Graduation in the past, Pete dons his working threads and we head for the Marble Mountain Wilderness. At the top of a climb we meet a man who introduces himself as the UNIBONGER. Indeed he is, and it is quite a while before we are on the trail again – and almost out of water.

Suddenly the valley floor drops away into shadows, the trees thin out, and we are high on a mountainous ridge in the sweltering sun. It’s a strange, beautiful, and thirsty walk to Shelley Lake.