The_Beaver wrote on Feb 17^th, 2007 at 3:14pm:

TimA wrote on Feb 17th, 2007 at 2:01pm: Anybody notice at the beginning how the author slighted (maybe not the right wording) fisher mapsTim It struck me as very odd that he'd buy the maps, but essentially never refer back to them. The Beaver

I just got done with that part! My interpretation was that his fisher maps only showed one trail (the author kept referring to the McKenzie maps and how those maps had the old trail marked as well )---so he assumed that as long as he just followed the trail he'd be fine.

I think the author was trying to show how at different points in the story how seemingly little things could have a major affect on the outcome. Like how he was in REI just inches from a McKenzie map--if he would have just looked at the map he would have seen how the trail would split off and would have known to expect it. Another turning point would be what you said--not checking the map when there seemed to be two trails--even though his map did not have both trails it may have given him some indication on which one to pick.

That's why I like this read---it is just like everyday life--sometimes seemingly insignificant choices can have a major impact. In this case the impact of the choices are amplified due to the life/death situation. I better get back to the book ;)

Tim