Rolf Asphaug

“Colorado is the 8th largest state in America in terms of land mass. It has the highest elevation of any U.S. state, with an average altitude of 6,800 feet and peaks that reach more than 14,000 feet. Approximately 75% of the United States’ land over 10,000 feet can also be found in Colorado. Colorado is also the highest state in the country. It’s entirely above 1,000 meters’ elevation.”
― Bill O'Neill, The Great Book of Colorado: The Crazy History of Colorado with Amazing Random Facts & Trivia

“The largest flat-top mountain in the world is Grand Mesa, which is located in Western Colorado”
― Bill O'Neill, The Great Book of Colorado: The Crazy History of Colorado with Amazing Random Facts & Trivia

“A while later I stop in a stand of big doug-firs and lean my body against one of them. The bars of yellow sun are scattered just so and I push my face into the deep rutted bark of the tree smelling the spider webs there, the dust, the hardened pitch. Big doug-fir, I think. What do I need to know right now. I love you, says the doug-fir. I love you so much. I can feel the tree there, the tree underneath me the tree all around me, the tree inside of me. The trees holding each other holding the soil holding me. The trees more patient than anything, save the ocean. The trees with the long view. I can feel their pity- Little mammal, they say, with your two legs. Running around saying Where Do I Belong. Making value judgments on the wind, the flowers in the springtime, the shapes of the stars. Little mammal with your trembling heart. I am your home and I love you and I will always be here.”
― Carrot Quinn, Thru-Hiking Will Break Your Heart: An Adventure on the Pacific Crest Trail

“There is an invisible force that pulls individuals of varying interests and pursuits back into the wild. Our existence has been tied to the natural environment since the beginning of humanity. Yet in an effort to protect ourselves from the elements we have walled ourselves off, not just from storms, but also from sunsets. We have protected ourselves from unsavory individuals, as well as friends and neighbors. And we have found a way to stay healthy by sanitizing our society and synthesizing our food and drugs. This is not natural, or safe, or healthy.”
― Jennifer Pharr Davis, The Pursuit of Endurance: Harnessing the Record-Breaking Power of Strength and Resilience