The coaches of the presidential party arrived at Chinquapin Summit, where everybody alighted for a bit of a rest. Without the rest of the party noticing, John Muir "kidnapped" Roosevelt at that stage and the two of them galloped off on the trail for Glacier Point on horseback with a packed mule in tow.
Only when the President's party arrived in the valley did they realize he was missing! At that stage, the President was sitting at a campfire with Muir, eating thick porterhouse steaks and corn pones buttered in the pan. Roosevelt, thinking of the pompous party waiting for him, exclaimed in delight, "This is bully!"
He and Muir wandered through the Sierras for three days before re-joining the solemn group again. As a result of his little adventure, Roosevelt set aside vast areas of virgin timber for forest reserves and doubled the number of National Parks during his term in office.
