It is very dangerous not to
listen to the signs of nature especially when you are out in the wild and you
are the only human being around. From the American writer Jack London, the short story
To
Build a Fire…
Day had broken cold and grey, exceedingly cold
and grey, when the man turned aside from the main Yukon trail and climbed the
high earth-bank, where a dim and little-travelled trail led eastward through
the fat spruce timberland. It was a steep bank, and he paused for breath
at the top, excusing the act to himself by looking at his watch. It was
nine o’clock. There was no sun nor hint of sun, though there was not a
cloud in the sky. It was a clear day, and yet there seemed an intangible dark
over the face of things, a subtle gloom that made the day dark, and that was
due to the absence of sun. This fact did not worry the man. He was
used to the lack of sun. It had been days since he had seen the sun, and
he knew that a few more days must pass before that cheerful orb, due south,
would just peep above the sky-line and dip immediately from view.