Summary

Ben returned from the mountain top to Ashley at around midnight. He made note of some large tracks--that were not the dog’s--near the entrance of their shelter. He ignored them for a time, choosing to currently focus on the obstacles directly in front of them. He chose to not tell Ashley about the tracks, and instead he simply told her how isolated they were. They both agreed that some form of self-rescue, though difficult, may be their only option. No one would likely find them in the middle of a vast wilderness. After this conversation, Ben continues to dictate to his recorder again.

To the recorder this time he talks about when he and Rachel moved back to Florida after finishing their undergrad and graduate work. They had lived for so long in the Colorado mountains that they needed to go back...