---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I'll never stop wandering. And when the…"
description: "\"I'll never stop wandering. And when the time comes to die, I'll find the wildest, loneliest, most desolate spot there is.\" — Everett Ruess"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/97c/everett-ruess-21906_desolate_i-ll-never-stop-wandering-and-when-the-t_2140614.jpg"
---

#  I'll never stop wandering. And when the time comes to die…

![“I'll never stop wandering. And when the time comes to die, I'll find the wildest, loneliest, most desolate spot there is.” quote by Everett Ruess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/97c/everett-ruess-21906_desolate_i-ll-never-stop-wandering-and-when-the-t_2140614.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/97c/everett-ruess-21906_desolate_i-ll-never-stop-wandering-and-when-the-t_2140614.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/97c/everett-ruess-21906_desolate_i-ll-never-stop-wandering-and-when-the-t_2140614.jpg)

> “I'll never stop wandering. And when the time comes to die, I'll find the wildest, loneliest, most desolate spot there is.”

[Everett Ruess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/everett-ruess/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

A lifelong wanderer seeks the most desolate place to die, expressing a deep connection to solitude and nature.

**In simple terms:** A wanderer wants to die in the most lonely place.

Key Takeaway

Embrace solitude.

Themes

wanderlust solitude existentialism

Mood

contemplative melancholic

Type

poetic philosophical

When to use this quote

- personal reflection
- spiritual journeys
- creative writing

Key Concepts

nature self-discovery finality

Questions to Reflect On

- What does the wildest place mean to you?
- How does solitude shape identity?

A Different Perspective

Seeking isolation can be both healing and dangerous.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Loneliest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/loneliest/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/)

## Related quotes

> [I have been thinking more and more that I shall always be a lone wanderer of the wilderness. God, how the trail lures me.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/everett-ruess/i-have-been-thinking-more-and-more-that-i-shall-always-be-a-lone/)

[Everett Ruess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/everett-ruess/)

> [Guys like us, that work on ranches, are the loneliest guys in the world](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/guys-like-us-that-work-on-ranches-are-the-loneliest-guys-in-the-world/)

[John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/)

> [“The train came, and Jules Jacobson stepped on and thought: I am the loneliest person in this subway car.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meg-wolitzer/the-train-came-and-jules-jacobson-stepped-on-and-thought-i-am-the/)

[Meg Wolitzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meg-wolitzer/)

> [Teaching is not the oldest profession. But it is certainly among the loneliest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-hargreaves/teaching-is-not-the-oldest-profession-but-it-is-certainly-among-the/)

[Andy Hargreaves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-hargreaves/)

> [The loneliest feeling in the world is when you think you are leading the parade and turn to find that no one is following…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franklin-d-roosevelt/the-loneliest-feeling-in-the-world-is-when-you-think-you-are-leading/)

[Franklin D. Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franklin-d-roosevelt/)

> [People think being alone makes you lonely, But I dont think thats true. Being surrounded by wrong people is the loneliest thing in world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/people-think-being-alone-makes-you-lonely-but-i-dont-think-thats-true/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [Everytime the leaves are changing it's the loneliest time of the year](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-gates/everytime-the-leaves-are-changing-it-s-the-loneliest-time-of-the-year/)

[Kevin Gates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-gates/)

> [“From where I sat, Peter and Wendy were the two loneliest figures in the world. But Peter was somehow the lonelier of the two.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-lynn-anderson/from-where-i-sat-peter-and-wendy-were-the-two-loneliest-figures-in/)

[Jodi Lynn Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-lynn-anderson/)

> [“struck Mort with sudden, terrible poignancy that Death must be the loneliest creature in the universe. In the great party of Creation, he was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/struck-mort-with-sudden-terrible-poignancy-that-death-must-be-the/)

[Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/)

> [“Hanging with people who make you feel unappreciated, for the mere sake of appearing to be popular, is the loneliest place to be.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-j-barrier/hanging-with-people-who-make-you-feel-unappreciated-for-the-mere-sake/)

[Ellen J. Barrier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-j-barrier/)

> [“When the loneliest place on earth is in your mind, move out!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benny-bellamacina/when-the-loneliest-place-on-earth-is-in-your-mind-move-out/)

[Benny Bellamacina](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benny-bellamacina/)

> [You can have everything and yet if you have no one by your side, you would be the loneliest person ever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-je-hoon/you-can-have-everything-and-yet-if-you-have-no-one-by-your-side-you/)

[Lee Je-hoon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-je-hoon/)

> [You know I vowed when I became President not to talk about the loneliest toughest job in the world and I didn't.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-h-w-bush/you-know-i-vowed-when-i-became-president-not-to-talk-about-the/)

[George H. W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-h-w-bush/)

