How to Get Out of a Cactus in Three Hours

"I had come to see the cactus as Excalibur and myself as a knight on a hopeless quest," he says. "The day dragged on. Blisters popped and doozed. Sunscreen and sweat streamed into my eyes." It was almost 2 p.m. and 110 degrees in the shade, with no shade to speak of. By 3 p.m., things had gotten personal. One of our cameras began to giggle for no apparent reason. A delirium was descending upon the whole scene; it conspired to drive us back to civilization.