Tracks: A Woman's Solo Trek Across 1700 Miles of Australian Outback

Davidson recounts her last weeks in the desert. After Diggity’s death, she started putting in 30-mile days. She was overwhelmed by despair and didn’t want to stop moving. At night, she dreamed about Diggity and woke up convinced that she was still alive. She missed her presence, too. Without her, she felt more alone. She also struggled to eat and care for herself. Then one day, she reached a rare stretch of land where she danced naked, shouting, howling, and weeping. She felt better afterward and realized she needed to take better care of herself in the coming days.

Not long later, Davidson ran into a herd of journalists and cameramen. They’d heard about her from the Overlander, who’d lied and said they’d spent the night together. Davidson was disgusted by how he had spoken about her and how the journalists were representing her story. Their questions irked her even more. She told them not to photograph her but they didn’t respect her. She admits that she gave in at one point when they offered to buy her a beer. When she saw some of their stories in print, she learned how the people of Alice misrepresented her story, too.