Chapter 31 Summary

Ray stays in the shack behind Sean and Christine's house by himself for about a little over a month. During that time he meditates and occasionally splits firewood, and the time passes in relative silence and solitude. In mid-June, he leaves for his future job in the Cascade Mountains.

Ray hitchhikes and hikes north to Crescent City and then on to Eugene, Oregon, where he comments on the smoke produced by a lumber mill. He then continues on, hitchhiking as far as Portland, where he catches a cheap bus trip to Vancouver, Washington, and then makes his way to Bremerton, Washington. From Bremerton, he takes a ferry trip to Seattle, Washington, and then continues hitchhiking and walking north into mountain country.

Chapter 31 Analysis

Another large time period passes rapidly as Ray spends a month in meditation and do-nothing. Chapter Thirty-One, then, is essentially...