Best Quotes for Hiking

[jjozgrunt]

There are some good quotes that people are using with signatures. John Muir seems pretty popular though I can't say I've ever read anything by him. Lets see what people can come up with which are hiking related. You may just find your next quote here.

"Why I Hike"

I walked in the mountains today,
My heart found beauty,
My mind found freedom,
And my soul found peace. :cool:

[Traveler]

"If I could not walk far and fast, I think I should just explode and perish." ~Charles Dickens

[Tuckahoe]

"It's just walking" --Lone Wolf

;)

[daddytwosticks]

"How long does cheese last on the trail?" - Every new hiker. :)

[garlic08]

Mags, a moderator on this forum, compiled a list (http://www.pmags.com/colorado-hiking-and-outdoor-society-quotes).

[OnThePath]

"If you love life, don't waste time, for time is what life is made of" -Bruce Lee

[kayak karl]

"Everywhere is within walking distance if you have the time." - Steven Wright

[10-K]

Keep moving, nobody's coming to get you. - 10-k

:)

[garlic08]

Here's (http://www.nimblewillnomad.com/hiker_trash.htm)a related list from Nimblewill Nomad.

[Rocket Jones]

Embrace the Suck.

[Rocket Jones]

The groves were God's first temples. -- William Cullen Bryant

[Pedaling Fool]

Sometimes after :datzit feels liberating to just say: It is, what it is.

[Gambit McCrae]

Go everywhere
see everything
fear nothing

[bigcranky]

"I had better admit right away that walking can in the end become an addiction, and that it is then as deadly in its fashion as heroin or television or the stock exchange. But even in this final stage it remains a delectable madness, very good for sanity, and I recommend it with passion." (Colin Fletcher, The Complete Walker)

"When the virus of restlessness begins to take possession of a wayward man, and the road away from Here seems broad and straight and sweet, the victim must first find in himself a good and sufficient reason for going. This to the practical bum is not difficult. He has a built-in garden of reasons to choose from." (John Steinbeck)

"The swiftest traveler is he that goes afoot." (Thoreau)

[Sarcasm the elf]

28352

..........

[Old Hiker]

Embrace the Suck.



http://whiteblaze.net/forum/vbg/showimage.php?i=56795&catid=member&imageuser=23230

[meat803]

The mind is its own place and in itself, can make a Heaven of Hell, a Hell of Heaven.

John Milton

[runt13]

The difference of a adventure and a catastrophe is your attitude, hike on! [from my grandfather]

RUNT '13''

[KillerKarma]

"I had better admit right away that walking can in the end become an addiction, and that it is then as deadly in its fashion as heroin or television or the stock exchange. But even in this final stage it remains a delectable madness, very good for sanity, and I recommend it with passion." (Colin Fletcher, The Complete Walker)

"When the virus of restlessness begins to take possession of a wayward man, and the road away from Here seems broad and straight and sweet, the victim must first find in himself a good and sufficient reason for going. This to the practical bum is not difficult. He has a built-in garden of reasons to choose from." (John Steinbeck)

"The swiftest traveler is he that goes afoot." (Thoreau)
What Steinbeck work is this quote from?

[Hoofit]

American Indian proverb....

Never judge a man until you've walked a mile in his moccasins..............

[Hoofit]

Unless of course they stink to high hell !!

[ChefATLTCT]

"A mans got to know his limitations" (dirty)Harry Callahan

[rafe]

Not a quote exactly. It's a brown-bag speech by Ed Zahniser, given to the staff of the Wilderness Society. Very moving. I'll try to attach it as a PDF. If that fails, just google on this expression: "A Brown-bag Lunch Talk by Ed Zahniser" and it will be the first hit.

[Rocket Jones]

American Indian proverb....

Never judge a man until you've walked a mile in his moccasins..............

... and then if he's mad because you judged him, you're a mile away, and you've got his shoes! :D

[dzierzak]

What Steinbeck work is this quote from?

Travels with Charley

[KillerKarma]

Travels with Charley
That was my guess I haven't read that one yet, but I love Steinbeck.

[Ground Control]

"Learn to embrace the fecal matter that surrounds you." -me

(this applies and works in many situations on earth)

[runt13]

NO MATTER WHERE YOU GO....THERE YOU ARE!

my 9year old granddaughter last night at dinner.

