How we cite our quotes: (Part.Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
I wanted a little of that swagger that comes with being able to gaze at a far horizon [...] and say with a slow, manly sniff, "Yeah, I've s*** in the woods." (1.1.4)
Well, that's one way to put it. Another way of saying it would be that Bryson is tired of being a boring old city dweller and wants to get back in touch with nature. He's not a hippie or anything—far from it—but everyone needs to spend some time in the woods every once in a while.
Quote #2
He saw the AT [...] a network of mountaintop work camps where pale, depleted urban workers in the thousands would come and [...] refresh themselves on nature. (1.3.2)
On the other hand, Benton MacKaye (the creator of the Appalachian Trail) might have been a hippie before hippies were a thing. This guy fancies himself a proto-Steve Jobs of sorts: a restless innovator who will change the world through his genius ideas. Might be a bit ambitious, but we're interested.
Quote #3
All over America today people would be dragging themselves to work, stuck in traffic jams, wreathed in exhaust smoke. I was going for a walk in the woods. (1.3.31)
After hearing this, we wouldn't mind taking a stroll along the Appalachian Trail ourselves. That probably goes double these days—can you remember the last time you went a day without looking at some sort of screen? We're pretty sure we were still in elementary school. Yikes.