The pigweed greens boiled down to where they furnished only a bare meal for the two of us. I made a mental note to gather twice as many next time. But the spruce tea was warm and filling.

Since the moss under the trees was soft, we did without a browse bed that night and were comfortable enough, although we both fell into a deep sleep and the fire burned out before dawn.

In the morning we had some hot spruce tea and were on our way. We picked some berries which were small and bitter, but we ate them anyway as we walked.

This day was luckier. Tim motioned me with his hand to a stop. Then, before I saw what he was swinging at, he caught a sitting rabbit a crashing blow with his stick. He gutted it out and tied it to his belt. An hour later, we came on a big gray grouse nesting in a tree. It flew away, but I climbed up and stole the eggs and put them in my pocket. About sunset, we found water, a small stream which ran toward the east and west, and made camp there. There were nettles along the shore. I had read somewhere that they made tender eating when boiled, so I picked some and tried them in a pot with a little water and the eggs, which were somewhat ripe. The result was not the most delicious soup we ever had, but it seemed to satisfy the hunger in me, which, I think, must have been the beginning of a desire for fat.

Tim cut the rabbit into four pieces which we roasted over the coals and ate them later, after dark. They were so good that I found it hard to believe that such a diet could be harmful in the long run.

If things had proceeded as they did these first two days, I think we would have walked out that first week. But luck did not stay with us.

We were crossing a ravine on a large fallen tree, which was the only way to get to the other side without crawling down a rocky ledge. Tim went over easily enough, but as I followed, my feet suddenly shot from under me, and for a terrible moment I thought I was going to crash all the way to the bottom. I was lucky enough to come down on the log again, although with a terrific crash. I clung there until Tim crawled out and helped me over. What had happened was that the wood was rotten, and I had put my foot in such a way that the bark simply sloughed off, leaving bare peeled wood and me, dangling in midair.