A Thousand-Mile Walk To The Gulf - Legacy Edition: A Great Hike To The Gulf Of Mexico, Florida, And The Atlantic Ocean

by John Muir

John Muir’s Great Hike to the Gulf Of Mexico, Florida, and the Caribbean Waters

This deluxe, unabridged reprint Legacy Edition of John Muir’s 1916 A Thousand-Mile Walk To The Gulf is part study of natural history, part travel guide of the warm southern waters of the Gulf of Mexico and shorelines of Florida and Cuba. Join the “Great Wanderer” Muir as he walks a thousand miles to the Atlantic Ocean and Caribbean as he describes in vivid language the natural features that he sees and feels. 

Muir regales readers with the beauty that can be experienced on the way to the southeastern waters of America. He describes his trails through Kentucky and Tennessee, mountain ranges along the eastern U.S., the gorgeous river country of Georgia, the Keys, swamps, and forests of Florida, the shorelines of the southeast edge, and a brief trip to Cuba. Far different than the terrain of Muir’s favorite California, his trip to the south brings to life the incredible sights of the eastern United States.

This book makes a perfect gift for backpacking, camping, and nature lore enthusiasts who want to reflect on the history of the American southeast wilderness. Muir’s keen eyes and poetic pen capture the thousands of species of wildlife, plants, and trees make the mountains, swamps, and everglades their home. Teach yourself how to see the world like a naturalist and appreciate the sheer multitude of life that the wilderness hosts! This book represents the rich history of the American outdoors, natural history, and camping tradition, and belongs on the bookshelf of every outdoors enthusiast.

A part of the Doublebit John Muir Volume 7

This Doublebit Legacy Edition reprint of A Thousand-Mile Walk To The Gulf is professionally restored and presented from the original source with the highest degree of fidelity possible, including the original cover from the first edition printing. Available in both paperback and hardcover, readers can enjoy this Legacy Edition for generations and learn from its timeless knowledge for years to come.

About the Doublebit Press Library of Legacy Edition Reprints

Sometimes we need to remember our history to move forward. Sometimes, remembering our heritage is just fun or inspirational. With technology playing a major role in everyday life, sometimes we need to take a step back in time to find those basic building blocks used for gaining mastery – the things that we have luckily not completely lost and has been recorded in books over the last two centuries. These skills aren’t forgotten, they’ve just been shelved. It’s time to unshelve them once again and reclaim the lost knowledge of self-sufficiency!

As a part of the Doublebit John Muir Collection, this unabridged Legacy Edition volume is reprinted in the exact form as it was presented in the original publication. Both important and minor details have equally both been accounted for by our publishing staff, down to the cover, font, layout, and images. It is the goal of Doublebit Legacy Edition series to preserve outdoors heritage, but also be cherished as collectible pieces, worthy of collection in any outdoorsperson’s library and that can be passed to future generations. 

Kindle Edition

Published March 5, 2020

About the author

John Muir was far more than a naturalist; he was a secular prophet who translated the rugged language of the wilderness into a spiritual calling that saved the American soul from total surrender to materialism. Born in 1838 in the coastal town of Dunbar, Scotland, Muir’s childhood was a blend of seaside wanderings and a brutal religious upbringing. His father, Daniel Muir, was a man of uncompromising faith who forced John to memorize the New Testament and most of the Old Testament by age eleven. When the family immigrated to the frontier of Wisconsin in 1849, this iron-fisted discipline continued on their farm. However, for the young Muir, the "Book of Nature" began to rival the Bible. He saw the divine not just in scripture, but in the black locust trees and the sun-drenched meadows of the midwest.
The pivotal moment of Muir’s life occurred in 1867 while working at a wagon wheel factory in Indianapolis. A tool slipped, piercing his cornea and leaving him temporarily blind in both eyes. Confined to a darkened room for six weeks, Muir faced the terrifying prospect of a life without light. When his sight miraculously returned, he emerged with a clarity of purpose that would change the course of American history. He famously wrote, "This affliction has driven me to the sweet fields. God has to nearly kill us sometimes, to teach us lessons." He immediately set out on a 1,000-mile walk to the Gulf of Mexico, beginning a lifelong odyssey of exploration.
Muir eventually found his "true home" in California’s Sierra Nevada. To Muir, the mountains were not mere piles of rock, but "the range of light." He spent years as a shepherd and guide in Yosemite, living a life of extreme simplicity—often traveling with nothing but a tin cup, a crust of bread, and a volume of Emerson’s essays. His scientific contributions were equally profound; he defied the leading geologists of the day by proving that the Yosemite Valley was carved by ancient glaciers. While the state geologist, Josiah Whitney, dismissed him as a mere "shepherd," the world’s leading glaciologists eventually recognized Muir’s genius.
His transition from explorer to activist was born of necessity. Seeing the "hoofed locusts"—domestic sheep—devouring the high mountain meadows, Muir took up his pen. His landmark articles in The Century Magazine and his 1903 camping trip with President Theodore Roosevelt became the catalysts for the modern conservation movement. Under the stars at Glacier Point, Muir convinced the President that the wilderness required federal protection. This meeting laid the groundwork for the expansion of the National Park system and the eventual return of Yosemite Valley to federal control.
As the co-founder and first president of the Sierra Club, Muir spent his final years in a fierce philosophical battle with Gifford Pinchot. While Pinchot argued for "conservation" (the sustainable use of resources), Muir championed "preservation" (the protection of nature for its own sake). Though he lost the battle to save the Hetch Hetchy Valley from being dammed, the heartbreak of that loss galvanized the American public, ensuring that future "cathedrals of nature" would remain inviolate. John Muir died in 1914, but his voice remains ubiquitous, reminding us that "into the woods we go, to lose our minds and find our souls."