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Miwok Indians from the Central Valley and Piute Indians from east of the Sierra Nevada were the first peoples to inhabit the Hetch Hetchy Valley. They were transient inhabitants, spending the summer and fall hunting and fishing, and harvesting acorns and grasses. The first Euro-Americans to see the valley were associated with the California Gold Rush. They found no gold, but a rather lush, long meadow useful for sheep grazing. But the beauty of the valley attracted naturalists such as John Muir, painters, and explorers. However, compared to its sister valley, Yosemite, in 1900 Hetch Hetchy was virtually unknown.

This chapter demonstrates that Yosemite Valley remained home to a permanent, relatively autonomous Indian village. While native residence in the valley stands in the marked contrast to other early parks, it also presents an important comparison with the experiences of Indian peoples at Yellowstone and Glacier. Such differences shed important light on Yosemite's unique history and reveal the processes by which this park was eventually made to fit the standards of the national park ideal.

This chapter continues the discussion of the life of Clarence King. King's search for natural truths bore the imprint of John Ruskin, but his obsession with masculine science and adventure as a means of social integration and improvement originated with John Tyndall. He embraced nature as a microcosm of American society. As one of the many geologists who moved through the physical world, he was supposed to uncover mineral resources. Yet he saw his science as one way to impose a grid of order on contemporary America.

This chapter investigates John Muir's texts against the backdrop of privileged notions of exclusivity regarding race, gender, and class. It also highlight's Muir's astute environmental and political critique, as well as his passionate and sensual delving into a more-than-human world. The chapter points out how Muir both epitomized and complicated a dualistic mindset and actively promoted and aided tourism, arguing that city dwellers needed vacation time in the mountains. It describes how Muir grew politically engaged and became one of the most effectual advocates for the national parks, becoming instrumental in making wilderness accessible to white men. It also talks about Muir's book that was distributed to both West and East Coast readership, which includes carefully crafted narratives of his achievements and his adventures and promotion of tourism in Yosemite Valley.