> [“From midnight to 4: 00 AM is the loneliest time in the world. Because for those of us too sad to sleep, the only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lone-alaskan-gypsy/from-midnight-to-4-00-am-is-the-loneliest-time-in-the-world-because/)

Lone Alaskan Gypsy

> [People think being alone makes you LONELY, But I don't think thats true. Being surrounded by wrong people is the loneliest thing in World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/people-think-being-alone-makes-you-lonely-but-i-don-t-think-thats/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

## More by Everett Ruess

> [I don't think I could ever settle down. I have known too much of the depths of life already, and I would prefer anything…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/everett-ruess/i-don-t-think-i-could-ever-settle-down-i-have-known-too-much-of-the/)

[Everett Ruess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/everett-ruess/)

> [I must pack my short lifer full of interesting events and creative activity. Philosophy and aesthetic contemplation are not enough. I intend to do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/everett-ruess/i-must-pack-my-short-lifer-full-of-interesting-events-and-creative/)

[Everett Ruess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/everett-ruess/)

> [I thought that there were two rules in life - never count the cost, and never do anything unless you can do it wholeheartedly.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/everett-ruess/i-thought-that-there-were-two-rules-in-life-never-count-the-cost-and/)

[Everett Ruess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/everett-ruess/)

> [I have seen almost more beauty than I can bear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/everett-ruess/i-have-seen-almost-more-beauty-than-i-can-bear/)

[Everett Ruess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/everett-ruess/)

> [I have not tired of the wilderness; rather I enjoy its beauty and the vagrant life I lead, more keenly all the time. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/everett-ruess/i-have-not-tired-of-the-wilderness-rather-i-enjoy-its-beauty-and-the/)

[Everett Ruess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/everett-ruess/)

> [I have been in many beautiful places, and did not wish to taste, but to drink deep.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/everett-ruess/i-have-been-in-many-beautiful-places-and-did-not-wish-to-taste-but-to/)

[Everett Ruess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/everett-ruess/)

> [“I like to be perfectly open and sincere, and yet it is impossible to be sincere to all of one's self at once, so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/everett-ruess/i-like-to-be-perfectly-open-and-sincere-and-yet-it-is-impossible-to/)

[Everett Ruess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/everett-ruess/)

> [Happiness lies in a large measure of self-forgetfulness, either in work . . . or in the love of others. ♥](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/everett-ruess/happiness-lies-in-a-large-measure-of-self-forgetfulness-either-in/)

[Everett Ruess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/everett-ruess/)

> [“I prefer the saddle to the streetcar and star-sprinkled sky to a roof, the obscure and difficult trail, leading into the unknown, to any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/everett-ruess/i-prefer-the-saddle-to-the-streetcar-and-star-sprinkled-sky-to-a-roof/)

[Everett Ruess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/everett-ruess/)

> [Say that I starved; that I was lost and weary; That I was burned and blinded by the desert sun; Footsore, thirsty, sick with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/everett-ruess/say-that-i-starved-that-i-was-lost-and-weary-that-i-was-burned-and/)

[Everett Ruess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/everett-ruess/)

> [I prefer the saddle to the streetcar and star-sprinkled sky to a roof, the obscure and difficult trail, leading into the unknown, to any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/everett-ruess/i-prefer-the-saddle-to-the-streetcar-and-star-sprinkled-sky-to-a-roof-2/)

[Everett Ruess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/everett-ruess/)

> [Always I shall be one who loves the wilderness: Swaggers and softly creeps between the mountain peaks; I shall listen long to the sea's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/everett-ruess/always-i-shall-be-one-who-loves-the-wilderness-swaggers-and-softly/)

[Everett Ruess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/everett-ruess/)

> [“I have always been unsatisfied with life as most people live it. Always I want to live more intensely and richly.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/everett-ruess/i-have-always-been-unsatisfied-with-life-as-most-people-live-it/)

[Everett Ruess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/everett-ruess/)

> [I'm drunk on the fiery elixer of beauty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/everett-ruess/i-m-drunk-on-the-fiery-elixer-of-beauty/)

[Everett Ruess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/everett-ruess/)

> [“I suppose a great and soul filling love is perhaps the greatest experience a man may have, but it is such a rarity as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/everett-ruess/i-suppose-a-great-and-soul-filling-love-is-perhaps-the-greatest/)

[Everett Ruess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/everett-ruess/)

[Explore all 26 Everett Ruess quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/everett-ruess/)

## More Desolate quotes

> [My God, whose son, as on this night, took on Him the form of man, and for man vouchsafed to suffer and bleed, controls…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-bronte/my-god-whose-son-as-on-this-night-took-on-him-the-form-of-man-and-for/)

[Charlotte Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-bronte/)

