Mary and Ghetel continue for three days without any food. As they go on, Mary remains uncertain whether they are still following the New River. They are both starving, and Mary has stopped menstruating as a result. In the mornings, they are half frozen, and it takes them time to wake up and get moving. One morning, they reach a spot where the river is bounded by a cliff. They have to backtrack to find a place to climb up the cliff. They do and continue through an evergreen forest. While they walk, Ghetel says that she wishes she was an eagle so she could catch and eat Mary. Ghetel is losing her senses from hunger and accuses Mary of eating her baby.

They continue to the riverbank, where they forage some roots to eat. Then, they see some buzzards around a muskrat and eat that, too. Later, they realize that the roots have poisoned them, and they are sick with fever and stomachaches. After the poison passes, they continue on.

Two days later, they have found nothing else to eat. Ghetel has become more withdrawn from Mary. In the morning, Mary noticed that Ghetel had been trying to get at the spear.