Man and the Natural World Quotes in A Walk in the Woods

How we cite our quotes: (Part.Chapter.Paragraph)

Quote #4

Stand in a woods and you only sense it. They are a vast, featureless nowhere. And they are alive. (1.4.1)

Trippy, man. In fact, we might argue that this is why Bryson loves spending time in nature—it relaxes him immensely to be in such a peaceful and serene environment.

Quote #5

I was beginning to appreciate that [...] the whole point of the experience is to remove yourself so thoroughly from the conveniences of everyday life. (1.4.58)

This makes sense to us. It's not that Bryson hates city life—in fact, we see him crave its comforts countless times on the Appalachian Trail. By depriving himself of those things he took for granted, however, Bryson forces himself to appreciate them even more when he returns.

Quote #6

Occasionally, it troubled me [...] just how far one strays from the normal measures of civility on the trail. (1.7.38)

Of course, there are plenty of downsides to roughing' it. It's not fun to share a nasty old shelter with a bunch of strangers. (And you get pretty smelly.)