Sigurd F. Olson > Quotes

“Joys come from simple and natural things; mist over meadows, sunlight on leaves, the path of the moon over water. Even rain and wind and stormy clouds bring joy.”
― Sigurd F. Olson

“Wilderness to the people pf America is a spiritual necessity, an antidote to the high pressure of modern life, a means of regaining serenity and equilibrium.”
― Sigurd Olson

“...only when one comes to listen, only when one is aware and still, can things be seen and heard.”
― Sigurd F. Olson, Listening Point

“It was good to lie there in our bags watching the glow of our dying fire and the deeper glow of sunset beyond; but most of all it was good to feel the ground again and to know we were back in a country we loved.”
― Sigurd F. Olson, Wilderness Days

“Spring, in addition to many other things, is a time for renewal of memories that may have grown dim during the winter,”
― Sigurd F. Olson, Wilderness Days

“So we’ll fill her up til de bottle’s drain
An’ drink to de Voyageur.”
― Sigurd F. Olson, Reflections from the North Country

“Ours was a sense of golden leisure that comes only in the spring, after months of grayness and cold.”
― Sigurd F. Olson, Wilderness Days

“So dat’s de reason I drink tonight
To de men of de Grand Nor’west
For hees heart was young, an hees heart was light
So long as he’s leevin dere— I’m proud of the sam blood in my vein,
I’m a son of de Nort’ Win’ wance again—”
― Sigurd F. Olson, Reflections from the North Country

“The smell of the morning is an adventure, and if you can start the day going outdoors and sniffing the air, there is always a life to the spirit.”
― Sigurd F. Olson, The Singing Wilderness

“It was the contrast that fascinated Mac as much as anything else. Knowing that both the wilderness and civilization were available to the nth degree, he was completely happy. I have found it is the same with many men; being able to live in the present and also in the past gives them a sense of completeness that they can get in no other way.”
― Sigurd F. Olson, The Meaning of Wilderness