Editing Chris McCandless (section)

===Mexico and arrest===
In early 1991, McCandless left the Sierra Nevada and hitchhiked in a circular course south through California, into [[Arizona]], and then north to [[South Dakota]]. Completely out of cash with no means to support himself, he obtained a job as a [[grain elevator]] operator in [[Carthage, South Dakota]]. He worked at this job for the remainder of 1991, until one day suddenly quitting and leaving his supervisor a postcard, which read:<blockquote>Tramping is too easy with all this money. My days were more exciting when I was penniless and had to forage around for my next meal ... I've decided that I'm going to live this life for some time to come.</blockquote>McCandless then headed to Colorado, where he used money from his job to buy [[kayak]] supplies as well as a [[handgun]]. He then navigated the Colorado River, without a permit, and was occasionally pursued by wildlife and park rangers who had heard of his exploits from other river travelers, several of whom had been concerned that McCandless had been seen [[white water rafting]] in dangerous areas of the river with no safety equipment. In all, sightings of McCandless were reported at [[Lake Havasu]], [[Bill Williams River]], the Colorado River Reservoir, [[Cibola National Wildlife Refuge]], [[Imperial National Wildlife Refuge]], and [[Yuma Proving Ground]]. The authorities attempted, but never succeeded, in locating McCandless, who was wanted due to his lack of proper river training as well as kayaking on the river without a valid boating license.<ref>National Park Service, "Papers and Working Files of NPS Employees" (February 2020)</ref>

McCandless eventually followed the Colorado River all the way to Mexico, where he crossed the international border through a [[spillway]] at the [[Morelos Dam]]. After encountering waterfalls, through which he could no longer navigate in a canoe, McCandless abandoned his river journey and spent a few days alone at the village of El Golfo de Santa Clara, in the state of [[Sonora]]. Finding Mexico intimidating, with no way to support himself, he attempted to re-enter the U.S. and was arrested for carrying a firearm at a border checkpoint. McCandless was briefly held in custody but released without charges after his gun was confiscated. Following this experience in Mexico, McCandless began hitchhiking north, eventually winding up back in South Dakota.<ref name="medred_beatification"/>