Muir wilderness is located in the central Sierra Nevadas, and is the most visited wilderness in the state
of California.
The wilderness is characterized by snow-capped mountains, hundreds of alpine
lakes and streams. Elevations within the wilderness range from 4,000 feet to
Mt. Whitney's summit at 14,497 feet.. From east of Fresno California in the north, the John
Muir Wilderness forks around Sequoia/Kings Canyon National Park and extends
nearly 100 miles to the south with its southern most boundary just west of
Lone Pine, California. There are 580,323 acres within this wilderness.
The John Muir Wilderness is heavily visited and has use limits in the form
of trailhead quotas on all the trailheads accessing the wilderness from both
the east and west side of the Sierra Nevada. The 211 mile long John Muir
Trail John Muir Trail sign is one of the best known and loved trails in the
United States. It gets its name from the prominent naturalist,
environmentalist and founder of the Sierra Club.
"John Muir has been a
role model to generations of Californians and to conservationists around the
world. He taught us to be active and to enjoy -- but at the same time
protect -- our parks, our beaches, and our mountains."
Who was John Muir?
John Muir (1838-1914) was America's most famous and influential naturalist
and conservationist. He is one of California's most important historical
personalities. He has been called "The Father of our National Parks,"
"Wilderness Prophet," and "Citizen of the Universe." Muir's
insights were landmarks in the history of environmental conservation. The
words and deeds of John Muir led to the establishment of the U.S. National
Park System, (including, during his lifetime, Yosemite, Sequoia, Grand
Canyon, Petrified Forest, and other parks). He was the founding president of
the Sierra Club, which remains today the leading American grassroots
organization for protecting wilderness and the human environment.
Yosemite National Park Wilderness: Yosemite (pronounced "Yo-SEM-it-tee")
wilderness boasts some of the most popular trailheads in California. Hiking
in this area can be an awesome experience. Strenuous trails lead the hiker
up the seemingly sheer granite walls which form the Valley. To reach the top
of such spectacles as Half Dome, Yosemite Falls, Glacier Point, and El
Capitan, the hiker will encounter steep terrain, switchbacks, and rapidly
changing weather conditions. Spectacular views from the rim of the valley
reward the hiker and quickly erase memories of any hardships suffered
en-route.
The Hetch Hetchy Reservoir, located in the northwest part of
the area, serves as the portal to many beautiful, less-traveled areas in
Yosemite. The Hetch Hetchy Road normally stays open year-round and the
reservoir itself lies at a relatively low 3900 feet making this a good area
for spring and fall wilderness travel. Historic Wawona
at 4000 feet elevation is located just inside the park's southern boundary
on Highway 41. Because of its low elevation, trails from Wawona can be
accessible during the spring and fall as well as the summer.
Designated a World Heritage Site in 1984, Yosemite is internationally
recognized for its spectacular granite cliffs, waterfalls, clear streams,
Giant Sequoia groves, and biological diversity (about 89% of the park is
designated wilderness area). It was also the first park set aside by the
U.S. federal government and through the work of people like John Muir was a
focal point in the development of the national park idea.
Ansel Adams Wilderness: Within the Ansel Adams are a
number of fairly large streams and many lakes which form the headwaters of
the Middle Fork and North Fork of the San Joaquin River. Vegetation is
characteristic of the high elevations of the Sierra Nevada, There are stands
of Red fir and some Jeffrey pine next to the upper reaches of the San
Joaquin River.
The Inyo National Forest
portion of the Ansel Adams is crossed from north to south by the Pacific
Crest National Scenic Trail, It enters the Ansel Adams Wilderness at Donahue
Pass (11,100 feet) and leaves 4 miles northwest of the Devil's Postpile
National Monument. This is a land of snow-capped mountains with hundreds of
lakes and streams and beautiful meadows. The Ansel Adams has excellent
stream and lake fishing for rainbow, golden and eastern brook trout. The
Minarets Range affords challenges for experienced mountain climbers. Several
small glaciers are located on the north and northeast facing slopes of the
highest peaks.
Kings Canyon National Park Wilderness & Sequoia National Park
Wilderness:: The United States Congress designated the
Sequoia-Kings Canyon Wilderness in 1984 and it now has over 730,000
acres. Kings Canyon is similar to
the Yosemite and Zion National Parks as the central attraction is a deep
valley accessible from one end only, surrounded by huge areas of
back-country that most people never visit. Kings Canyon National Park
currently consists of two distinct portions. The larger area to the east
encompasses the vast majority of the land in the park, including the Kings
River and canyon and the High Sierra including several mountains in excess
of 14,000 feet. There is a small western portion of the park in the Redwood
Canyon/Grant Grove area which contains the original park's land all of the
parks giant sequoia trees. Most of the land within the park is wilderness
and accessible only by trail.
