Inspirational Hiking Quotes
For those who value the spiritual impact of quotes…
Here are some inspirational ones all tackling hiking, mountains, and nature.
- “Thousands of tired, nerve-shaken, over-civilized people are beginning to find out going to the mountains is going home; that wilderness is a necessity...”
-- John Muir
- “I’ve learned that everyone wants to live on top of the mountain, but all the happiness and growth occurs while you’re climbing it.”
-- Unknown
- “Returning home is the most difficult part of long-distance hiking; You have grown outside the puzzle and your piece no longer fits.”
-- Cindy Ross
- “Only if you have been in the deepest valley, can you ever know how magnificent it is to be on the highest mountain.”
-- Richard M. Nixon
- “Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.”
-- Ralph Waldo Emerson
- “Not all that wander are lost.”
-- Unknown
- “The experienced mountain climber is not intimidated by a mountain — he is inspired by it.”
-- William Artur Ward
- “Mountain hikes instilled in me a life-long urge to get to the top of any inviting summit or peak.”
-- Paul D. Boyer
- “Over every mountain there is a path, although it may not be seen from the valley. ”
-- Theodore Roethk
- “There may be more to learn from climbing the same mountain a hundred times than by climbing a hundred different mountains.”
-- Richard Nelson
- “Discoveries are often made by not following instructions, by going off the main road, by trying the untried.”
-- Frank Tyger
- “It isn’t the mountain ahead that wears you out; it’s the grain of sand in your shoe.”
-- Robert W. Service
- “In every walk with nature one receives more than he seeks.”
-- John Muir
- “It is not the mountain we conquer but ourselves.”
-- Edmund Hillary
- “There are two kinds of climbers, those who climb because their heart sings when they’re in the mountains, and all the rest.”
-- Alex Lowe
- “The only Zen you find on the tops of mountains is the Zen you bring up”
-- Robert Persin
“The place where you lose the trail is not necessarily the place where it ends.”
-- Tom Brown, Jr.
- “The longest journey begins with a single step, not with a turn of the ignition key. That's the best thing about a walking, the journey itself. It doesn't much matter whether you get where your going or not. You'll get there anyway. Every good hike brings you eventually back home. Right were you started.”
-- Edward Abbey
- “Never measure the height of a mountain until you have reached the top. Then you will see how low it was.”
-- Dag Hammarskjold
- “If you can find a path with no obstacles, it probably doesn’t lead anywhere.”
-- Frank A. Clark
- “Getting to the top is optional. Getting down is mandatory.”
-- Ed Viesturs (No Shortcuts to the Top: Climbing the World's 14 Highest Peaks)
- "Walk away quietly in any direction and taste the freedom of the mountaineer. Camp out among the grasses and gentians of glacial meadows, in craggy garden nooks full of nature's darlings."
- - John Muir ( a famous American explorer, writer, naturalist- best known for defending species and wilderness regions against the destructive hands of modernity.)
- "Climb the mountains and get their good tidings. Nature's peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees. The winds will blow their own freshness into you, and the storms their energy, while cares will drop away from you like the leaves of Autumn."
- - Also by John Muir
- "If you are seeking creative ideas, go out walking. Angels whisper to a man when he goes for a walk."
-- Raymond Inmon
- "Above all, do not lose your desire to walk. Every day I walk myself into a state of well-being and walk away from every illness. I have walked myself into my best thoughts, and I know of no thought so burdensome that one cannot walk away from it."
-- Soren Kierkegaard
- "Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail."
-- Ralph Waldo Emerson
- "May your trails be crooked, winding, lonesome, dangerous, leading to the most amazing view. May your mountains rise into and above the clouds."
-- Unknown
- "You need special shoes for hiking - and a bit of a special soul as well."
-- Emme Woodhull-Bäche
