THE MIDSUMMER HEAT WAS STIFLING AS MADDIE stood at the edge of the creek, trying to figure out how to get across without getting wet up to the waist. There were rocks she could step on, but they were scattered in a zigzag pattern three feet apart, and besides, they looked slippery and sharp. If she’d had time to strip down to her bathing suit she would have gladly just waded in—it was noon and the sun was high, and while trees offered some relief it still felt unbearable, like she was a dinner roll being kept warm in the oven. But she was carrying twenty pounds on her back and they still had ground to cover, so there was no time for a free swim. They’d been hiking for five hours, since seven a.m., after a breakfast of turkey jerky and canned orange juice. The night before, they’d had to strip branches and build their own shelters using tarps and rope. Maddie’s whole body ached, and she was getting blisters not just on her feet but also on her shoulders, in the spots where the metal frame of her pack rubbed against her skin.
