“Caution: Trail In Poor Condition” — vintage grimy photo from my Pacific Crest Trail days

I just found this vintage, water and sun-damaged picture taken of me on the Pacific Crest Trail. The lettering on the sign is almost illegible, but it says CAUTION: TRAIL IN POOR CONDITION. You can’t tell from the photo but the sign itself is in horrible condition. Though it looks like I am posing with my arms around the warning sign, I’m actually holding it up. When I came across it, the thing was lying on the ground. Anyway, I thought this was worth posting because I just realized that my first effort, The Cactus Eaters: How I Lost My Mind And Almost Found Myself on The Pacific Crest Trail, came out 10 years ago. Unless my memory is letting me down, I believe this photo was taken on the trail a few miles north of Tehachapi, on the same stretch of the trail where I stupidly dumped out my water…

Update

Binging on books. Currently reading lots of them in tandem because I am indecisive. I keep adding to the list — New American Stories, and Gork The Teenage Dragon (hilarious; there is some loose-synapse creativity that almost made me drive off the I-5) Eat The Document by Dana Spiotta, for starters. Just got through a good, creepy oldie by Graham Greene called This Gun For Hire. Working on new things but it’s taking forever. Thanks for your messages to me, sent to my email account. I appreciate your measured encouragement. Meanwhile, I’ve put together a brief compendium of some recent freelance pieces.  I almost forgot to mention that I’ve been invited to be a panelist at an AWP panel up in Portland, focusing on travel writing, so please stop by and say hello if you are going. My only other news — I am working on a homemade costume. I am sick of…