55 American History Photos And The Incredible True Stories Behind Them

John Muir, a naturalist known as the "Father of the National Parks" saw exploring nature as a near-religious experience. He once commented that he disliked the word "hiking" and prefered "sauntering," explaining:

"Away back in the Middle Ages people used to go on pilgrimages to the Holy Land, and when people in the villages through which they passed asked where they were going, they would reply, 'A la sainte terre,' 'To the Holy Land.' And so they became known as sainte-terre-ers or saunterers. Now these mountains are our Holy Land, and we ought to saunter through them reverently, not 'hike' through them."