An extended stay in the wilderness inevitably directs one's attention outward as much as inward, and it is impossible to live off the land without developing both a subtle understanding of, and a strong emotional bond with, that land and all it holds.

Most climbers aren't in fact deranged, they're just infected with a particularly virulent strain of the Human Condition.

weeping...betraying a sense of loss so huge and irreparable that the mind balks at taking its measure.

He was unheeded, happy, and near to the wild heart of life. He was alone and young and wilful and wildhearted, alone amid a waste of wild air and brackish waters and the seaharvest of shells and tangle and veiled grey sunlight.

He needed his solitude at times, but he wasn't a hermit. He did a lot of socializing. Sometimes I think it was like he was storing up company for the times when he knew nobody would be around.

Some people feel like they don't deserve love. They walk away quietly into empty spaces, trying to close the gaps of the past.

Children can be harsh judges when it comes to their parents, disinclined to grant clemency.