5 Inspirational Quotes About the Great Outdoors

Sometimes a Little Time in the Great Outdoors is All You Need

Spending time in the great outdoors hiking or camping is one of the best ways we know to destress and recharge after a hectic work week. Whether it is Monday morning or Friday afternoon, we are always looking forward to spending the weekend outside. Here is another roundup of some of our current favorite quotes about the great outdoors to inspire your adventures this week. 

 

1. Ralph Waldo Emerson on Beauty

After a long week of work, it can be tempting to spend the weekend sleeping in and lounging around all day in your pajamas, but if you give in to that temptation you are missing out on a chance to see the beauty of the great outdoors. Whenever we read this quote we are reminded that we have never regretted getting outside for a day of hiking, mountain biking, kayaking, or climbing.

"Never lose an opportunity of seeing anything beautiful." - Ralph Waldo Emerson

 

2. Buffalo Bill on the Appeal of the Trail

Buffalo Bill spent his life on the trail. At the age of 14, he was a rider for the Pony Express, he hunted buffalo, was a scout for the Army, and started his own wild west show based on his adventures. He may not have called it hiking, but you can bet if he lived today he would be a thru-hiker or exploring trails across the country. 

"I could never resist the call of the trail." - Buffalo Bill

 

3. Jean-Paul Sartre on Adventure

We love adventure for adventure's sake, but let's be honest we also love recounting our adventures to friends and family. We don't share adventures just to make ourselves sound cool, we share because we want to spread the love of hiking and the outdoors. We want them to get out on the trail and see why we do it and fall in love with hiking just like we have.

"For an occurrence to become an adventure it is necessary and sufficient for one to recount it." - Jean-Paul Sartre

 

4. Edward Abbey on Wilderness

The modern era has seen historically unprecedented harms to wildernesses around the world. Yet, we have also seen defenders of wilderness like John Muir, Theodore Rosevelt, and Edward Abbey, whose work has preserved much of the wilderness we enjoy today. We are lucky to have the national parks, and we should each become defenders of the wilderness we have preserved, the wilderness that needs to be restored, and wilderness that needs to be protected. 

"The idea of wilderness needs no defense, it only needs defenders." - Edward Abbey

 

5. T.S Eliot on the Value of Exploration 

Exploring, traveling, and experiencing new places changes not only who you are but how you see the world. Whether it's thru-hiking the Pacific Crest Trail, a short day hike, or traveling abroad, when you return home you will have a better perspective from which to view the place you call home. 

"We shall not cease from exploration, and then end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started and know the place for the first time." - T.S Eliot