Brian's Winter

The next day, rain falls softly and Brian collects firewood. The rain continues steadily for eight full days, and even when it finally stops, the weather turns colder. A blizzard comes, with powerful wind and snow howling in the trees.

Brian uses his time inside the shelter to work the moose hide and make a warm parka and mittens. He struggles to soften the hide once it hardens, and the finished parka is mostly stiff, but still wearable. When the storm ends, Brian ventures out in his clothes, which keep him, “as warm as if he’d been in the shelter” (90). He leaves the moose meat stacked beneath the snow to keep it frozen and safe from predators. After another day of gathering wood, on day 94 of being in the woods, Brian wonders if winter will bring any other variation to his days other than eating, working the hide, gathering wood, and waiting. 

As winter brings regular, soft snow, Brian struggles to occupy his time. Calculating that it’s about the last week of November, he decides to have a Thanksgiving meal. He gathers red berries to use for a sauce. While he’s outside, Brian notices that while his feet sink into the deep snow with every step, rabbits run on top of the snow because of their large feet.