Chapters 11 and 12 Summary

In Chapter 11, Rick is in the landing zone, and Lon is packing up his glider, when a park ranger arrives. Rick is nervous, and Lon says not to talk unless he must. The ranger, Joe Phipps, shakes hands with Lon. After some small talk, Lon asks about his message. The ranger tells him that Nuke Carlile is an old friend of the sheriff's, so he hasn't been stopped. Joe also says he's being transferred to Crater Lake, Oregon. Joe is worried about leaving. If the sheriff has mentioned Lon's name to Nuke, Lon might be in trouble. Nuke is strongly anti-government, and considers Canyonlands National Park to be government land, not public land for all the people.

Nuke used to be a cattle rancher, and his grazing permit for the Maze had been taken away when the land became a national...