In the book, the main character speaks about an encounter he has with a man called Mr. Muir who explains why he dislikes the word "hike".
Mr.Muir says that people who hike in the mountains really should saunter instead. He says that the word "saunter" comes from the Middle-Ages and it means Holy Land, so he says that people should not rush along the mountains hiking, the should saunter, or experience the mountains as a Holy Land, paying attention to its beauty and majesty.
After this encounter, the main characters finds a new meaning to the word "hike" and to the people who "hike through life". People who hike through life do not appreciate the journey of life and every beautiful aspect of it, they just want to reach the top as fast as possible.
These people value life based on money and material things, not paying attention to nature or friendship. He finishes by saying that it would be better to "saunter through life", experiencing every beautiful aspect of life, appreciating the journey and experiencing things like a sunset, birds singing or the smell of flowers.
