Richard F. Fleck

On Renewing Muir's Dream

Today on Muir's birthday we
Muir devotees walk the valley
of Hetch Hetchy where the
Ahwahneechees collected grasses
to weave their baskets when
Muir was born back in Scotland;
we hike along the dammed up
waters of Hetch Hetchy where the
dreams of Indians and John Muir
and glacially polished cliffs
with sugar pines, mountain paint,
and kitkidizie were all drowned.
We hike to the foot of Wapama Falls
to catch a misty glimpse of the
real power of this inundated valley,
that other Yosemite the Scotsman
dreamed of saving and we dream of
draining if only we can find a way.

Richard F. Fleck
April 21, 1990

Richard F. Fleck Ph.D, recently retired from his position of Dean of Arts and Humanities at the Community College of Denver, is author of Henry Thoreau and John Muir Among the Indians as well as Editor of a number of Muir trade paperback editions including Mountaineering Essays and Our National Parks. "On Renewing Muir's Dream" is reprinted here with his permission from John Muir: Life and Work, Edited by Sally M. Miller (Albuquerque, University of New Mexico Press, (1993).

To get involved in the effort to restore Hetch Hetchy, contact Restore Hetch Hetchy at:

6114 La Salle Ave. #457
Oakland, CA 94611
Telephone: (415) 956-0401
info@hetchhetchy.org

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