The canyon is not quite as immediately spectacular, but it is much less
spoilt by development and very rewarding for the traveler who wants to do a
little more than just drive along a road and stop at viewpoints. Although
Congress created these two parks at different times, Sequoia and Kings
Canyon share miles of boundary and are managed as one park. Sequoia was the
second national park designated in this country. General Grant National
Park, the forerunner of Kings Canyon, was third. Campgrounds in Sequoia and
Kings Canyon National Parks campgrounds are located in oak woodlands in the
warm, dry foothills and in the higher, cooler conifer forests. They range in
elevation from 2,100 to 7,500 feet. Lodge pole, Dorst, Grant Grove and
Atwell Mill campgrounds are near giant sequoia groves. In general, higher
elevation campgrounds are cooler and closer to giant sequoias. The Pacific Crest Trail passes through the park
close to the eastern border, part of a continuous 2640 mile footpath from
Canada to Mexico, and there are many other trails, which start from the main
visitor centre area at Cedar Grove, or outside the park - from the west in
the Sierra National Forest and from Owens Valley in the east. These parks
are home to giants: immense mountains, deep canyons, and huge trees. Thanks
to their huge elevation range, 1,500' to 14,491', these parks protect
stunningly diverse habitats. Vehicular access is even more limited
than Yosemite as the dead-end canyon approach drive is the only road of any
kind within the 462,000 acres of the park and so extended hiking is the only
way to visit the wilderness areas.
Mount Whitney:
Mt. Whitney, the tallest mountain in the lower 48 states, rises from the
western rim of the Great Basin Desert of California. At an elevation of 14,
495 feet, Whitney looms high above Death Valley, the lowest point in North
America at 262 feet below sea level, less than 100 miles to the east. It is
the culminating summit of the Sierra Nevada, on the Inyo–Tulare county line,
at the east border of Sequoia National Park in eastern California. The peak
was named for Josiah D. Whitney, the American geologist who first measured
it in 1864. "The culminating peak of the Sierra" was discovered in 1864, by
a California Geological Survey team, and named "Mt. Whitney" after the teams
leader, Josiah Whitney. A member of the survey team, Clarence King,
attempted to climb Whitney twice during their trip but was not successful.
He returned in 1871 and successfully climbed to the peak -- or so he and
everyone else believed for some time. In reality he had accidentally climbed
what today is known as Mt. Langley. When his error was discovered two ears
later, he returned to California to try again. He did summit Whitney on
September 19, but made the fourth ascent. Located within the Sierra Nevada
Mountain Range of Sequoia National Park, Mt. Whitney is situated on the east
side of the Great Western Divide, a chain of mountains that runs north/south
through the center of the park, and is therefore not visible from any of the
roads to the west.
There are two trails from the Whitney Portal (aka - parking area) to the top of
Mt Whitney. The vast majority of hikers use the
"regular" trail, which is relatively easy (for a 4,493m mountain) and very
scenic. It is just very long (a fast hiker can hope to get to the top in
seven hours). The mountaineering trail requires some climbing skills and it
is definitely not recommended if you're afraid of heights (people have died
on the mountaineering trail). Unfortunately, the "regular" trail requires a
permit, that is not easy to obtain in the summer. If you have two days, or
are willing to hike 60+ kilometers in one day, check also the Western trail.
Some start on the Pacific Coast Trail. And work their way to Chicken Springs
Lake, Then a hike of eleven miles to Guyot Creek, and another nine miles to
Guitar Lake. After leaving Guyot Creek meet up with the John Muir Trail
which ends at the summit of Mt. Whitney. The trip total is about 47 miles.
The out and back to the summit from Guitar Lake can add a few more miles,
but many consider it worth the extra effort.
If you are planning a trip to any of these majestic
wilderness areas (or
Mount Whitney) to hike or camp, you
may want to pre-plan your trip using detailed topographic maps.
We'll provide a map-based data set
depicting a digital scan of the trusted, detailed United States Geological
Survey (USGS) paper maps. The geographic area
portrayed on an actual physical paper product produced by the USGS - the
24,000 scale
series of maps. These USGS maps are often used as reference maps for field or
office work and define a specific piece of geography. The map show
contours, communities, vegetation, lakes, rivers, trails, roads and
other spatial features.
Place Order
Note: If you wish, download the free
computer program for viewing the maps. A Hyperlink is provided on the
CD-ROM to facilitate the download of the free viewer
. Options exist for both Windows and Apple / Macintosh systems.
For Windows 95, 98, NT 4, 2000, XP,
XP Pro
For Macintosh OS 9.x (latest version available)
Other Macintosh OS X Plug-ins
"Thanks for the map guys, it is
great. I printed some maps on waterproof paper and they are perfect."
Ted S.- Bozman, MT
"Downloading the free viewer was
easy. Its a great application to view the maps you sent. We
hiked in the Crazy Mountains and the maps let us plan our trip! thank you.
Julie B. - Madison Wisconsin
"The price is right and so are the
maps... less than what I paid for some lingerie for my wife. The maps
are actually more sexy." Cal T. St Cloud Minnesota.
"Thanks for sending the CD-ROM so
fast - The quad maps are wonderful. Its nice to see the entire
area without any map seams. Its good
to know there are trusting folks like you. Thanks!" Cally S. Chicago, IL
"You guys are quick. Thanks
for the fast turn-around. Its nice to view this area as a seamless map
as opposed to looking at a bunch of paper Topographic maps on the
table. Thank you mucho!" Kim T. Boston,
MA
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John Muir
Wilderness with Mount Whitney , CA. Seamless Topographic Map |
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Cost : $18.95 