Dan White

Some insensitive and apparently dehydrated person is stealing and possibly devouring my neighbor’s outdoor cactus dispay, chunk by chunk, bit by bit, piece by piece. It is painful to watch. Every day, on my way up to my apartment, I examine the cactus, only to find that another hunk of it has been removed. To stop the cactus slaughter, my neighbor has put up a sign telling the thief to stop because he is trying to propogate his own cactus garden right here in San Francisco. Wait until you see the shocking photographs that I will soon upload on this blog. You can see the missing chunks of cactus — and if you look carefully, you might even be able to see the teeth marks on it. I hope the cactus thief realizes that you can’t get a whole lot of water out of a cactus. (Kit Carson figured out…

(try saying that five times fast.) Thank you to the spirited group at yesterday’s reading at the SF Library Mission Bay branch. The audience included a seasoned through-hiker named Matt, who completed the trail in one fell swoop, and quite a bit more recently than I did. In fact, he often averaged 26 miles a day. Last night, Matt, who lives right here in SF, actually convinced a fellow audience member to hike the PCT — or, at the very least, the Oregon/Washington section of it. The convert, who is about 60, was already on the fence — in fact, he’s been dreaming of doing a chunk of the trail for a very long time — but it is pretty clear that Matt pushed him over the edge on Wednesday. I think he’s actually going to do it. How cool is that? This discussion was quite a bit more technical…

(Hi everyone. This reading happened back in 2008, in case you’re just checking this right now. I would like to read at this library again, but I’ll wait until the next thing comes out.) I’m very excited about this reading. It’s from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. this coming Wednesday (December 10) in my adopted hometown of San Francisco. Location: Mission Bay Branch, San Francisco Public Library.Address: 960 4th St. (at Berry) Here’s the link for directions to the branch (it’s right on the T-Line and near the Caltrain stop): If you’ve never seen it before, this will also be a good chance for you to tour the brand new, $4 million library facility, five years in the making. It’s the first SF branch library to open up in four decades. (I happen to live near the very oldest one, close to Golden Gate Park.) The library is part of a…

Thank you to all the students at the Visiting Authors Seminar for your very thought-provoking questions about nonfiction, Woody Allen, West Coast wildlife, NWA’s “Straight Outta Compton,” “Juno” and many other issues. Feel free to send any other questions into the blog or to my email address. (One of the students actually brought in that classic NWA album some weeks back because the other students had read my references to it but hadn’t heard the record.) I completely forgot to answer your question about my favorite California wildlife. I’d say that it is a tie between the black bear and the marmot. As far as creatures that I despise with all my heart, it’s a dead heat between horse flies, skeeters, ticks and giardia. http://cactuseaters.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default

I had a very big time up in Sebastopol, California today. I spoke before a crowd of Rotarians, including a fellow whose son through-hiked the Pacific Crest Trail southbound and ate canola oil mixed with granola to keep his weight up. That may be the most impressively hard-core trail food story I’ve ever heard. (Apparently, canola oil has the most calories per volume of anything you can eat on the trail. Who knew? I guess the trick is choking it down. Peanut butter still works best for me.) At the end of my presentation, the Rotarians gave me an air-tight stainless steel sports bottle with a set of caribiners to make sure that I don’t screw up and run out of water in the desert again. Thank you; I will use it in good health. Aside from meeting the Rotarians, I had a chance to explore this beautiful Sonoma County…

I will have quite a busy Cactus schedule for the next week and a half or so. In between freelance travel writinig and grading essays, I am preparing for events in Sebastopol, San Francisco and San Jose. Also, stay tuned for more urban hiking adventures and explorations, soon to appear in various publications. (I will be writing stories about some good places to visit close to home — and when the weather warms up, I will be returning briefly to the Northeast for more travel writing.) Here are the events so far, with a new event added to the list: SebastopolRotary Club of SebastopolSpeaking from 100 to 130 p.m. (and signing.Friday, December 5 San JoseVisiting Authors Seminar (classroom visit)3-415 p.m., San Jose State UniversityTuesday, December 9 San Francisco Public LibraryWednesday, December 10, 2008Event Time: 6:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.Location: Mission Bay BranchAddress: 960 4th St. (at Berry) Here’s the link…

This message goes out to all Rotarians (of the Sebastopol area.) I am looking forward to meeting you in early December. I will read from the book, bring a few trail artifacts that I’ve never shown anyone before, and answer any questions that you might have. Feel free to shoot me any advance questions via email. Also — thanks for resending me the directions to the meeting place. http://cactuseaters.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default

Click here for an “Upcoming” online blurb for that event. It’s on Wednesday, December 10 at 6:30 p.m. at the SF Public Library’s Mission Bay branch. (The event, of course, is free.)Here’s the link for directions to the branch (it’s right on the T-Line and near the Caltrain stop): Also — here’s a windswept photo of the John Muir Trail (near Muir Pass) in honor of three readers who have written in, proclaiming their intentions to conquer the JMT next summer. Have a great time out there, but bring bug spray or mosquito netting when you go. (The skeeters will ambush you, especially at log crossings when you have to use your arms to balance yourself and can’t swat them away from your face and legs. Insects are smarter than you think!) http://cactuseaters.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default

I have just gotten a hold of other “The Cactus Eaters” book, published 61 years ago. There are quite a few eerie similarities. For example, both books have two protagonists. In both books, the two of them leave their jobs and set off to a wild area in search of grand adventures. In the case of that first book, the explorers are two frustrated coffee growers (instead of frustrated journalists) who set off to explore the remote Goajira peninsula of northern Colombia and meet the Goajira people (instead of exploring the western states and meeting mile-bagging backpackers). The author is Julian Weston. Apparently, the book is recommended by the “Society for the History of Discoveries.” Out of print and rare, the book includes monochrome photos and maps. I now have a copy, and am about a quarter finished with reading it. http://cactuseaters.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default

Well, I finished the marathon. In fact, I ran the entire thing non-stop, and finished a lot more quickly than I expected. The route, along the American River, from Folsom to Sacramento, was quite beautiful. I’ve run two other marathons but have never seen deer charge across the route, or Canada geese flying overhead while honking their heads off. If you’ve never seen this part of California, you really ought to check it out. In fact, this marathon was so enjoyable that at one point, I even thought to myself, “What a great time. I don’t want this to end.” The only bummer was the road-rage incidents that started coming up about ten miles into the course. Often, when there’s a marathon, the organizers arrange to close off the course. For this reason, veteran runners get into the habit of spreading out and using the entire road. In this case,…