Most of the problems travelers encounter have to do with transportation. On a 12-day trek through the Cevennes, Stevenson's cross to bear was Modestine, a stubborn, manipulative donkey he could never quite get the better of. After many humorous trials and tribulations, Stevenson found that his disdain for the creature had turned to love, and at the end of the trip he said goodbye with much regret. Written in just a few months when he was in his late twenties, the publication was initially a means to earn a quick buck. Little did Stevenson know that his Modestine would become one of the great characters in travel literature.