I am reading this book in an online format, and in my version, this quote appears on page 40. However, since you are probably looking at a different version, it's probably more helpful to tell you that the quote in question can be found in the second half of chapter 6, which is titled "Anza-Borrego."
To provide some context, Chris McCandless, who is going by the name of Alex at the time of signing this letter, writes these words in a letter to Ronald A. Franz. Ron is an octogenarian and Vietnam veteran Chris had met in 1992. The two had grown as close as Chris allowed himself to get to anybody, and having lost his own son, Ron had offered to "adopt" Chris as his grandson—a suggestion which an uncomfortable Chris avoids.
In this letter, Chris reiterates advice that he had previously given to Ron, encouraging him to make a "radical change" to his way of life and to do things that he never would have thought of doing or things that he has been too scared to do. He makes the point that while many people are unhappy, they will not take charge of their lives because of their need to conform to the idea of "a life of security, conformity, and conservatism."
The very basic core of a man's living spirit is his passion for adventure. The joy of life comes from our encounters with new experiences, and hence their is no greater joy than to have an endlessly changing horizon, for each day to have a new and different sun.
In a nutshell, Chris is exhorting Ron to leave security and his mundane lifestyle behind him to seek meaning and beauty. This quote is explaining that new experiences are the greatest source of joy in life.
While Chris fears that Ron will ignore his advice, this does not turn out to be the case. As a result of Chris's encouragement, Ron packs up his possessions and puts them into storage before heading for the desert. He breaks out of the mindset that had so disappointed Chris. Ultimately, as a result of the time he spent with Chris and the letter that Chris subsequently sends, Ron is no longer the kind of man who will choose to "bolt for home" rather than going to see the Grand Canyon.
Further Reading
In my version of Into the Wild, the quote appears on page 40, but the important point is that, regardless of edition, it occurs about two-thirds of the way into chapter 6. It can be located easily because it is part of an italicized letter from Chris (writing under his assumed name Alex Supertramp) that begins with the words "Alex here." The quote is in the third paragraph of the letter. In context, it reads,
So many people ... will not take the initiative to change their situation because they are conditioned to a life of security, conformity, and conservatism, all of which may appear to give one peace of...
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mind, but in reality nothing is more damaging to the adventurous spirit within a man than a secure future. The very basic core of a man’s living spirit is his passion for adventure. The joy of life comes from our encounters with new experiences.
Although it seems odd, the young Chris is sharing his life wisdom with his early eighty-something friend Ron Franz. The quote is important because it tells us about Chris's mindset at the time. It suggests that he was finding joy and value in his time wandering on the road: for Chris, the path he was on was fruitful and helping to fulfill his passion for new experiences.
The subtext is his rejection of his father's upper-middle-class lifestyle along with his financial security and conformist ways. These feel stifling to Chris, who, like many young people, is trying to find his own identity. The advice Chris is doling out to a much older man sounds like the words of a young man talking to himself and trying to make sense of what he is doing.
On page 57 of Into the Wild, Chris McCandless writes, "The very basic core of a man's living spirit is his passion for adventure." He writes this in a letter mailed from South Dakota to his friend Ronald Franz, and, in the letter, he urges Ron to abandon his safe life in Salton City, California and to hit the road in search of adventure. He tells Ron that there is no comfort in a staid and settled life and that he will begin to enjoy a carefree, adventurous existence once he embraces this type of lifestyle. Though Franz was eighty-one years old, he took the advice of McCandless, who was twenty-four at the time. Franz placed his belongings in storage, outfitted his truck with bunks, and hit the road, heading to the desert (to the same campsite where McCandless had stayed).
McCandless had first met Franz in 1992 when Franz was 80, and Franz drove McCandless from Salton City, California, to Grand Junction, Colorado. When Franz was serving overseas in the army, his wife and only child were killed by a drunk driver, and Franz turned to alcohol. It's likely that Franz saw McCandless as a replacement son figure. They became quite close in the time they spent together.
That quote appears in chapter six of Krakauer's Into the Wild. The full quote actually reads as follows: "The very basic core of a man’s living spirit is his passion for adventure."
I can't tell you the exact page number, because I am looking at a PDF version, and different text editions will be slightly different in their page numbering. The quote is on page 41 of the document that I am looking at, but I can give you better surrounding information to help you locate it.
The quote is closer to the beginning of chapter seven than it is to the beginning of chapter six. The quote itself is found in the long letter than McCandless wrote to Ronald Franz. In the letter, McCandless speaks very passionately about why Franz should make a "radical" change to his life. He wants Franz to stop staying where he is and take to the road in order to have "an endlessly changing horizon."
The joy of life comes from our encounters with new experiences, and hence there is no greater joy than to have an endlessly changing horizon, for each day to have a new and different sun. If you want to get more out of life, Ron, you must lose your inclination for monotonous security and adopt a helter-skelter style of life that will at first appear to you to be crazy. But once you become accustomed to such a life you will see its full meaning and its incredible beauty. And so, Ron, in short, get out of Salton City and hit the Road. I guarantee you will be very glad you did.