A Test of Will

In April 1997, Macdonald and a fellow climber and hiker decided to climb to the summit of Mount Bowen, on an island off the coast of Australia. One night, while his companion was asleep, Macdonald stepped out of the tent to heed a call of nature and wound up lying in a creek, his legs pinned under a massive rock. It was raining, too. Hard. He stayed there for nearly two days while his companion went for help, and the bulk of this book is taken up with recounting his efforts to stay warm, keep his spirits up, and avoid drowning (for a while it looked as though the creek might rise enough to submerge him).