I stood up, stretching my stiff limbs. I yawned. I watched the fog on my breath and immediately I felt colder as I moved away from the fire. There was a moment of darkness as my eyes adjusted to the night, and as I looked up into the sky, i recalled the countless times before that we had done the same thing together, under very different circumstances.

I searched through the small clump of trees, selecting some substantial branches and limbs that had fallen to the ground. I gathered them into a pile, so that I could scoop them all up and carry them back all at once, and so that I wouldn't have to carry them all around with me while I searched for other branches.

I felt a little sick, and then without warning, I vomited. I kneeled down onto the ground, retching up the remains of the granola bar. It was a good thing that I hadn't had that much to eat; otherwise it would have all been wasted on the ground. I worried about the reality of our situation, the likelihood that we’d be able to find her out here. The trail was over 2,000 miles long. If she had chosen to vanish into the wilderness, we’d never find her. I wiped my mouth with my sleeve, then made my way back over to the meager pile of firewood and kindling that I had collected, hoping for her safe return.

After a few more moments of searching, I returned to the fire. The others all appeared to be sleeping fitfully. I added the branches to the flames, and they smoldered for a few moments while the water evaporated off of them.