John Muir Quotes

It is a real wilderness, and those who go there should not feel too safe.

The true alpinist doesn't want any infrastructure, he wants to go into the wild. And the odds of getting killed there are relatively high. And most people are sensible enough not to want that.

There's something about the Pacific Northwest, the scale of it, and the fact that not so long ago people came here and died getting here, and then died the first winter they were here. There's this breathtaking beauty, just a little bit of moss on the tree, just this little thread of danger, and the sinister. And I really like that.

I was a very unpredictable child. I'd pack a bag and go off and do a hike in the mountains for 10 days.

We were diving in caves. It wasn't totally safe.

I think I mainly climb mountains because I get a great deal of enjoyment out of it. I never attempt to analyze these things too thoroughly, but I think that all mountaineers do get a great deal of satisfaction out of overcoming some challenge which they think is very difficult for them, or which perhaps may be a little dangerous.

I've sat looking down into a volcano that could blow at any moment; I've helped catch a shark and several rattlesnakes; I let a tarantula walk across my hand, and I ate rat soup.

I have, I must admit, despised the English countryside for much of my life - despised it and avoided it for its want of danger and adventure.

There are three elements of mountaineering - difficulty, danger, and exposure. Difficulty is the technical aspect of it. Danger, it is best to avoid, but some people like to increase danger to a point where their success is dependent only on luck. And exposure, which is what truly defines Alpinism, is what you face in wild nature.

I moved at age 22 to Montana to be able to walk in really wild woods, where the chances of being killed by a bear or mountain lion are not zero.

You need to be in danger; otherwise, you get old.

The mountains are dangerous. Only an unintelligent person will say they are not dangerous.

I think, as a young guy, I was always drawn to being in wild places. Climbing was a logical extension of that.

Not many know that I'm a mountaineer, and my love for adventure will never die.

Freedom is dangerous. Possibly crawling on all fours might be safer than standing upright, but we like the view better up there.

Adventure is nothing but a romantic name for trouble.

Adventure, yeah. I guess that's what you call it when everybody comes back alive.

What people speak of as adventure is something nobody in his right mind would seek out, and it becomes romantic only when one is safely at home.

Danger is to adventure what garlic is to spaghetti sauce. Without it, you just end up with stewed tomatoes.

The danger of an adventure is worth a thousand days of ease and comfort

Everything that's fun in life is dangerous. Horse races, for instance, are very dangerous. But attempt to design a safe horse and the result is a cow ... It is impossible to be alive and safe.

Adventure and danger can be good for your heart and soul.

Canoe + waterfall = I don't go camping anymore.

Everything that's fun in life is dangerous. And everything that isn't fun is dangerous too. It's impossible to be alive and safe.

The adrenaline and stress of an adventure are better than a thousand peaceful days.