Yosemite Valley and John Muir will be forever linked. It was his lifelong, love affair with the Valley that set the foundation for preserving it and other wilderness areas for generations to come. Through his writings, he shared his deep spiritual connection to nature and Yosemite Valley in particular. His first view of the valley was thought to be near this view. In one of his writings he describes his "Incomparable Valley" as ...

"No temple made with hands can compare with Yosemite... the grandest of all special temples of Nature."