The River

As they continue to paddle, Jack mentions that he’s having second thoughts about not stopping to warn the arguing couple about the fire. The narrative reveals that Jack and Wynn are best friends from Dartmouth College and are experienced wilderness guides, having worked in the Adirondacks for some time while going to college. They decided to make this particular trip because they’re about to start their careers and aren’t be sure whether they’ll have the chance to do a trip like this again. Jack is originally from Colorado, and Wynn is from Vermont. Both are single, and the narrative describes the circumstances of their recent breakups. Wynn’s father is a maple-sugar farmer with whom Wynn often worked while growing up. As the two enjoy a snack, they discuss the prospect of returning to warn the arguing couple. Wynn and Jack are close to completing their paddle of the narrow lake they’re in, and from there they’ll be navigating a river for a couple of weeks, where they’ll paddle with the current until they reach Hudson Bay. A rescue by floatplane would be impossible on the river, so Wynn suggests that perhaps they should turn back and ask if the man and woman have a satellite phone so that they can call and get picked up now rather than risk trying to outrun the fire. Jack agrees with his friend, and the two turn back.

The fog has finally lifted, and the day is turning clear and nice, but when Jack and Wynn arrive in the vicinity where they heard the arguing couple, they see no trace of them. The two men beach the canoe, and Jack prepares tea while Wynn constructs little impromptu structures with rocks, a kind of artistic expression. The narrative reveals that Jack and Wynn wanted to be totally immersed in nature and even left their watches at home. Although Jack is very content within the picturesque scene that he’s sharing with his best friend, he also feels a general unease, a foreboding sense that something’s wrong. They eventually decide to set up camp there and turn in for the night. Jack has a dream in which his mother, on horseback, falls to her death into whitewater rapids. Her horse survives but she doesn’t; instead, she’s swept away by rapids and drowns. The narrative reveals that the dream is partially true and that this is how his mother died.

The next morning, Jack and Wynn begin paddling again, and this time the surface of the water is calm. They move smoothly as they paddle. The two discuss the forest fire they witnessed the previous day and decide to see if they scout it out. They land the canoe, and Jack climbs a tree to see if he can get a better look. What he sees isn’t good. The fire appears to be closer, even though neither can smell the smoke. Jack comments that he has seen forest fires before and that this one is extremely large. The men get back into the canoe and begin heading toward the outlet of the lake, where they’ll enter the river, known as a quickly moving one with whitewater and many dangers. As they prepare for the ride, Wynn ties the rifle they brought for protection to the boat.

The narrative reveals more about Jack’s father, Shane, who—always a reserved talker compared to his twin brother, Lloyd—stopped talking altogether after his wife’s death. Jack and Wynn first met on a backpacking expedition in New Hampshire’s White Mountains, a kind of first-year orientation outing at Dartmouth. They immediately liked each other, especially when they discovered their mutual love for literature, both high- and lowbrow. In addition, both were very adept in the woods and enjoyed fishing. The narrative skips back to the present, as the two are nearing the river, where they must keep themselves toward the right bank to escape a stiff current that could take them over a waterfall and kill them.

As they approach the rapids, they fortunately recognize the landing where the portage begins that will take them around the falls—which, as they stand onshore, are as loud as thunder. The two decide to camp there for the night and do some fly fishing. The mood is much more leisurely than it was earlier when Jack saw the fire apparently gaining ground on them. Jack and Wynn both are adept fishermen, but the two have different approaches and styles to fly fishing that would be noticeable to anyone who saw them, according to the narrative. After catching small brook trout and releasing them, Wynn calls for Jack. He hasn’t hooked into a big brook trout, but both he and Jack are visibly troubled by something Wynn has noticed.

Jack and Wynn observe a canoe coming down the river with apparently only one man piloting it. He’s on the wrong side of the river, near the left bank, where, if he continues, the rapids will almost certainly trap his boat in a powerful current and sweep it down the falls. Jack whistles and calls for the man to stop, and eventually the man seems to hear him. He turns the boat, appearing to be a skilled canoeist, and makes his way over to the landing. Both Jack and Wynn wonder why the man is alone. As he makes his way to the landing and beaches the canoe, the pair help pull it onshore by the bow. When the man is out of the boat, he has trouble speaking, and they think perhaps he doesn’t speak English, but he begins speaking more coherently and reveals that his wife has disappeared. He has a wounded leg, which he adamantly refuses to acknowledge. He’s traumatized, and both Jack and Wynn try to get him to calm down. The man says his wife, whose name is Maia, went out to the bathroom and never returned. She simply vanished. He tells them his name is Pierre and also says that he and Maia saw another canoe with two men in it, and Jack identifies them as the partiers he and Wynn saw the previous morning. Wynn and Jack decide to portage their canoe along the shore of the river, to avoid paddling into the current, and look for the missing woman. Jack lifts the canoe up onto his shoulders, and Wynn follows with the gear. After a mile and a half, they finally reach the lake, where they begin paddling. With the wind at their backs, they paddle for about an hour until they arrive at their previous camp. They continue onward, finding a few spots along the shore where they stop, disembark, and check around. However, they have no luck. They recognize that daylight is beginning to fade, and they must paddle into the wind to get back to their camp, where Pierre is waiting. Then Jack discovers something, which causes Wynn to sprint toward him.

Maia is lying in tall grass and is visibly injured; they see a lot of dried blood on her and the surrounding vegetation. They consider that in the fog she may have surprised a bear and been attacked. When they attempt to help her, she’s terrified and refuses until, finally, they calm her somewhat. Her uncontrollable shivering indicates that she likely has hypothermia, so they act quickly to get her into dry clothes and build a fire to warm her up. Wynn uses the walkie-talkies that Pierre gave them in case they found Maia. He radios to Pierre that they found her, but as he does, Jack slaps the walkie-talkie out of Wynn’s hands. It crashes against a rock, and Jack then tells Wynn that he thinks Pierre is likely responsible for the woman’s condition. Wynn is skeptical, but Jack has a gut feeling that Pierre was lying. They continue to do what they can to provide aid to Maia, who hasn’t yet spoken. She’s evidently still in shock. However, in time, she starts to stabilize. Among her injuries is what appears to be a separated shoulder. Jack has experience resetting a shoulder, something learned from his father and performed on him. Wynn tells Maia what they’re going to do, she nods, and Jack begins the short process, which moves from gentle to harsh. Maia passes out from the pain.