Book Description

Granite Pathways lays out the fascinating history of the trails in the backcountry regions of Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks - the twin High Sierra parks at the southern end of California's Sierra Nevada mountain range. The book seeks answers to the questions of who built the trails and why.The story begins with the contributions of the Native American peoples of the region - particularly the Mono and Paiutes - and then shifts its gaze to the stories left behind by the late nineteenth century shepherds, miners, scientists, and recreationists who first explored the range and brought it to the attention of the world - individuals like Theodore Solomons, Bolton Coit Brown, and Joseph N. Le Conte. These mountaineers, and many others, all played important roles in the exploration and mapping of this rugged region. In the early decades of the twentieth century, the creation of federal reserves like Sequoia National Park and the Sequoia, Sierra, and Inyo national forests brought new energy to the movement to build trails in the High Sierra. Destinations like the Kings Canyon and Mount Whitney became the target of wilderness travelers. The Sierra Club initiated its outing program and began to bring recreational groups to remote features like the Kern Canyon, Rae Lakes, and Evolution Basin.Interest in wilderness travel in the High Sierra invigorated trail construction by the U.S. Forest Service and National Park Service and led to the construction of iconic routes like the John Muir Trail and High Sierra Trail. By the end of the New Deal era in the 1930s, thanks to the efforts of the Civilian Conservation Corps and other federal programs, the region contained over a thousand miles of trails.Improved trails led to the creation of Kings Canyon National Park and ultimately to the designation of the John Muir and the Sequoia-Kings Canyon wilderness areas. Granite Pathways explores all these stories, delving into not only the history of the region's trails but also the story of how this scenic wilderness region rose from obscurity to become one of the nation's most prized wilderness destinations.