--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I had some terrific experiences in the…" description: "\"“I had some terrific experiences in the wilderness since I wrote you last - overpowering, overwhelming,\" he gushed to his friend Cornel Tengel. \"But si..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/950/jon-krakauer-1557_nature_i-had-some-terrific-experiences-in-the-w_1539976.png" --- # I had some terrific experiences in the wilderness since I… ![“I had some terrific experiences in the wilderness since I wrote you last - overpowering, overwhelming," he gushed to his friend Cornel Tengel. "But since then I am always being overwhelmed. I require it to sustain life. Everett Ruess” quote by Jon Krakauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/950/jon-krakauer-1557_nature_i-had-some-terrific-experiences-in-the-w_1539976.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/950/jon-krakauer-1557_nature_i-had-some-terrific-experiences-in-the-w_1539976.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/950/jon-krakauer-1557_nature_i-had-some-terrific-experiences-in-the-w_1539976.png) > ““I had some terrific experiences in the wilderness since I wrote you last - overpowering, overwhelming," he gushed to his friend Cornel Tengel. "But since then I am always being overwhelmed. I require it to sustain life. Everett Ruess”” [Jon Krakauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-krakauer/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The narrator describes intense, overwhelming experiences in nature that become essential for survival, yet also cause emotional overload **In simple terms:** Nature can be both vital and overwhelming Key Takeaway Seek balance between immersion in nature and personal well‑being Themes adventure overwhelm survival Mood contemplative introspective Type reflective adventurous When to use this quote - hiking - solo travel - creative writing - mental health - spiritual quests Key Concepts existentialism nature therapy psychology Questions to Reflect On - How do you maintain equilibrium when nature overwhelms you? - What practices help you process overwhelming experiences? A Different Perspective Intense immersion may lead to burnout if not managed ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) [Nomad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nomad/) [Vagabond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vagabond/) [Wanderer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wanderer/) [Wilderness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wilderness/) ## Related quotes > [“Well, at least this is what I told myself every day as I fell asleep with the fire still burning and the moon shining…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-eriksson/well-at-least-this-is-what-i-told-myself-every-day-as-i-fell-asleep/) [Charlotte Eriksson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-eriksson/) > [“I embrace the rain like no one else and I call for storms because I live for the moments when I get through to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-eriksson/i-embrace-the-rain-like-no-one-else-and-i-call-for-storms-because-i/) [Charlotte Eriksson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-eriksson/) > [“Am I making something worth while? I’m not sure. I write and I sing and I hear words from time to time about my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-eriksson/am-i-making-something-worth-while-i-m-not-sure-i-write-and-i-sing-and/) [Charlotte Eriksson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-eriksson/) > [The Vagabond life is the logical life to lead if one seeks the intimate knowledge of the world we were seeking.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-halliburton/the-vagabond-life-is-the-logical-life-to-lead-if-one-seeks-the/) [Richard Halliburton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-halliburton/) > [“The Vagabond Give to me the life I love, Let the lave go by me, Give the jolly heaven above And the byway nigh…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-lewis-stevenson/the-vagabond-give-to-me-the-life-i-love-let-the-lave-go-by-me-give/) Robert Lewis Stevenson > ['Vagabond' is about owning where I come from, understanding the real power music had to transport myself with, whether that's busking in Europe or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eddi-reader/vagabond-is-about-owning-where-i-come-from-understanding-the-real/) [Eddi Reader](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eddi-reader/) > [You are always in the world. Even in Vagabond. I am not on the road, I am not eating nothing. But in a way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agnes-varda/you-are-always-in-the-world-even-in-vagabond-i-am-not-on-the-road-i/) [Agnes Varda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agnes-varda/) > [“In a war one is either living like a prince or a vagabond. I”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susanna-clarke/in-a-war-one-is-either-living-like-a-prince-or-a-vagabond-i/) [Susanna Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susanna-clarke/) > [“There’s something about arriving in new cities, wandering empty streets with no destination. I will never lose the love for the arriving, but I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-eriksson/there-s-something-about-arriving-in-new-cities-wandering-empty/) [Charlotte Eriksson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-eriksson/) > [I'm a bit of a vagabond - a person who loses time and space because you don't know where you are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-e-clark/i-m-a-bit-of-a-vagabond-a-person-who-loses-time-and-space-because-you/) [Annie E. Clark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-e-clark/) > [I'm a traveler and a vagabond and an observer, and the songs come through that. And that's just the way it's going to be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-gauthier/i-m-a-traveler-and-a-vagabond-and-an-observer-and-the-songs-come/) [Mary Gauthier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-gauthier/) > [I was a complete vagabond till the age of 20, when I got my first job as an assistant director with Pankaj Parashar.