Why was I inspired by John Muir to seek out wild places? Perhaps this will give you some sense of it. These sentiments, written over 100 years ago, still resonate with people, like me, today.

Using the generic “man”.

The wilderness in John Muir's eyes was a place where worn-out people could get well, where nervous people could become strong. The wilderness has beauty and harmony. There is music in flowing water. Wind in the trees is soothing. The songs of birds, the chattering of squirrels, the call of loons, the flights of ducks all remind man that he is only one of many forms of life on this planet. The other animals – and flowers too – are his companions. Man needs them for happiness. Like man they must be preserved, not destroyed. They are part of the universal scheme that keeps the earth a place of beauty and wonder. Clean rivers, hillsides that have not been eroded, thick woods, the songs of birds, the fragrance of forests – these are God's creations that man must help preserve. This was the message Muir wanted to bring to the people of America. That is why he left the farm behind and turned once more to the mountains – so that he could write and talk and tell the people of the great glories of the mountains and meadows that must be preserved.

(from “Muir of the Mountains” by William O. Douglas).