the Alaskan wilderness.
After he arrives at the forks of the creek, the man congratulates himself on his speed and draws his lunch from inside his coat. But, "he had forgotten to build a fire and thaw out first" because his beard is full of ice and his hands too cold to hold his biscuits. Quickly, he tries to make a fire; working carefully, he soon has a "roaring fire." Afterwards, he moves on, but steps into a frozen pool where there were no signs. He has learned from the old-timer on Sulfur Creek that he must build a second fire to prevent frostbite to his foot which would prevent him from walking. Again, he carefully builds a successful fire