@hyp
Thoreau was assigned, I think by RW Emerson, to write on Eastern religion prior to going to Walden Pond. He influenced by zhuong zhe, the second most famous Daoist sage (next to Lao Tse). We don't go out in nature so much as nature comes into us. Our spatial perception, when nature comes in, becomes something different, possiblly more creative, explores new opportunities. There is something called the "Boulder effect" where entrepreneurs go on hikes instead of office meetings. Being in nature doesn't mean the mind isn't working, in fact, perhaps quite the opposite, it is exploring new possibilities.