> [What people loathe the most is to be orphaned, desolate, unworthy. But this is what princes and kings call themselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/what-people-loathe-the-most-is-to-be-orphaned-desolate-unworthy-but/)

[Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/)

> [Spirit of BEAUTY, that dost consecrate With thine own hues all thou dost shine upon Of human thought or form, where art thou gone?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/percy-bysshe-shelley/spirit-of-beauty-that-dost-consecrate-with-thine-own-hues-all-thou/)

[Percy Bysshe Shelley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/percy-bysshe-shelley/)

> [At a time when it's possible for thirty people to stand on the top of Everest in one day, Antarctica still remains a remote,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-attenborough/at-a-time-when-it-s-possible-for-thirty-people-to-stand-on-the-top-of/)

[David Attenborough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-attenborough/)

> [“Call me crazy, but there is something terribly wrong with this city.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathan-reese-maher/call-me-crazy-but-there-is-something-terribly-wrong-with-this-city/)

[Nathan Reese Maher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathan-reese-maher/)

> [We live in an era where masses of people come and go across a hostile planet, desolate and violent. Refugees, emigrants, exiles, deportees. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabel-allende/we-live-in-an-era-where-masses-of-people-come-and-go-across-a-hostile/)

[Isabel Allende](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabel-allende/)

> [And really, the reason we think of death in celestial terms is that the visible firmament, especially at night (above our blacked-out Paris with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-nabokov/and-really-the-reason-we-think-of-death-in-celestial-terms-is-that/)

[Vladimir Nabokov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-nabokov/)

> [“That’s a stupid name! Whirly-gig is much better, I think. Who in their right mind would point at this thing and say, ‘I’m going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathan-reese-maher/that-s-a-stupid-name-whirly-gig-is-much-better-i-think-who-in-their/)

[Nathan Reese Maher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathan-reese-maher/)

> [He who abhors and shuns the light of the Sun,He who refuses to behold with respect the living creation of God,He who leads the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zoroaster/he-who-abhors-and-shuns-the-light-of-the-sun-he-who-refuses-to-behold/)

[Zoroaster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zoroaster/)

> [Leaves like rusty tin for the desolate mind that has seen the end- the barest glimmerings. Leaves aswirl with gulls made wild by winter.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giorgos-seferis/leaves-like-rusty-tin-for-the-desolate-mind-that-has-seen-the-end-the/)

[Giorgos Seferis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giorgos-seferis/)

> [ I expected the unexpected and went \[on the Moon\] with an open mind. I think the visual scene was described by my words on… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/buzz-aldrin/i-expected-the-unexpected-and-went-on-the-moon-with-an-open-mind-i/)

[Buzz Aldrin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/buzz-aldrin/)

> [From an early age she had developed the art of being alone and generally preferred her own company to anyone else’s. She read books…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sebastian-faulks/from-an-early-age-she-had-developed-the-art-of-being-alone-and/)

[Sebastian Faulks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sebastian-faulks/)

> [Ever since the world began, it has been the belief of mankind that desolate places are the special haunt of supernatural beings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-jefferies/ever-since-the-world-began-it-has-been-the-belief-of-mankind-that/)

[Richard Jefferies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-jefferies/)

> [The story of the universe finally comes to an end. For the first time in its life, the universe will be permanent and unchanging.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-cox/the-story-of-the-universe-finally-comes-to-an-end-for-the-first-time/)

[Brian Cox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-cox/)

> [“Desolate’ was the most perfectly beautiful word for how she felt. Sometimes”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liane-moriarty/desolate-was-the-most-perfectly-beautiful-word-for-how-she-felt/)

[Liane Moriarty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liane-moriarty/)

Browse all 126 Desolate quotes

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "I'll never stop wandering. And when the time comes to die, I'll find the wildest, loneliest, most desolate spot there is.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Everett Ruess"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/everett-ruess/i-ll-never-stop-wandering-and-when-the-time-comes-to-die-i-ll-find/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Desolate"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/everett-ruess/i-ll-never-stop-wandering-and-when-the-time-comes-to-die-i-ll-find/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/97c/everett-ruess-21906_desolate_i-ll-never-stop-wandering-and-when-the-t_2140614.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/97c/everett-ruess-21906_desolate_i-ll-never-stop-wandering-and-when-the-t_2140614.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/97c/everett-ruess-21906_desolate_i-ll-never-stop-wandering-and-when-the-t_2140614.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“I'll never stop wandering. And when the time comes to die, I'll find the wildest, loneliest, most desolate…” — Everett Ruess",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Everett Ruess",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/everett-ruess/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "I'll never stop wandering. And when...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/everett-ruess/i-ll-never-stop-wandering-and-when-the-time-comes-to-die-i-ll-find/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/everett-ruess/i-ll-never-stop-wandering-and-when-the-time-comes-to-die-i-ll-find/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
