After almost two days and two nights holed up in his shelter, Crabbe decides to set out again. The depth of the snow forces him to abandon his canoe. Instead of taking shelter immediately, he presses on, hoping to find shelter at Ithaca Camp. He puts on all the clothing he owns to stay warm, an effort that proves futile in the wind and snow. As his body temperature falls, his hands and feet begin to freeze, and he develops frostbite. He also begins to get extremely tired and considers stopping to sleep until he recalls a Jack London story in which the protagonist freezes to death after falling asleep. Crabbe pushes himself to continue. He eventually reaches a cabin, where he is able to take shelter. When he wakes up his chest hurts and the feeling has not returned to his left hand. He manages to reach the main road and is picked up by a stranger in a pickup truck. When the Good Samaritan realizes that Crabbe is suffering from frostbite he drives a hundred miles to a clinic in Huntington. Crabbe loses consciousness after a staff member gives him a shot.