RUNT ''13''

[Pedaling Fool]

"Learn to embrace the fecal matter that surrounds you." -me

(this applies and works in many situations on earth)
Ewwww....When you put it that way, I get a vivid mental image of being inescapably surrounded by fecal matter. Better to just say, Sh1t -- no mental images:D:);)

[Feral Bill]

The Complete Walker has a nice selection.

[Ground Control]

Ewwww....When you put it that way, I get a vivid mental image of being inescapably surrounded by fecal matter. Better to just say, Sh1t -- no mental images:D:);)

lol.. i see you are on your way towards embracing it. Freedom lies ahead.
Fwiw, i've phrased it the way I have to avoid the expletive; children abound, ya know?


"Green grass grows around the backyard sh-t house
And that is where the sweetest flowers bloom
Now we are flowers growin' in God's garden
And that is why he spreads the sh-t around" - David Byrne

[Another Kevin]

And the LORD said unto Satan, Whence comest thou? Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it. - Job 1:7

[q-tip]

To a greater or lesser degree, everyone on the AT suffers.

CJH

[wormer]

My favorite is, "hike your own hike"

[Sailing_Faith]

28402
My favorite is, "hike your own hike"

Mine too;



:)

[rocketsocks]

The Complete Walker has a nice selection.Sure does.

"if you pick em up O'Lord, I'll put em down"
Anonymous
prayer of the tired walker

[Odd Man Out]

A journey of a thousand miles....has already been done by someone who is a better hiker than you.

[ChuckT]

"Two roads diverged in a yellowed wood and I, I took the one less traveled by. And that has made all the difference." Robert Frost

[Rolls Kanardly]

"How long does cheese last on the trail?" - Every new hiker. :)
The first pit stop for lunch. Rolls

[Many Moons]

HIKE ON!!! By Miller


HIKE ON!!!


Miller

oh yea also, ILMT. I Like My Tent! Dirty shelters NO!

[colorado_rob]

In my ultra-run/hike circles we have a couple, used when really tired/sore/bonked/whatever:

"Suck it up, cream puff" and

"Save the Drama for your Mama"

Basically both saying: Just shut up and hike (or run)!

[rafe]

"There is a road, no simple highway,
Between the dawn and the dark of night,
And if you go, no one may follow,
That path is for your steps alone."

[kolokolo]

"When you come to a fork in the road, take it."

[rocketsocks]

Ain't no mountain high enough, ain't no valley low, ain't no river wide enough...to keep me from you.

[Dogwood]

Carpe diem!

[jred321]

Some gems from Warren Miller (he's talking about skiing, but they apply)

If you don't do it this year, you will be one year older when you do
Don't take life too seriously because you can't come out of it alive (said by many people)
Never eat in a restaurant that has a bowling trophy on the cash register
If at first you don't succeed, failure may be your thing



And other good random ones from the page I'm looking at to pull these:

On the other hand you have different fingers
They say it's always darkest before the dawn, so if you're going to steal your neighbor's newspaper that's the time to do it
If your parents didn't have children, odds are you won't either

[Mags]

With Tom Magliozzi ( of Car Talk fame) passing away, this wonderful gem came up. Certainly applies to any long outdoor journey. We see it every year, around this time no-less, when people state how their trail experience will be:

"Reality often astonishes theory."

:)

[atmilkman]

NO MATTER WHERE YOU GO....THERE YOU ARE!

my 9year old granddaughter last night at dinner.

RUNT ''13''
Sounds like a priceless moment.

[RangerZ]

I am not alone in the woods, nature surrounds me.

[Sarcasm the elf]

Carpe diem!

Sieze the carp?

[rikkitikkitavi]

"You can always do 10 after 3:00."

[CELTIC BUCK]

"If you were going any slower you'd be in reverse" my Dad Patrick C. McHale

[Kerosene]

You don't stop hiking because you get old, you get old because you stop hiking.

[Old Grouse]

If you're waiting for me, you're backing up.

[Old Hiker]

Wait. North is THAT way ?!?!

[CrumbSnatcher]

Get out of the way! The buffet won't stay open all day

[WILLIAM HAYES]

get comfortable with being uncomfortable

[Sarcasm the elf]

"Dave, I think I left a trace."

-Hiking buddy after losing control of his bowels on the side of the trail.

[July]

Hey Bro, wanna split a dozen eggs and a bag o' bagels? :D

[Boots and Backpacks]

My worse day on the trail is still better than my best day at work.

