On my journey back from University during the Fall and Winter seasons, the trek home can be quite agonizing as I long to be home in a comfortable bed with a belly full of homemade food. It is the drive down Grey Road 7 through Epping that particularly fills my heart (and rumbling belly) with joy that home is near. As I drive past some of the most breathtaking scenery, I know I am home.
On the edge of the winding road, the magnificent trees stand side by side like a fence protecting the area that lies beyond. Through the trees rests a patch of luscious grass and a comfortable pavilion area that overlooks the extraordinary picturesque scenery of Georgian Bay. This lookout is small in size, but substantially large in importance.
The John Muir lookout holds such beauty that is difficult to describe in words. It is so many things to so many people as it changes throughout the time of day, the months, and the seasons, though each landscape is of equally remarkable beauty and magnitude.
The lookout is comprised of a comforting pavilion and green space which marks the entrance to the Bruce Trail. It is only appropriate that the lookout is situated in an opening of the Bruce Trail as Muir travelled what is now referred to as the Bruce Trail on his walking expedition of the Canadian West in 1864.
Historically, Muir played an imperative role in conservation as he founded the Sierra Club which has since been responsible for mass conservation and environmental protection efforts.
Muir spent two years employed by the Trout Family in Meaford from 1864-1866. He was responsible for greatly improving productivity and efficiency at the rake factory until the burning of the mill, leading to his departure. The legacy of John Muir is well preserved in Meaford as famous letters during his travels are sacred artifacts at the Meaford Museum.
The magnitude of impact John Muir inflicted upon our municipality echoes over the steep hills of the lookout. The scene witnessed from the pavilion epitomizes the characteristics of such a naturalist, as the depth of wilderness and wildlife appears endless both in perspective and possibility.
Moreover, the main ambition of the lookout is to serve dedicatory purposes for a man that devoted his life to conservation. It is appropriate to commemorate the life of an extraordinary naturalist by creating a sacred area of solitude that is comprised purely of the essence of local nature.
While resting at the John Muir lookout, it is easy to be captivated by the mindset that one can imagine such a man would have. It is easy to be enthralled by the wonder of nature as the background music is made up of birds singing sweetly, leaves ruffling beneath the feet of ambitious hikers, wind blowing high above the overwhelming hills, and cars quickly reducing their speed as they catch a glimpse of the scenery in their peripheral vision.
This landmark provides more than just a lookout over the glorious Georgian Bay area, it allows one to look out at nature while looking within their being to feel and breathe the calmness of nature and understand even a fraction of what might have been experienced by one of the world’s most renowned naturalists, John Muir.