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/farhan-akhtar/i-was-a-complete-vagabond-till-the-age-of-20-when-i-got-my-first-job/) [Farhan Akhtar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/farhan-akhtar/) > [“While in any other great city the vagabond child is a lost man, while nearly everywhere the child left to itself is, in some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/while-in-any-other-great-city-the-vagabond-child-is-a-lost-man-while/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [Artist by nature, actor by instinct, poet by accident, and vagabond by choice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-blanding/artist-by-nature-actor-by-instinct-poet-by-accident-and-vagabond-by/) Don Blanding > [“...for if our life is vagabond our memory is sedentary and though we ourselves rush ceaselessly forward our recollections, indissolubly bound to the sites…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/for-if-our-life-is-vagabond-our-memory-is-sedentary-and-though-we/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) ## More by Jon Krakauer > [Early on a difficult climb, especially a solo climb, you’re hyper-aware of the abyss pulling at your back, constantly feeling its call, its immense…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-krakauer/early-on-a-difficult-climb-especially-a-solo-climb-you-re-hyper-aware/) [Jon Krakauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-krakauer/) > [“Climbing mattered. The danger bathed the world in a halogen glow that caused everything—the sweep of the rock, the orange and yellow lichens, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-krakauer/climbing-mattered-the-danger-bathed-the-world-in-a-halogen-glow-that/) [Jon Krakauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-krakauer/) > [“It is easy, when you are young, to believe that what you desire is no less than what you deserve, to assume that if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-krakauer/it-is-easy-when-you-are-young-to-believe-that-what-you-desire-is-no/) [Jon Krakauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-krakauer/) > [He read a lot. He used a lot of big words. I think maybe part of what got him into trouble was that he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-krakauer/he-read-a-lot-he-used-a-lot-of-big-words-i-think-maybe-part-of-what/) [Jon Krakauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-krakauer/) > [ But \[Everett\] and McCandless, at least they tried to follow their dream. That’s what was great about them. They tried. Not many do. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-krakauer/but-everett-and-mccandless-at-least-they-tried-to-follow-their-dream/) [Jon Krakauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-krakauer/) > [“he was ready, perhaps, to shed a little of the armor he wore around his heart, that upon returning to civilization, he intended to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-krakauer/he-was-ready-perhaps-to-shed-a-little-of-the-armor-he-wore-around-his/) [Jon Krakauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-krakauer/) > [ “Continually question climbing pursuits. Do they draw one back to the climbing community? Or do they lead along the \[inner-directed\] path? This questioning generates… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-krakauer/continually-question-climbing-pursuits-do-they-draw-one-back-to-the/) [Jon Krakauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-krakauer/) > [“The boy unmasked the gaping void in Franz's life even as he helped fill it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-krakauer/the-boy-unmasked-the-gaping-void-in-franz-s-life-even-as-he-helped/) [Jon Krakauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-krakauer/) > [“Unlike Muir and Thoreau, McCandless went into the wilderness not primarily to ponder nature or the world at large but, rather, to explore the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-krakauer/unlike-muir-and-thoreau-mccandless-went-into-the-wilderness-not/) [Jon Krakauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-krakauer/) > [I'm intrigued by fanatics - people who are seduced by the promise, or the illusion, of the absolute.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-krakauer/i-m-intrigued-by-fanatics-people-who-are-seduced-by-the-promise-or/) [Jon Krakauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-krakauer/) > [You are wrong if you think Joy emanates only or principally from human relationships. God has placed it all around us. It is in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-krakauer/you-are-wrong-if-you-think-joy-emanates-only-or-principally-from/) [Jon Krakauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-krakauer/) > [I mean, how can you not be a feminist if you have a brain in your head? If you’re not a feminist, then you’re…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-krakauer/i-mean-how-can-you-not-be-a-feminist-if-you-have-a-brain-in-your-head/) [Jon Krakauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-krakauer/) > [“...I quickly came to understand that climbing Everest was primarily about enduring pain. And in subjecting ourselves to week after week of toil, tedium,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-krakauer/i-quickly-came-to-understand-that-climbing-everest-was-primarily/) [Jon Krakauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-krakauer/) > [“going to have to be real careful not to accept any gifts from them in the future because they will think they have bought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-krakauer/going-to-have-to-be-real-careful-not-to-accept-any-gifts-from-them-in/) [Jon Krakauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-krakauer/) > [“He must have been very brave and very strong, at the end, not to do himself in.