Deep mountain gorges produce dread rather than comfort in solitary travelers.

Evidence

The scenery is very grand, but I hate being shut into these deep gorges, and always expect to see some startling object moving among the trees. — Isabella L. Bird, A Lady’s Life in the Rocky Mountains, 199

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to the sublimity tradition — grand scenery read as menace rather than awe, echoing the gothic sublime in Brontë and Mary Shelley.
• FICTION: The gorge that promises a lurking shape among the trees is ready-made atmospheric dread for a western or horror scene.