Desert Solitaire

Abbey notes that it seldom rains in the desert, the streambeds are usually dry, and that to go hiking or journeying in the desert can be perilous, as it’s easy to run out of water and die of thirst if one is not careful. There are only two streams in the Arches area, one of which contains salt water, the other of which is polluted by arsenic and other toxic chemicals. To drink from these streams, even in the most desperate of circumstances, is to hasten death, not delay it.

He offers sage advice regarding thirst and desert waterholes. Abbey states that those bodies of water that look the most pristine and clear are likely to be the most dangerous, because something in them has killed their marine life, probably chemicals that are also highly poisonous to humans. On the other hand, “If the water is scummed with algae, crawling with worms, grubs, larvae, spiders and liver flukes, be reassured, drink hearty, you’ll get nothing worse than dysentery” (146).

Abbey debunks the notion that one can save one’s life in the desert by cutting open a barrel cactus and imbibing the moisture to be found therein.

Abbey describes, in great visual detail, the majesty of a rare desert rainstorm.