[Just Bill]

"GET ON THE TRAIL!"

The Trail Show.

[Dogwood]

I like pulling lyrics out of a song and quote them to myself.

Lord I was born a ramblin man.

These are the days to remember.

The finer things keep shining through. Roll with it baby. Back in the high life. Put on you dancin shoes.

Singin in the rain. - Let it rain. Let it rain. - I love to feel the rain in the summer time.

Deep in your heart is the answer
Find it, I know it will pull you through
Get on your feet
Get up and make it happen
Get on your feet
Stand up and take some action

I think it's true that we've all been through
Some nasty weather...

There's so much in life
That's meant for you


Get up and make it happen
Get on your feet
Stand up and take some action
Get on your feet
Don't stop before it's over
Get on your feet...
Get up and make it happen
Stand up, stand up, stand up and take some action
.....
Don't stop before it's over

[freightliner]

Well if it was easy everybody would do it

[shelb]

No one has quoted Chris McCandless! If you have not watched "Into the Wild," please do! This really clicked! (along with Emerson & Thoreau!)In fact, I had to really think about WHICH McCandless quote to select! I challenge you to find more!!

“...he walks the Earth. No phone, no pool, no pets, no cigarettes. Ultimate freedom. An extremist. An aesthetic voyager whose home is the road. ... No longer to be poisoned by civilization he flees, and walks alone upon the land to become lost in the wild.”
― Christopher McCandless (http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4973521.Christopher_McCandless)

[rocketsocks]

Cold ground was my bed last night, and rock was my pillow too~Bob Marley

[Damn Yankee]

Mine is pretty self explanatory

[DLP]

Read in Backpacker magazine many years ago: If you want to go on more trips... you have to plan your off time just like you plan your work hours. You can't say, "We should go ______________ (hiking, skiing, etc) some weekend" because it probably won't happen. You have to put it on the calendar. When other plans (invitations out to dinner, lawn mowers needing repair, etc, etc.) come up , you have to say, "I have other commitments on the calendar for those days".

Read in one of Ray Jardine's books (I no longer have the book and can't type up exact quote): There is no reason to fear the night. The woods contain the same trees, dirt and creatures no matter if it is day or night. The absence of light does not make the wilderness a more dangerous or scarier or different place.

Steve Martin probably sums it up best: "A day without sunshine is like, you know, night." :)

Lone Wolf: "It's just sleeping..." :)

[SteelCut]

No Sniveling !

[DLP]

I like pulling lyrics out of a song and quote them to myself. The Clash, "Should I Stay or Should I go now?" goes thru my head during thunder storms. T'storms seem to happen as I'm going uphill, above treeline. Should I keep going up? Should I go down? Should I stay put? If I stay, will there be trouble? But if I leave, will it be double?

I also sing to myself and change the lyrics to reflect hiking.
My grandparents owned a total of 6 record albums. One of them was, Kenneth McKellar's "The Tartan". http://www.amazon.com/Tartan-Scottish-Saturday-Night/dp/B006ZUD1LY/ref=tmm_msc_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&sr=8-3&qid=1415816849

"A Hundred Pipers" is changed to:
A hundred steps, that's all, that's all.
A hundred steps, that's all, that's all.
Watch the rocks, don't fall, don't fall!
A hundred steps, that's all, that's all.

It is a great album for walking, if you like Scottish tenors and... bagpipes. :) Lots of walking/marching themed music...

[chall]

I'm a fan of Sarcasm's tag...."This sucks and I love it". Exactly what I thought this past weekend while hiking this trail in Shenandoah:

28881

[permagrin]

I am not sure this counts as a trail quote, but I saw a guy standing in the woods and he called out "Have you seen the trail?" He was about 50 feet from the footpath. He wasn't lost.

[sympathetic joy]

“Home is behind, the world ahead,
and there are many paths to tread
through shadows to the edge of night,
until the stars are all alight.”

Tolkien. LOTR

[Fireonwindcsr]

"Why does it hurt when I pee"?

thanks to Mr Frank Zappa

[CarlAshcraft]

I think this quote from Willi Prittie (Alpine Ascents International) applies to hiking...
"Why do you go out and test yourself?*
Because you can.
Why do you climb mountains?*
Because it's there.
If you have to ask that question you will never*
understand the answer in the first place."