Chapter 1: I Hole Up in a Snowstorm

Sam narrates that he is on his mountain in the cave he made for himself in a large hemlock tree, which he now calls home. He then recounts the letter he wrote the previous winter on December fourth or fifth, during the first snowstorm he experienced when he came out to live on his own in the woods. In this letter, he details his living condition and good health, as well as wondering about The Baron, a weasel who lives nearby. After quoting that letter, Sam in the present day explains that he was sacred during the blizzard but laughed after enduring this storm. Leaving his home, he discovered that The Baron had already been out and playing in the snow, so Sam called upon his falcon Frightful to join him in play.

Sam had arrived in the woods the previous May and prepared himself for the coming of winter from that time. He recalls the arrival of the storm clouds and returning to his shelter to ride out the storm. He also recalls his family in a New York City apartment and the stories his father told about Great-grandfather Gribley, who abandoned land in the Catskill Mountains to become a sailor. Dad went on to add that land was still in the family's name but is no place for a Gribley. Sam now lives three hundred feet from the beech tree with Gribley carved on it, which marks the northern boundary for what his Dad called "Gribley's folly".

Notes:
The story begins with a detailed account of what Sam considers his first big challenge, surviving a winter snow storm. Note how Sam is able to admit he was scared at the time, which gives his present day narration added authority by seeming more candid and rational.

Chapter 2: I Get Started on This Venture

Sam left New York the previous May, taking a train to the Catskills; among the things he brought was flint and steel he bought at a Chinese store, and a man there showed him how to use it. Sam hitched rides into the Catskill Mountains, including one bemused trucker who noted he was a farm boy who ran away to the city, not the reverse like Sam. Dropping Sam off at a forest, he laughed and offered to give Sam a ride home the following morning on his return trip. Sam recalls that his Dad also laughed at him when he said he was running away to Great-grandfather Gribley's land, telling him he should try it.

In the forest, Sam whittled a fishhook for himself and located a grub for bait. Though he lost his first bite, he was able to catch several trout from there. He made himself a bed and shelter from tree boughs and limbs, but was unable to start a fire that first night. He admits today that he made the mistake of setting up camp right in the stream valley of winds, which was why he couldn't start the fire.

After a miserable night, he felt encouraged by the new morning and found that there was a house only a hundred feet from where he was camped. He knocks on the door and asks for help from the old man who lives there, whose first name is Bill but whose last name he didn't learn. Sam slept, then ate food that Bill cooked for him, including the trout he'd caught the day before. Bill then teaches Sam how to make a fire.

Notes:
Sam continuously refers to information he read or was told about surviving in the wild. Again, this is another tactic that lends his narration added authority as it makes his story a kind of reference source as well as adventure.