Death Mountain: Chapters 1–5

by Sherry Shahan
On a hike in the Sierra Nevada Mountains, thirteen-year-old Erin Rowe makes a new friend when they both get lost and must rely on each other to survive.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Chapters 1–5, Chapters 6–11, Chapters 12–18, Chapters 19–28
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. bleak
    providing no shelter or sustenance
    Erin stood on the highway feeling small in the bleak desert.
  2. bale
    make into a large bundle bound for storage or transport
    If the car had been an old dented truck with a posthole digger in the back and a tailgate crimped with baling wire, Erin wouldn't have made up the story about Independence.
  3. placard
    a sign posted in a public place
    The front window was crowded with ads from who knows how long ago: a tattered sign announcing Buzz Buszek's Fly Fishing Tournament, a cardboard placard for Harry's Handyman Tool & Dye, and a poster showing a woman on a tightrope over Niagara Falls.
  4. varnish
    a coating that provides a hard, lustrous finish to a surface
    "Varnish." She eased herself down on the rickety steps. "That's what these steps need."
  5. refurbish
    improve the appearance or functionality of
    Gram had been talking about refurbishing the porch ever since Erin and her dad moved in last year.
  6. gritty
    composed of or covered with small particles
    A gritty wind blew sand at the pickup truck during the entire two-hour trip.
  7. jostle
    come into rough contact with while moving
    At the bus station, they hugged in the parking lot, jostled by passengers.
  8. amble
    walk leisurely
    "I wish you were going with me," Erin said softly as Gram ambled off to the old truck.
  9. idle
    run disconnected
    The engine idled as the last few passengers boarded and stowed their belongings.
  10. craggy
    having a steep, rough, and rocky surface
    He pointed toward the craggy peaks to the west. "The early Spaniards named these mountains the Sierra Nevada, which means 'snowy mountain range'."
  11. ramble
    move about aimlessly or without any destination
    After the geography lesson, the bus rambled into a tiny station.
  12. straddle
    sit or stand astride of
    She straddled her pack, in no hurry to return to the highway.
  13. snag
    catch or cause to catch on something sharp that is sticking out
    Erin sat on her pack on the edge of the highway where bone-white tumbleweeds were snagged in a barbed wire fence.
  14. singe
    burn superficially or lightly
    Erin breathed in so deeply the hot air singed her throat.
  15. topographic
    relating to the natural and artificial features of the land
    Her grandma had taught her to read topographic maps on their backpacking trips in the mountains.
  16. canvass
    consider in detail in order to discover essential features
    "No sign of him was found in the first ten days so the search efforts were scaled back. They had helicopters and dogs canvassing the mountains."
  17. domestic
    produced in a particular country
    Gram had told her that these sandy wastelands were from sheep and cattle overgrazing in the last century. Gram called domestic sheep "hoofed locusts."
  18. gulch
    a narrow gorge or ravine cut by a stream
    "Siberian Outpost. Forgotten Canyon. Bloody Gulch," she said, reading landmarks.
  19. drab
    of a light brownish green color
    Erin glanced up the trail at the drab green packs of the Discovery Bound team.
  20. funky
    having an offensive or unpleasant smell
    "Too bad iodine can't make funky water look good," Mae said, spitting out a mouthful. "It even tastes brown."
  21. spur
    a prod on a rider's heel used to urge a horse onward
    Duct tape patched the rider's jeans and spurs hugged his leather boots.
  22. barren
    providing no shelter or sustenance
    The sound magnified in the mountain air, the echo bouncing off the barren ridges.
  23. searing
    extremely hot
    In the sunny patches, the heat was searing and burned through their shirts.
  24. strew
    spread by scattering
    Erin's steps were shorter on the steepest stretches, her feet swinging more freely where the switchback flattened into a turn on the needle- strewn ground.
  25. abrupt
    extremely steep
    The eastern slope of the Sierra Nevada was abrupt, a chunk of the earth's crust turned sideways and uplifted along a major fault line.
  26. stark
    providing no shelter or sustenance
    Beyond the highway and stark desert, peaks rose higher than where she stood now, above the 11,000-foot mark.
  27. timberline
    boundary marking the upper limit of tree growth
    That was the timberline. No trees grew above that mark in these mountains.
  28. cadaver
    the dead body of a human being
    "Some track by searching out clues on the ground. Others sniff the air. Some are trained in water rescue. But I think he was talking about dogs that specialize in locating bodies. Cadaver dogs."
  29. prune
    cultivate, tend, and cut back the growth of
    Her dad busied himself in Gram's garden: raking, weeding, pruning.
  30. noble
    impressive in appearance
    But it only made her feel bad for wounding such a noble tree.
  31. rut
    a groove or furrow
    He was kicking the deep ruts left by the moving van.
  32. adversity
    a state of misfortune or affliction
    Whether adversity be a stumbling block, discipline or
 blessing, depends altogether on the use made of it.
  33. summit
    the top or extreme point of something
    The lake and its outlet creek were higher still, beyond the narrow summit and southwest slopes.
  34. outcrop
    the part of a rock formation that appears above the surface
    Not far up the trail, Jake stood by his horse near an outcrop where coarse rocks pushed up through the dry, reddish soil.
  35. coarse
    rough to the touch
    Not far up the trail, Jake stood by his horse near an outcrop where coarse rocks pushed up through the dry, reddish soil.
  36. crest
    reach a high point
    The rest of the group must have already crested the ridge, hiking the last stretch of trail to Chicken Springs Lake.
  37. makeshift
    done or made using whatever is available
    Erin took the garbage bags from her pack, tearing holes for her head and arms. The rain was steadier now. Fat drops slapped her in the face. She handed the makeshift ponchos to Mae and Levi.
  38. hail
    precipitate as small ice particles
    It started to hail, ice the size of frozen peas.
  39. hunker
    squat, hunch, or crouch down
    Erin shielded her face from the ice and hunkered by a fat tree trunk for protection.
  40. torrent
    a violently fast stream of water or other liquid
    Higher up, beyond the rock outcrop, a tree crashed down in a torrent of red mud.
Created on Tue Apr 25 10:18:03 EDT 2023 (updated Tue Apr 25 14:43:53 EDT 2023)

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