When I tried to stand, a terrible pain shot up my leg. For a moment I was sure I had broken it, just as my father had. But as it began to swell, I recognized the injury as a sprain, something that was no stranger to energetic youngsters who lived near the woods.

I tried to hobble on it, but the pain was too much for me; I had to sit down every ten feet or so. Tim decided that I was not fit to go on, so he made me comfortable and began looking around for a place to make a camp. He listened carefully, thought he heard the sound of water, and then followed his ears. He was right. There was a small spring, tumbling from beneath a huge boulder. Tim came back and helped me get there slowly, then returned for my pack.

We were to spend ten days in that spot. Before we were able to leave, the first snow had filtered down through the tall trees.

Making a proper camp was more difficult because of not having an axe, but we managed. We did not, of course, realize that we would be stuck here for over a week, or we would have constructed a larger lean-to. Instead, since I was barely able to hobble around, we made a rude shelter by placing three long branches up against a tall rock and then covering them with boughs. Tim brought more boughs for a browse bed underneath and, in just a couple of hours, we were protected from the elements, although a bit crowded. We placed the camp fire just outside the entrance to the shelter. While the daylight lasted, Tim gathered firewood, which again was made more difficult by not having an axe to cut it into convenient lengths. Still, he did well. While he worked, I boiled some beans. As they were cooking, I turned over some stones and found a variety of white grubs and two small beetles. I decided to release the beetles, but I dropped the grubs into the pot with the beans, averting my eyes as I did so and resolving not to mention them to Tim. Luckily, they cooked down and mixed with the beans so as not to be noticeable. I looked about for edible greens but didn’t see any near enough to identify.

Tim had searched for game or eggs but didn’t find either. He did bring me some spruce needles for tea, however, which I put on to boil while we ate.