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The trail wound upward still, although so gradually that it didn’t prove too hard for the group The snow did not stop, flying thickly, obscuring everything except the edges of the forest on either side of the trail visible

Hannah’s tiredness was so constant and present that it was like a second her, a ghost trailing behind her that she had to drag along Her legs had gone from lead to heavy iron She drank whenever she re the bottle in her inside pocket so that it didn’t freeze

With no wind, the snow piled up on her shoulders, on Peter’s toque, on the backs of the slow-s, and in the basket of the sled

Finally, they ca sense of déjà vu To her left was a tall rocky wall, its red-orangeout showily from under its snowyith a pool of ice at the bottom where the water collected and froze Above them, the top of the hill looked down on them, and she realized why this place looked so familiar

“We were up there, right?” she said

Peter turned, squinted up through the snow, and nodded

She dropped her hand and they continued silently, Peter stopping now and then to pick up various-size branches She felt both relief that their plan had worked and disappointment that after all that, they were back where they had been so o, just thirty feet lower

They skirted the icy patches and wound around the outcrop, co the contours of it, glih the thin scrub that separated the W, in close to the rock face and out again The first V was aevery which way, but the second V was deeper, recessed deeper into the rock face, and there were trees, as well, that sheltered it from the wind

“Peter”

He lifted his head and turned He didn’t see one foot in front of the other and picking up branches His arms were stuffed ood It was time to stop

“Here, I think This is a good spot,” she said He nodded “Can you make the fire?” she asked

He nodded again, shifting the wood and feeling in his pocket for hly enclosed circle of their teood spot for the fire: away from the trees, near a medium-size boulder with a sheer face on one side He stamped down a square patch, then took his snowshoes off and used one to dig out a hollow for the fire

While he was doing that, Hannah got the tent bag out and placed it between the trees and the firepit, facing the lake Then she went back to the sled and got out eight portions of dog food and unwrapped them

She approached the dogs They were all lying down again, Bogey already asleep, curled on his side with his tail tucked over his feet Rudy and Nook, ere used to being fed at the end of the day like this, lay on their elboaiting patiently Rudy licked his chops as she approached Only Sencha stood, tail wagging, whining softly the way she did when she was very hungry

Hannah stood looking at the tea Eventually, Nook looked at her, eye to eye, and when she did that, Hannah went over to the husky Again, she stood there, waiting for Nook totime At first the husky’s brilliant blue eyes looked back at her stolidly, but after a little while, her nose flared and her head dipped, and she looked away When this happened, Hannah dropped the two portions of dog food in front of her, and Nook i