Book I, Part II - Desolation in the World: Chapter 48 Summary

There is more fantasizing about the return to Frisco. Kerouac is eager to share enlightenment with his friends but realizes that the enlightenment of solitude has little place in the civilized world. The friends have their own enlightenments to share and revelations to reveal.

Kerouac bares his soul, confessing in great detail the murder of the mouse that attempted to eat the package of pea soup stored in a cupboard inside the cabin. A second mouse was also killed but a third was spared. The latter eventually died by the rat who was also in residence. Kerouac feels that since his soul has been tainted with blood, heaven is no longer an option.

Kerouac bids goodbye to the cabin and Desolation Peak. Mount Hozomeen will...