Impressions from John Muir

How glorious a greeting the sun gives the mountains!
John Muir

I take this quote more as transcendental and spiritual more than the other concepts we have thus far discussed. When I think of the sun, I think of God, warmth, energy, new life, rejuvenation, a new beginning. I think he really solidifies his depth and respect of nature with this quote. It is a profound statement that links majestic objects together. For some, they perhaps haven't been able to experience a sunrise in a mountainous area. And that is unfortunate and hopefully someday they may have that opportunity to do so. It's amazing to see the sun rise and catch the tip of the tallest peak and slowly work its way down to the base and into the valley. I grew up in Utah in a very mountainous region. My house faced Mount Timpanogos. It is one of the tallest peaks in all of Utah. Snow stays on for almost the whole year with the back of the mountain containing glaciers. It was a comforting feeling waking to gaze at the mountain at times when the sun would shoot through the Provo Canyon and capture the face of the mountain.
I fell in love with mountains growing up because of experiences like that. Friends and I would frequently find ourselves camping in various spots of the mountains in the heat of the summer or the freezing cold winters with snow that sometimes went up to my chest. We would sometimes go up the canyons to friends cabins and enjoy the snow on ATV's and/or snowmobiles. So many great memories and pictures that I'll enjoy my whole life. I noticed my love for them when I was in North Carolina for two years serving an LDS mission. NO MOUNTAINS!!! There were plenty of trees but no mountains. So I convinced myself that on the other side of the trees, there were mountains. It really helped me to feel comfortable. And then the beautiful peaks and straight up surfaces of the Hawaii mountains were nothing short of amazing. I hiked some great places out there with many waterfalls and all sorts of beautiful trees and bushes. No where else do I know of that within an hour can one be in the ocean and then start a hike that shoots up a couple thousand feet. There were some amazing sunrises in Hawaii as well!!