As summer fades into fall in Brian’s 16th year, he returns to the northern Canadian woods that feel like home to him. He brings essential survival supplies and a few simple items like his canoe, matches, and tea. He reflects on his first wilderness experience, in which he was lost in the woods after his plane crashed and the pilot died. Brian survived on his own with nothing but a hatchet and the natural provisions in his environment. He used to have nightmares about that experience, but now his dreams are mostly fond memories of the woods, even the difficult experiences.

As Brian paddles his canoe through a small lake, he thinks about how much he has changed in the two years since the plane crash. He has grown to love the woods and has matured and learned much about the natural world and surviving separate from society. He recognizes  the call of a loon and the cry of a hawk as he paddles. His senses are sharply attuned to his environment, and he knows every sound can tell him something about his surroundings. Much of Brian’s wilderness knowledge comes from his patient observations and from trial and error.

When Brian passes a moose feeding in the shallows of the lake, he considers shooting it with his bow.