星期四黎明时分，他们开着弗朗兹的卡车驶离沙尔顿市。弗朗兹说，虽然行程很赶，但却是段愉快的旅程。“有时候我们一连开好几小时，一言不发。”他回想道，“即使他在睡觉，只要知道他在身边，我就觉得很高兴。”3月14日，弗朗兹把麦克肯多斯留在大章克申外70号州际公路的路边，回到南加州。麦克肯多斯很兴奋自己能够继续北上，同时也觉得松了一口气——因为他又一次避开了人与人之间的亲密和友情带来的胁迫感，以及随之而来的所有麻烦的情感包袱。
Painlessly, that is, from McCandless’s perspective—although not from the old man’s. Franz had been living a solitary existence for many years. He had no family and few friends. A disciplined, self-reliant man, he got along remarkably well despite his age and solitude. When McCandless came into his world, however, the boy undermined the old man’s 30)meticulously constructed defenses. Franz 31)relished being with McCandless, but their burgeoning friendship also reminded him how lonely he’d been. The boy unmasked the gaping void in Franz’s life even as he helped fill it. When Mc-Candless departed as suddenly as he’d arrived, Franz found himself deeply and unexpectedly hurt.
毫无痛苦，这是麦克肯多斯的想法，然而这位老人的心情却不同。弗朗兹多年来一直都孤单度日，既没有家人，也很少朋友。他是个有纪律又独立的人，虽然年事已高，而且孤独，但却过得很好。然而麦克肯多斯闯入他的世界后，破坏了老人小心翼翼建造起来的防卫。弗朗兹喜欢和麦克肯多斯在一起，他们之间逐渐产生的友谊，却也提醒了他自己是多么的孤单。这个孩子揭开了弗朗兹生命中的空虚，尽管也帮忙填补了一部分。麦克肯多斯突然离去，如同他来时一样突然，叫弗朗兹出乎意料地难过。
