Chapter 6, Anza-Borrego Summary and Analysis

A quotation from Henry David Thoreau's Walden precedes Chapter 6. The author divulges the contents of a letter he received in January of 1993. The letter requests a copy of the article about Alex McCandless. Forwarded to Krakauer by Outside magazine, the letter's shaky penmanship leads Krakauer to conclude the author was elderly. Its author, Ronald Franz, desires to get in touch with Krakauer to discuss McCandless. Franz indicates he knew McCandless and wishes to know more about his death. Krakauer is once again moved by the effect McCandless had on the people he knew so briefly. Of everyone he met on the road, McCandless affected Ronald Franz most deeply.

After leaving Jan Burres at the Salton City Post Office, McCandless hikes into the Anza-Borrego Desert State Park and sets up camp. Fifty miles from Palm Springs, the Salton Sea was...