On a recent trip to Grizedale Forest I was asking the candidates about John Muir, who he was and what his work was all about. It was morning that did not really know what to do with itself; wash us with the threatening rain or warm us with weak autumn sunshine. The group were gathered round the back of the mini bus trying to decide what combination of clothing they should wear.
"So who was John Muir?" I asked one of the group
He looked at me, then the sky then at the ground, and said:
"He was the chap that took two weeks to walk a mile."
Asking the same question of another student I found the answer to be equally truthful but different:
"He was the man who spent 2 hours looking at a leaf."

It did not rain and we spent 2 hours learning how to work together as a team.