Five great quotations for hiking kids

"If we want children to flourish, to become truly
empowered, then let us allow them to love the earth
before we ask them to save it."

“If we want children to flourish, to become truly empowered, then let us allow them to love the earth before we ask them to save it. Perhaps this is what Thoreau had in mind when he said, 'the more slowly trees grow at first, the sounder they are at the core, and I think the same is true of human beings.'” – David Sobel, “Beyond Ecophobia”

“Our children no longer learn how to read the great Book of Nature from their own direct experience or how to interact creatively with the seasonal transformations of the planet. They seldom learn where their water comes from or where it goes. We no longer coordinate our human celebration with the great liturgy of the heavens.” – Wendell Berry

“In the end we will preserve only what we love; we will love only what we understand; and we will understand; and we will understand only what we are taught.” – Baba Dioum, Kenyon environmentalist

“My father considered a walk among the mountains as the equivalent of churchgoing.” – Aldous Huxley

“The longest journey begins with a single step, not with a turn of the ignition key. That’s the best thing about a walking, the journey itself. It doesn’t much matter whether you get where you’re going or not. You’ll get there anyway. Every good hike brings you eventually back home. Right were you started.” – Edward Abbey

Read more about day hiking with children in my Hikes with Tykes guidebooks.