Rick was nearing the end of his trip from North Dakota to a remote area of Alaska. He was a writer of short stories about fishing and hunting small game. He had camped out hundreds of times, usually for a few days at a time. He was frequently accompanied by his photographer and a member or two from a hunting club. There had been little danger. On occasion they might see a black bear, but these bears steered clear of humans.

Now he would be entering the wilderness where the predators were aggressive. The grizzly was huge and afraid of nothing. The wolves hunted in packs and would attack animals much larger than themselves, including man. He would be alone, and there would be no answer to a 911 call.

This trip had been planned for a long time. He wanted to write a book about the experience of living alone in the wilderness without electricity, as the old timers had done. Only then could the book be written from firsthand knowledge.

He was driving his pick-up and was accompanied by his large Malamute dog, Bart. In the back of the truck Rick had his woodworking tools, his axe, guns, fishing gear, and supplies. He was towing a flatbed trailer with a canoe and a combination cart and sled. He had made the cart so that he could use it on dry land with wheels, or as a sled on snow and ice with runners. The cart could be pulled by Rick or by the dog. Bart was very strong and could pull the cart fully loaded with ease.

Forty miles north, after leaving the last town, the road grew narrow and then stopped in front of a log building with the sign "TRADING POST". A moose head was hung above the sign. Rick parked the truck and he and Bart went into the store. There they met "Joel" the proprietor who was in the center, in front of a huge potbellied stove. To the right of Joel was the hardware section with saws, traps, guns, knives, to the left were blankets, sleeping bags, parkas, scarves, boots, socks, gloves and mittens. Behind the stove were food items, mostly nonperishables canned goods, dry beans and rice, hardtack, and various kinds of jerky.

Rick and Joel introduced themselves, and Joel `motioned for Rick to have a seat.

Joel said, "I have been in Alaska for over twenty years. I did some gold mining and some hunting. I was a Bush Pilot, and now I have been the proprietor of the Trading Post for about ten years."

Rick saw that Joel appeared to be in his late sixties or early seventies. He was about five foot ten inches tall. He had put on a few pounds around the middle, but was not fat. He wore suspenders and dungarees. His hair was turning grey.

"Tell me a bit about yourself Rick."

"I just drove here from North Dakota. I am a writer of short stories for a sports magazine. The stories are about fishing and small game hunting."

Joel asked, "What is your last name?"

"My last name is Spears."

"I have read some of your articles and they were great. Why are you coming up to this remote part of Alaska?"

"I want to write a book about living alone in the wilderness. Any suggestions that you can give me to help me get started will be welcome."

"Let me ask you a few questions? How much time do you intend to spend on this project? Do you have the finances to see it through? Do you have supplies and food?"

"Finances are not a problem. My intention is to learn as I go, along. I want to live subsistence style. I want to experience both summer and winter seasons. As to tools and equipment, I have a canoe, a cart, and wood working tools not requiring electricity, guns and knives. I have cold weather clothing. As for food, I have brought some staples, and of course, I intend to fish and hunt for small game."

"Where do you intend to stay?"

"I have camping equipment, until I can find or build a more substantial dwelling."

"I can help you there. There is a vacant cabin, fifteen or so miles north of here. You can move right in. No one will bother you. The last person who used it left about a year ago. He couldn't stand the isolation and had a close call with a grizzly. It is by the river and has a very nice view."

"That sounds great. Thanks."

"It will take some work to get it back to a livable condition, but it will be better than a tent. You are starting late you know. It is now August and the winter starts up here in October. You will need lots of wood to keep you warm this winter. Trees will need to be felled, cut into stove size lengths, hauled to the cabin, and then stacked, and covered to keep the rain and snow off. Once it snows it will be one hundred times harder than it is now. Your fishing and small game hunting will be helpful, but in addition a large volume of meat will be needed to last the winter. You might consider building a smoke house to preserve your meat. A deer would be enough considering that you will have small game and fish. Beginning in October the bears want to hibernate and the other animals become scarce, except for wolves and wolverines. Next, what do you plan to do about water?"

"I will carry it from a stream or river. Do you have any suggestions?"

"Just that one must assume that it is polluted. Of course you will be boiling...