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-krakauer/he-must-have-been-very-brave-and-very-strong-at-the-end-not-to-do/) [Jon Krakauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-krakauer/) [Explore all 221 Jon Krakauer quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-krakauer/) ## More Nature quotes > [It is indeed a surprising and fortunate fact that nature can be expressed by relatively low-order mathematical functions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudolf-carnap/it-is-indeed-a-surprising-and-fortunate-fact-that-nature-can-be/) [Rudolf Carnap](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudolf-carnap/) > [Remember that your natural state is joy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-dyer/remember-that-your-natural-state-is-joy/) [Wayne Dyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-dyer/) > [“THIS tale of my sore-troubled life I write,    To thank the God of nature, who conveyed    My soul to me, and with such care…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/this-tale-of-my-sore-troubled-life-i-write-to-thank-the-god-of-nature/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Put on my J's and dance the whole night away Im naughty by nature like Im hip-hop hooray With my hands in the sky,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/put-on-my-j-s-and-dance-the-whole-night-away-im-naughty-by-nature/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Borrow trouble for yourself, if that's your nature, but don't lend it to your neighbours.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudyard-kipling/borrow-trouble-for-yourself-if-that-s-your-nature-but-don-t-lend-it/) [Rudyard Kipling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudyard-kipling/) > [There is no human nature, since there is no god to conceive it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-paul-sartre/there-is-no-human-nature-since-there-is-no-god-to-conceive-it/) [Jean-Paul Sartre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-paul-sartre/) > [“Men mistook measurement for understanding. And they always had to put themselves at the center of everything. That was their greatest conceit. The earth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-harris/men-mistook-measurement-for-understanding-and-they-always-had-to-put/) [Robert Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-harris/) > [“She was, he knew- and had known very early, he supposed- one of those rare and always lovely humans whose moral nature was so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-williams/she-was-he-knew-and-had-known-very-early-he-supposed-one-of-those/) [John Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-williams/) > [“When the water covers the earth the sun will vanish the darkess and the cold will come.When the last dragon and the last Elf…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/silvana-de-mari/when-the-water-covers-the-earth-the-sun-will-vanish-the-darkess-and/) [Silvana de Mari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/silvana-de-mari/) > [Well, The Day the Earth Caught Fire was a story... I don't if anybody knows what it is but it was about... in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/val-guest/well-the-day-the-earth-caught-fire-was-a-story-i-don-t-if-anybody/) [Val Guest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/val-guest/) > [“It is not the force of the wind, but the depth of the roots.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-d-lounsbrough/it-is-not-the-force-of-the-wind-but-the-depth-of-the-roots/) [Craig D. Lounsbrough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-d-lounsbrough/) > [The history of mankind interests us only as it exhibits a steady gain of truth and right, in the incessant conflict which it records…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/the-history-of-mankind-interests-us-only-as-it-exhibits-a-steady-gain/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Nothing is so powerful as an insight into human nature... what compulsions drive a man, what instincts dominate his action. If you know these…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-bernbach/nothing-is-so-powerful-as-an-insight-into-human-nature-what/) [William Bernbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-bernbach/) > [Sing like no one's listening, love like you've never been hurt, dance like nobody's watching, and live like its heaven on earth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/sing-like-no-one-s-listening-love-like-you-ve-never-been-hurt-dance/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [When you're scared - and I mean really scared, not just hearing a noise in the night, or standing toe to toe with someone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-gordon-smith/when-you-re-scared-and-i-mean-really-scared-not-just-hearing-a-noise/) [Alexander Gordon Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-gordon-smith/) [Browse all 47,383 Nature quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“I had some terrific experiences in the wilderness since I wrote you last - overpowering, overwhelming,\" he gushed to his friend Cornel Tengel. \"But since then I am always being overwhelmed. I require it to sustain life. Everett Ruess”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Jon Krakauer" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-krakauer/i-had-some-terrific-experiences-in-the-wilderness-since-i-wrote-you/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Nature" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-krakauer/i-had-some-terrific-experiences-in-the-wilderness-since-i-wrote-you/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/950/jon-krakauer-1557_nature_i-had-some-terrific-experiences-in-the-w_1539976.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/950/jon-krakauer-1557_nature_i-had-some-terrific-experiences-in-the-w_1539976.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/950/jon-krakauer-1557_nature_i-had-some-terrific-experiences-in-the-w_1539976.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I had some terrific experiences in the wilderness since I wrote you last - overpowering, overwhelming,\" he…” — Jon Krakauer", "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": "Jon Krakauer", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-krakauer/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“I had some terrific experiences in...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-krakauer/i-had-some-terrific-experiences-in-the-wilderness-since-i-wrote-you/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-krakauer/i-had-some-terrific-experiences-in-the-wilderness-since-i-wrote-you/#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 } } ] } ```