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Show 111. in the McCauley cabin, near John Muir's favorite camping spot. They are all good places, but this might be the best. Each camping spot was associated with a different community of humans. The campground, when I stayed there, was filled with young rock climbers and wanderers of the mountains, like myself. There was an unspoken agreement among us. We knew why we were here and didn't need to communicate it. Later at the Mountaineer's Center, many of the same people became a legitimate part of the machinery within the Park which entertained the public. We were rock climbing instructors and guides, or at least that is how we earned our bread. Mostly we continued to climb and ramble in the mountains, as we had before we began to work for a living. The communal living arrangements brought us closer together than we had been. We were unlike the other employees of the concessionaire, because we had our own kitchen, worked on commission rather than on salary, grew beards, and did not come under as close a scrutiny as the others. We were proud. We thought we were an elite and superior group. Since Valerie has been working for the Park Service, my status has changed. Now I no longer need to work during the summers, and am only loosely connected to the community of N.P.S. employees. I am certainly not isolated, and have frequent conversations with a variety of people who come out to Soda Springs. Michael, for instance, runs an interpretive program for the Natural History Association. He comes out most mornings and we often discuss the status of Park affairs |