When Hugh Mathews decides it's time to get out from under his tyrannical father's thumb and away from the life he's been living, he does it in a big way. Packing what he'll need to survive in the wilderness, and with only his dog, Orion, for companionship, he heads into the mountains. When they find a abandoned cabin, Hugh begins the arduous task of repairing it, as well as hunting for food and everything else they'll need to stay alive.<br><br>Soon after, Ansel Jeffries, a nature photographer, arrives at Hugh's cabin, seeking an abandoned mine he wants to photograph. After talking with him, Ansel sees the potential for a story in what Hugh is doing -- and why.<br><br>Ansel convinces Hugh to let him tell it, meaning he'll be living at the cabin with Hugh. When he moves in, will what becomes friendship between the two men grow into more?

Off the Beaten Path

Time to find out if the fireplace works.


He left the cabin, going into the trees across the field to find, hopefully, dry branches to make a fire. Naturally Orion followed, so Hugh put him to work helping to collect wood. To his surprise, Orion did find some pieces, dropping them on the small pile Hugh was amassing. Hugh figured it was a game to him. But whatever works…


With his arms full of branches, Hugh returned to the cabin and dropped them by the fireplace. Breaking up three of them, he set them in the fireplace, shaved some wood off a fourth one for tinder, then used his fire-starter to light it. There was thick smoke at first, as the branches weren’t quite as dry as he’d though. It went straight up the chimney, much to his relief. The fire took hold, so he added more branches. Getting his pot, which had a handle for hanging it over the fire, he went out to the stream to fill it with water.


Chapter 8