“Hiking – I don't like either the word or the thing. People
ought to saunter in the mountains - not 'hike!' Do you know the origin of that
word saunter? It's a beautiful word. Away back in the middle ages people used
to go on pilgrimages to the Holy Land, and when people in the villages through
which they passed asked where they were going they would reply, 'A la sainte
terre', 'To the Holy Land.' And so they became known as sainte-terre-ers or
saunterers. Now these mountains are our Holy Land, and we ought to saunter
through them reverently, not 'hike' through them.” – John Muir (1838-1914) naturalist,
author, environmental philosopher, glaciologist, and early advocate for the
preservation of wilderness in the United States of America
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