In descending the mountain this far we have found but little snow, and began to emerge into a country which had some signs of vegetation — having passed thro' several groves of green oak bushes, &c. The principal timber which we came across, is Red-Wood, White Cedar and the Balsom tree. We continued down the side of the mountain at our leisure, finding the timber much larger and better, game more abundant and the soil more fertile. Here we found plenty of oak timber, bearing a large quantity of acorns, though of a different kind from those taken from the Indian on the mountain top. In the evening of the 30th we arrived at the foot or base of this mountain — having spent almost a month in crossing over. Along the base of this mountain it is quite romantic — the soil is very productive — the timber is immensely large and plenty, and game, such as deer, elk, grizzly bear and antelopes are remarkably plenty. — From the mountain out to the plain, a distance varying from 10 to 20 miles, the timber stands as thick as it could grow and the land is well watered by a number of small streams rising here and there along the mountain.
Zenas Leonard, "Narrative of the Adventures of Zenas Leonard”, Clearfield, Pa. D. W. Moore, 1839
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On October 31,1833 the Walker Party finally escaped both the eastern band on Paiutes they had met in Nevada and the snowy Sierra Nevada Mountains. The trappers descended into one of the richest valleys on the continent - rich not only in terms of the game they found in abundance, but, what is more important, in terms of the potential for agriculture - deep soils fed by numerous rivers and streams cascading out of the mountains and emptying eventually into San Francisco Bay. Walker and his men wintered along the coast and inland in the San Joaquin Valley, visiting and trading with Spanish settlers and local natives. They returned east the following spring over a more southerly route across the Sierras - a route that became Walker Pass.
Exploration is fraught with danger. The Walker expedition provides ample evidence. On the other hand, the sense of adventure and accomplishment is palpable in Leonard’s record. While the danger of trying something new like GIS in the classroom is certainly not life threatening, it can be intimidating. You will not have to slaughter any stock to survive. There will be no icy granite slopes to descend. You may, though, have to cut loose exclusive reliance on a teacher centered mode of instruction. You may have to experiment with a
variety of new techniques before you arrive at a place that is comfortable to you in using GIS. But the real lesson of the Walker story is that the sense of adventure and accomplishment is in the day-to-day experience along the way.
Push on. Explore.
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