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I shaketo myself "You and the crazy factoids"

"And you’re just desperate fortoward my plate

True It’s not as if she cares that I’an freezer ht was the firstfull-on cavewoar," I say, adding a giant cinnaar a some on my bacon

"Ah, the ol’ Paleo Diabetes diet"

"I’ives your cheeks a healthy glow" Eyes , really looks at ood old-fashioned fear," I tell hi dish I’ve already inspected once "I had trouble sleeping last night Too ht"

"It’s different, isn’t it? Even sleeping inside tent cabins It’s stillwild"

Indeed, it is

Lennon hands me some silverrapped in a cloth napkin "Want to eat on the deck and watch the sunrise? They’ve got patio heaters set up, and it looks like they’re bringing around coffee"

"Say no h I’ breakfast with him

We carry our plates outside and find a place away from the other early risers, near a patio heater The juxtaposition of gently billowing heat and nippyalone with hin, and I’ether

"Your plaid galance in my direction

I sht, and a little punk rock--pretty daring, at least forIt’s hard to tell soing into my mountain of food "Did you and Brett retrieve the wine?"

"I didn’t," he says "He wanted Kendrick and ot back to our tent cabin We both refused Brett said he’d go himself, but I’m not sure how he planned to carry a dozen bottles, because he left without his pack But he reeked like a French restaurant when I got up thisax-ot drunk by himself?"

"Or maybe he pulled a Suhtly "But when I cae bin and the bottles were gone, so I assued to rescue them"

We eat in silence for a while I’m not sure I want to discuss Brett any further with him, and he doesn’t offer any other information He finally pats his pocket and says, "I picked up the backcountry pero with that I also checked out the store in the lodge They’ve got bear canisters for rent If you’re caught with food and you don’t have one, you get fined It’s on the King’s Forest information sheet that comes with the per it out from his pocket, but I wave it away "I believe you"

"But?"

"It’s justI don’t know," I say, snapping off a piece of crisp bacon "I joked withwild animals on hikes, but it never truly struck me that they’d pose thateverywhere I’ deadly"

"Terrific," I mumble

"Not just wild animals, either Out in the Sierras, people have been killed by rock slides, drowning, falling off cliffs, heart attacks fro trees--"