In my 20s, I remember reading an article that lamented the loss of heroes for youth to emulate. It made me ask myself who my hero was.
The answer was John Muir. Muir and I share many attributes, and I've lived my life in many ways parallel to his, reading his works and repeating his adventures.
It is hard when your hero falls from grace. The first times it happened were when I read things he wrote that I disagreed with: his opinions on fire and irrigated agriculture were not helpful, and likely harmful given his influence. Examples:
