37 pages • 1 hour read
Will HobbsA modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Clint, the bush pilot, tries to contact Fort Simpson to tell them that they’re changing their flight plans to do some sightseeing. However, Clint is not able to get through to Fort Simpson, even after many attempts. Gabe feels nervous and “wondered if this was such a good idea, to go ahead when [they] weren’t getting through on the radio” because “nobody would know where [they] were going” (33). Clint reassures Gabe and tells him they have an Emergency Location Transmitter that will help people find them if they crash. They continue to fly towards Virginia Falls and Gabe is in awe of the natural beauty that surrounds them. The old man in the back points out different animals that he sees, and Raymond helps by translating the native Slavey language into English. When they finally reach Virginia Falls, Clint decides to land the plane upstream so that they can take a closer look. As they taxi downstream, the engine stops running.
Clint tries to get the engine starting again, but it won’t. He sends an emergency message out through the radio. They don’t know if it reached anyone because the radio wasn’t working earlier when they were trying to call Fort Simpson. As Clint keeps trying to start the engine, he commands Gabe and Raymond to take the paddles from the back of the plane and start paddling hard to safety. Gabe “paddled until [he] thought [his] heart would burst” as he “could hear the choppy sound of the whitewater racing down the gorge to the brink” (43). Clint grabs rope and swims through icy waters to shore to try to tie the plane to a tree so that it won’t go over Virginia Falls. Raymond, Gabe, and the old man all make it to shore, and Clint starts to unload their stuff from the plane. The plane struggles with the current and it looks like it is not going to be held by the rope for long. While they are all safely on shore, Clint remembers that there is a box of ammo still on the plane that they need. As he’s on the plane getting the ammo box, the tree with the rope holding the plane snaps. Clint tries to throw the ammo box to Gabe, but it lands short. Clint goes over Victoria Falls along with the plane. Gabe goes to try to find Clint, but he knows that the idea of finding Clint alive is “pure fantasy” (48). Raymond tells Gabe that they’ll find out in a day or two if anyone heard their Mayday emergency call and if they’ll be rescued. It’s getting dark, so Raymond and Gabe hurry to start a fire.
The old man, who Gabe discovers is named Johnny Raven, quickly starts a fire, and builds a lean-to shelter. When Raymond and Gabe go to collect water for tea, they discuss how Clint never should have flown them out there and how he would still be alive if he were more careful. They also talk about how they will be rescued, which might be difficult if none of their emergency messages went through, and nobody knows where they are. At their makeshift campsite, they inventory the food and realize they do not have a lot. They go to sleep wearing all their clothes. Gabe cannot fall asleep as quickly as Raymond because “the adrenaline was still pumping panic through [his] veins” (55). Gabe wants to be brave and feels lucky that he is not alone. The next morning Gabe checks the thermometer on his jacket zipper, and it is twenty-two degrees below zero. They inventory everything they have and find a fire-starter that works quickly that they save for emergencies. Johnny tries to communicate with Raymond and Gabe, but it is difficult because of the language barrier. Eventually, Raymond and Gabe figure out that Johnny wants them to move upriver where there is better wood to make a fire. They make a bush tepee with wood and moss, start a fire inside, and eat a little bit of mac and cheese for dinner. At night, they hear wolves outside and think a bear is nearby. Johnny goes outside the tepee to check and tells them it’s a porcupine.
Johnny Raven roasts the porcupine from the previous night over the fire and they eat it the next day. Together, they build up a smoke fire in hopes that an airplane will see it and rescue them. Raymond and Gabe spend their time cutting firewood, which kept them warm in the cold. As time passes, they realize that nobody is coming and that nobody knows where they are.
The next day, Johnny finds ammo for the gun in the tackle box, so he goes hunting for moose. Every day when Johnny goes hunting, Raymond and Gabe keep the signal fire going and watch for planes. They stopped “talking about rescue planes of the big ‘what if’ that [they] both had on [their] minds: What if a plane never comes? [They] were just living day to day” (69). Two weeks after the crash, a warm Chinook wind comes, and it is now 55 degrees above zero. Gabe says that they must do something other than wait to be rescued and suggests that they create a raft to go down the river. Raymond doesn’t believe that rafting will be safe, but Gabe feels like they are limited in their choices. Once the river freezes over again after the Chinook winds pass, the river will be ice until May.
Raymond and Gabe quickly start to build a raft because the Chinook winds will not last forever. Johnny returns at night and tells them that he finally got a moose. They go to the moose and eat the meat. The next day, Raymond explains the plan to build a raft, but Johnny doesn’t like the idea. He thinks that the raft will get caught in ice and that they can survive the winter camped out. They have three bullets left, which Johnny thinks is enough to get them meat to last through the winter. Gabe gets frustrated and doesn’t want to starve out in the wild. A raven starts to pick at the dead moose while they are arguing, and Gabe throws a stick at it. Raymond snaps at Gabe and tells him not to hurt the raven. Gabe decides to build the raft anyways and tells Raymond to choose between Johnny and him. Raymond thinks about it and then tells Johnny that they must try to make it back on their own. Johnny might not have understood everything Raymond told him in English, but “it was apparent from the mournful expression on his gentle face that the understood completely that Raymond had sided with [Gabe]” (82). Johnny takes the axe to make oars for the raft since he is going to go with Raymond and Gabe.
The conflict in the story is foreshadowed in Chapter 6 when Clint struggles to get in contact with Fort Simpson. Clint is a confident and young bush pilot, so he does not feel the same nervousness that Gabe does. Gabe is generally more cautious and “wondered if this was such a good idea, to go ahead when [they] weren’t getting through on the radio” because “nobody would know where [they] were going” (33). Gabe’s worries and Clint’s overconfidence foreshadow the tragedy that happens in Chapter 7 with Clint’s death.
Clint’s sudden and unexpected death is alarming for Gabe, Raymond, and Johnny. Gabe begins to learn about how nature is unforgiving. They needed what was on the plane to survive, but the rapids of Virginia Falls made it impossible for them to get everything needed and caused Clint to die. Clint’s sacrifice was also in vain because the ammo fell into the water when he was trying to throw it to shore.
Chapter 8 starts Gabe and Raymond’s education on survival. Johnny Raven builds shelter and fire and begins to show the two young men what they will need to do to stay alive in the frigid cold of the Northwest Territories. They must work together to survive and there is an urgency to make sure that they are warm enough before night falls. Although Gabe has been a cautious risk-taker up to this point, survival means taking risks and he decides they should risk going down the Nahanni River even though Johnny doesn’t think it is a wise choice. Gabe is hopeful that they will be able to raft down the river to the village before the river freezes completely into ice.
By Will Hobbs
Action & Adventure
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Action & Adventure Reads (Middle Grade)
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Canadian Literature
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Childhood & Youth
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Coming-of-Age Journeys
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Earth Day
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Fear
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Friendship
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Grief
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Juvenile Literature
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Mortality & Death
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Realistic Fiction (High School)
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Safety & Danger
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