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The mystery
A trio studly teenagers are camping (with their cell phones and Gameboys, of course). When one leaves the tent to heed the call of nature, something rustles around him in the woods. He screams. One of his friends sticks his head out of the tent to see what's going on, and he's dragged out. The last teen cowers in the tent while a howling figure circles outside. Finally, claws rip the tent to shreds, and the final teens is gone. Later, he awakes, hanging by his arms in a dark place. He sees the beast snacking on one of his friends.
Black Water Ridge
The guys close in on their dad's coordinates – Black Water Ridge, in the middle of nowhere, Colorado. At the station, they try to bluff some information out of the ranger by posing as college students, but the ranger guesses they're there on behalf of Haley. Haley insists something happened to her brother Tommy, even though his back-country permit says he won't be back for days.
Information gathering
The guys visit Haley pretending to be rangers. Dean is thrilled to find that Haley is a hot chick who appreciates vintage cars. Sam is less impressed, until Haley shows him video that Tommy sent home. When he slows the video down, the guys see a figure flash by in silhouette
outside the tent. It's moving too fast to be natural. Sam does his research – every 23 years, hikers and campers seem to attract a lot of grizzly bear attacks. They guys find the one person who survived this grizzly attack when he was a kid, even though his family was killed. He confirms that it was no bear – whatever it was, it moved too fast to be seen, and it got into the cabin by unlocking the door.
Gone hunting
Haley and her younger brother Ben hire Roy, a guide, to help them look for Tommy. Sam and Dean join the hike, and immediately reveal that they're not rangers. (Who goes camping in biker boots, with only M&Ms for sustenance?) Dean admits to Haley that they're looking for their
lost father. Roy finds the bloodsoaked campsite. A man's screaming draws everyone away, and when they get back, their packs are gone. After looking at their dad's journal, Sam figures out the beastie they're dealing with is a Wendigo, a near-perfect hunter that can't be harmed by blades or bullets. He took their pack so they couldn't call for help.
The beast
A Wendigo was once a man who became cursed after he turned to cannibalism. He lost his soul, but gained supernatural hunting powers. He can mimic a human voice and move faster than the eye can see. You don't want to piss him off. The good news is, Tommy might still be
alive. The bad news – that's just so the Wendigo can use him for a snack later in the winter. Roy sneers while Sam and Dean protect the campsite with Anasazi symbols. When the Wendigo starts sniffing around the camp, Roy fires at him, then leaves the protective circle to find his prey. Bad idea – the Wendigo pulls him up into the trees.
Hunters and prey
The next morning, the group decides to kills the Wendigo – and that means torching him. They follow claw marks in the trees, but the Wendigo is just toying with them. When the Wendigo drops Roy's mutilated body on them, the group gets separated, and Dean and Haley
get snatched. Sam and Ben follow a trail of Dean's M&Ms to an abandoned mine, where they spy the Wendigo leaving. They fall through some rotted floorboards to the Wendigo's larder, where they discover Dean, Haley and Tommy – alive, but unconscious, and hanging like hams
in a deli. They also find some flare guns. The group tries to sneak away, but the Wendigo returns. Dean runs off yelling to draw the beast away, while Sam tries to usher the civilians out of the mine. But the Wendigo follows them, and Sam misses his shot with the flare gun. The
group gets trapped at a dead end. Just as the Wendigo is about to chow down, Dean shoots it with his flare gun. The beast disintegrates in flames.
The aftermath
Back at the ranger station, Ben tells the rangers that yep, a grizzly killed Roy and mauled Tommy. Haley and Dean split off and flirt quietly. Haley leaves in the ambulance with her brothers, and Dean gets only a kiss on the cheek. Sam and Dean realize that their father
was never in Black Water Ridge – he just left the clues so his sons could follow in the family business. Initially reluctant – he's just interested in the fiend that killed his girlfriend, dammit! – Sam eventually agrees to keep killing monsters until they catch up with their dad.
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