Nature
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In 1869, innkeeper James Hutchings hired a young wilderness explorer named John Muir to rebuild and operate his sawmill in Yosemite Valley. Muir worked there for almost two years, milling trees blown down in a storm to build improvements at Hutchings’ Yosemite Valley hotel. During his Yosemite years, Muir became an outspoken proponent of America’s wild places. In the shadow of Yosemite Falls, he lived in a “hang nest,” a boxy retreat attached to the sawmill. A channel was dug to divert water from Yosemite Creek, possibly to power the sawmill or irrigate Hutchings’ apple trees. Muir later helped secure the establishment of Yosemite and several other national parks, and in 1892 he became the founding president of the Sierra Club.
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Yosemite Valley, California · United States
