The man, although a tough guy, is a little too cocky. He feels he can keep going to his camp despite the warnings of the natural world. Even his dog knows better but the man forges ahead. It is this lack of respect for the elements that is his final undoing. His hubris and "lack of imagination" prevent him from understanding what nature can unleash. By the end of the novel, the man sees the folly of his ways: "the old timer from Sulpher Creek was right".