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Place Odyssey and the Art of Walking has been strongly inspired by High Sierra Camp loop trips in Yosemite National Park. |
Near Vogelsang High Sierra Camp |
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| Many say that the idea of national parks was born in Yosemite when the Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoias and Yosemite Valley were set aside in 1864 as the “California Land Grant.” This great idea has since spread throughout the world. |
Sequoia tree in the Mariposa Grove |
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| An avid walker named John Muir, worked tirelessly to protect much of Yosemite’s surrounding High-Sierran landscape as a national park in 1890. In 1916, the National Park Service was created to manage this growing system of protected wild places. |
John Muir in Yosemite |
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| In the same year that the Park Service was created, Stephen T. Mather, its first director, established the first “High Sierra Camps” at Yosemite. The High Sierra Camps are a series of backcountry bases that allow for something like luxury backpacking. They are 6-10 miles apart, accessible only by trail. Meals and lodging are provided with food and linens packed in by mules. The far-sighted Mather realized that if people were going to support the protection of wild places, they needed to care about them. What better way to promote caring about a place than by encouraging people to walk there? |
A tent cabin at a High Sierra Camp |
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| Mather also created the position of ranger naturalist, a species of ranger specifically devoted to helping park visitors get to know, understand and appreciate the world around us by facilitating enriching experiences of our national parks. |
A ranger naturalist |
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| In 1924, ranger naturalists started leading “loop trips” between the High Sierra Camps. Proving to be quite popular, more High Sierra Camps were added over the years and the tradition of NPS ranger naturalists leading trips between them continues to be carried on to this day. The full High Sierra Camp loop includes six camps spaced between seven and ten miles apart in a 55 mile loop. Groups of up to 14 participants travel with a ranger naturalist over seven days while learning about the rich natural and cultural history of Yosemite. They carry only daypacks since meals and lodging are provided at each of the camps when they arrive. |
A High Sierra Camp loop trip group |
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| Inspired by the long-standing traditions of Yosemite's High Sierra Camps and National Park Service ranger naturalists, Place Odyssey and the Art of Walking seeks to facilitate inspiring interactions between human beings and our natural and cultural environments on earth by providing consciously crafted routes, food, shelter, and interpretation for anyone ready to wholeheartedly set out on a meaningful adventure. | ||||
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Place Odyssey and the Art of Walking
© 2008 Adrianna Hirtler
