Desert Solitaire

Abbey begins the chapter by cursing the latest Colorado River dam project and the destructive impact it will inevitably have on Glen Canyon.

He then recounts a long trip on the river through the canyon with his friend Ralph Newcomb, in “two little rubber boats” (189), which they unfold from suitcase-sized cartons. The men relish the rough rapids and the cool quiet nights camping on the river’s shores. Abbey beholds the magnificence of Glen Canyon as they pass through on their journey, and he fantasizes about an “unknown hero” (205) who will dynamite the dam before it can be constructed. With some mixture of defiance and grief at this point, Abbey again praises the wilderness in graceful and exalted terms.

Abbey describes a long, wondrous hike that he takes by himself, without Ralph Newcomb (who only has one good leg and cannot hike), from one of their campsites, through the Escalante gorge. He finds petroglyphs in caves, sees ancient cliff dwellings above his head, imagines the life of the ancient cliff dwellers, and wonders how and why they were ultimately moved to abandon their homes.

Abbey returns to the campsite. The next morning, he and Newcomb begin their journey back toward civilization.