Page 126 of Mountain Grump
“What’s poisonous. What’s not.” I make akeep goinggesture with my hand. “Ranger stuff.”
“Ranger stuff.”
I shoot him a glare. “Just talk and keep the animals away.”
Ethan shakes his head. But then he does what I ask.
He talks.
He points to different species of trees and tells me their qualities.
He tells me how to get sap from a maple tree if I’m ever stranded with no food.
He makes me drink water.
He points out a plant that will cause itching and tells me that poison ivy and poison oak don’t tend to grow this high in the mountains.
Score one for elevation.
He tells me what to do if we spot a bear. Explains why making yourself look big and keeping eye contact with mountain lions is important.
He talks, in his soothing deep voice, for hours.
My feet ache.
My ankles feel like they might be bleeding.
My bladder tells me that I’m going to have to pee soon.
My mind tells me that if I try to pee squatting next to a tree, there is a one-hundred-percent chance I’m going to get pee on my boots.
Ethan makes me drink more water. And we share a protein bar, even though I told him I wasn’t hungry.
I’m too stressed to be hungry.
But he told me to eat it anyway.For fuel.
And he’s the expert, so I listen.
I listen as he points out different animal tracks.
I try not to freak out over how many animal tracks he’s identified.
And even though we’re walking nonstop, I button up the flannel I’m wearing because the sun is setting, and it’s getting chilly.
A giant black bird lets out a loud caw as it launches from a branch overhead, and I stumble.
Ethan’s large hand grips my upper arm, keeping me upright. “Easy.”
I press my lips together, trying to keep the wince off my face.
But I’m not successful.
Ethan stops, looking down at my feet. “Did you twist something?”
I shake my head.
“Matilda.”
