The life of a mountaineer seems to be particularly favorable to the development of soul-life, as well as limb-life, each receiving abundance of exercise and abundance of food. We little suspect the capacity that even our flesh has for knowledge. Oftentimes in climbing canyon walls I come to polished slopes that seem to be too steep to venture on. After scrutinizing them, carefully noting every dint and scratch that might give hope for a foothold, I have decided they were unsafe. Yet my limbs, as if possessing a separate sense, would be of a different opinion, and cross the condemned slopes against the remonstrances of the will. My legs sometimes transport me to camp, in the darkness, over cliffs, and through bogs and forests that seem inaccessible to civilized legs in the daylight. In like manner the soul sets forth at times upon rambles of its own. Our bodies, though meanwhile out of sight and forgotten, blend into the rest of nature, blind to the boundaries of individuals. But it is after both the body and soul of a mountaineer have worked hard, and enjoyed hard, that they are most palpably separate. Our weary limbs, lying at rest on the pine needles, make no attempt to follow after or sympathize with the nimble spirit that, apparently glad of the opportunity, wanders alone down gorges, along beetling cliffs, or away among the peaks and glaciers of the farthest landscapes, or into realms that eye hath not seen, nor ear heard; and when at length we are ready to return home to our flesh-and-bone tabernacle, we scarcely for a moment or two know in what direction to seek for it.

-- John Muir, John of the Mountains

Because of this stature, the Range possesses a rich human and geological history which plays an important part in the history of the United States, in general, and California, in particular. Sierra Nevada Chronicles, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) tax exempt corporation thats major purpose is to collect and make available to interested individuals selected written and pictorial material relating to the past, present, and future history and exploration of the Sierra Nevada. This web site is the major medium that will be utilized for the presentation of this material.

The idea for this site came to me while I was developing curriculum for my mountaineering classes at U.C., Santa Cruz and researching my article on Sierra Mountaineering that was published in Mountain magazine. It soon became apparent that the primary source materials I needed were extant, but were spread far and wide in old and out-of-print mountaineering, travel, and historical books, periodicals, and newspapers, and in unpublished letters and journals buried in manuscript libraries. Then, as I continued to collect information for these and other projects, it began to dawn on me that a considerable amount of material was accumulating on virtually every flat space in my work room. I remember thinking how much more pleasant it would have been to have had all this material already collected in one place for me to utilize. One thing led to another, and Sierra Nevada Chronicles, Inc., a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt corporation, has become a reality.

Initially, this site will be broken down into eight parts.
• The Library will be the "heart" of this site. It will consist of books, periodical and newspaper articles, manuscripts, first-hand accounts, etc., relating to the Sierra. Each entry will copied in its entirety, and, as much as possible, will be reproduced in its original format. In other words, pictures will be taken of each page. That way, there will be no transcription errors and researchers will be able to quote accurately from each publication. Further, nothing included in the library will in any way be edited by me. It has always bothered me that most twentieth century editors seem to feel it is their main task to sanitize these accounts by changing the author's prose into modern-day, pedantic English. In my opinion, any editing detracts from a piece, and can be justified only as self aggrandizement by the editor. Editors who do this can, if careful, retain most (but not all) of the meaning of the account, but, the more they tinker, the more they lose any real "feeling' of time and place. This feeling of time and place is one of the primary purposes of this site.
• Images, on the other hand, will be its "soul." A picture is indeed worth a thousand words, but, more importantly, it is much better than words to create the "feeling" of time and place. It will consist mainly of photographs and paintings/drawings. This page is not, however, and is not meant to be, a treatise on the subject of photography, painting, etc. It is meant to display samples of works produced by the artists of that time, with the equipment of that time, of the Sierra Nevada of that time.
• News and Events is designed to keep Sierra devotees aware of current issues and events in the Sierra. A monthly newsletter will be produced on this page, and emailed to anyone who wishes receive a copy. Back issues of these newsletters will be maintained on an archives page. Space will also be made available in an editorial section of this newsletter for anyone interested in expressing their viewpoint on any issue. If possible, both sides of any issue will be presented.
• For the Explorer will include information for those who wish to see and experience the Sierra first hand. As stated before, a picture is worth a thousand words. It follows then that an experience is worth a thousand pictures. This page will provide information to those who wish to safely experience the Range for themselves. It will include, but not be limited to equipment; food packaging, preparation, and protection, hiking, camping, and mountaineering skills, weather, leadership, group process, routefinding, health and safety, survival, mountain flora and fauna, and basic ecology.
• Donations describe how interested individuals can make donations to help maintain and improve the site. Sierra Nevada Chronicles, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt corporation, so all donations are tax deductible for both federal and state taxes.
• Contact Us provides contact information for the site and any other relevant individuals or organizations.
• About the Director describes the experiences that qualify me to manage this site.
• Links on this page will be many and varied. They will all, however, have a direct relationship to the past, present, and future history and exploration of the Sierra Nevada.