The Cactus Eaters: How I Lost My Mind-and Almost Found Myself-on the Pacific Crest Trail (P.S.)

388 Pages·2008·1.8 MB·English

by  Dan White

The
Cactus
Eaters
How I Lost My Mind—and Almost Found
Myself—on the Pacific Crest Trail
Dan White
For Amy
Come to the woods, for here is rest.There is no repose like that of
the green deep woods. Here grow the wallflower and the violet.
The squirrel will come and sit upon your knee, the logcock will
wake you in the morning. Sleep in forgetfulness of all ill.
—John Muir, The Wilderness World of John Muir
Many lives are so empty of interest that their subject must first
perform some feat like sailing alone around the world or climbing
a hazardous peak in order to elevate himself above mere existence,
and then, having created a life, to write about it.
—William Gass, The Art of Self:
Autobiography in the Age of Narcissism

Contents
Epigraph iii
Part I 1
Chapter 1
Hot Teeth 3
Chapter 2
Devil’s Island 12
Chapter 3
“Something Golden” 19
Chapter 4
Blue Crabs, Green Woman 26
Chapter 5
The Outpile 38
Chapter 6
Reign of the Jardi-Nazis 42
Chapter 7
In the Beginning 52
Chapter 8
Mulholland Falls 64
Chapter 9
A Bottle of Mace 70
Chapter 10
Mojave Crossing 78
Chapter 11
The Gingerbread Man 86
Chapter 12
Doctor John 96
Chapter 13
Operation Water Dump 107
Chapter 14
Golden Oak Spring 112
Chapter 15
Golden Oak 123
Chapter 16
Wilderness Voodoo 138
Chapter 17
Betty the Whore 147
Chapter 18
The Way of the Wolf 167
Chapter 19
Why I Walk 199
Chapter 20
The Hairy Other, Part One 206
Chapter 21
Macho Me 216
Chapter 22
Smedberg Lake 228
Chapter 23
Bitter Fame 238
Chapter 24
The Hairy Other, Part Two 252
Chapter 25
Attack of the Pain People 258
Chapter 26
No Mercy 274
Chapter 27
The Jackal God Strikes Back 280
Part II 289
Chapter 28
Salvage 291
Chapter 29
Subhuman 307
Chapter 30
Desert Rat 314
Chapter 31
The Dark Divide 324
Chapter 32
Monument 78 342
Chapter 33
Reunion 349
Chapter 34
Striking Pyrex 357
Author’s Note 370
Acknowledgments
372
About the Author
Credits
Cover
Copyright
About the Publisher