What quotations or phrases keep you going in difficult outdoor situations?

Maddy's thoughts in the current thread about Peak Experiences made me wonder. She writes, "I learn so much from all of them be they life threatening topics, or just plain shared wilderness adventures. When I encounter my own demons on the trails, I often think back to them and take courage from their shared experiences."

When you are facing something daunting, what comes to your mind, beyond four-letter type words.

My oldest favorite is from a yoga class, "Thank you for sharing [my mind], now go sit down over there until I'm ready [to be scared, angry, etc.]

My newest is from John Wayne, "Stop your whining and saddle up."

Yours???

Wine, is there wine, there must be wine.

Keep moving, or die.
I hike solo a lot in the winter.
Have been using that phrase for years.
So far, has worked 100% of the time.

"Don't become the subject of a thread on Views From The Top"

Tim

bikehikeskifish said:

"Don't become the subject of a thread on Views From The Top"

Tim

Click to expand...

At least not one with the words, 'killed', 'injured', 'rescued', etc. in the title.

As I was tumbling down a rock slab recently on the Ammonoosuc Ravine trail going literally head over heels the only thing going through my mind was 'You've got to get your feet "down"'. Sure enough as I went off the end of the slab on a four foot drop that's what happened. I landed on my feet. Luck or what I don't know but at least I never ended up as the subject of a VFTT thread.

Tim and Tom's dreadful puns have been known to keep me going.

Ed'n Lauky said:

As I was tumbling down a rock slab recently on the Ammonoosuc Ravine trail going literally head over heels the only thing going through my mind was 'You've got to get your feet "down"'. Sure enough as I went off the end of the slab on a four foot drop that's what happened. I landed on my feet. Luck or what I don't know but at least I never ended up as the subject of a VFTT thread.

Click to expand...

Maybe you should be renamed Ed'n Lucky.

I usually think "Oh come on, you've done harder things than this--you can make it!"

Great thread!

I have many but these two will always be way at the top of the list.

"It's not what happens to you in life, but what you do with it that maters." Spoken to me by Abby, OB leader at VOBS. It was perfect timing and I will never forget it.


The one below hangs on my wall and is a perpetual reminder. Susan won the Iditarod 3 years in a row and once more a short time later. She also was the first to take a dog team up Denali. She was raised in Cambridge MA, settled for a brief time in CO, and moved to AK. Lived in the bush and never looked back. She lost her battle with leukemia several years ago.

I like The Sikes's sig that says "We don't stop hiking because we grow old, we grow old because we stop hiking".

Also, SherpaK used to have something along the lines of "There will always be places I haven't been - it will drive me crazy!". Someone else's sig was essentially quoting SherpaK. I told the other person I would take up the tribute if he ever decided to drop it.

I will not be written up in Appalachia…
I will not be written up in Appalachia…
I will not be written up in Appalachia…

Keep moving as well as setting short term goals "just get to this point," as well as saying "you can do this!" Or I try singing whatever song pops into my head.

MichaelJ said:

I will not be written up in Appalachia…
I will not be written up in Appalachia…
I will not be written up in Appalachia…

Click to expand...

This would be a good one to go along with "not being written up."
"Please-please! I can't afford a rescue!"

"Oh hell, I have to keep going because this is a loop and all my beer is in the car."

See my signature line (Mark Twight).

Also, when dayhiking the thought that either I make it out or I spend the night usually impels me onwards.

Not sure its a phrase but when solo bushwhacking occasionally repeat that it is highly unlikely that the magnetic north pole decided to radically relocate on that one particular day, its considerably more likely that the darn compass is right and its time to check the darn map.

Not sure if it has every been a concrete phrase in my head but the following idea always helps me when things are getting tough or going poorly on a backpacking trip.

"Well, this is what you wanted, right? some adventure, right? you choose to do this, remember?"

With apologies to Larry the Cable Guy: "Git er done!"

From my running friend Tyler - and this might get edited - "Finish this f*cker" (more having to do with completing 100 milers).

Finally, worse than being written up in Appalachia: being written up in The Union Leader.

Stinkyfeet said:

being written up in The Union Leader.

Click to expand...

A fate worse than death!