Question

Undoubtedly it was colder than fifty below – how much colder he did not know. But the temperature did not matter. He was bound for the old claim on the left fork of Henderson Creek, where the boys were already. They had come over across the divide from the Indian Creek country, while he had come the roundabout way to take a look at the possibility of getting out logs in the spring from the islands in the Yukon. He would be in to camp by six o'clock; a bit after dark, it was true, but the boys would be there, a fire would be going, and a hot supper would be ready.

–“To Build a Fire,”
Jack London

What does the description of the setting help the reader better understand?

how dark it is outside
why the man is alone
that the man has reached his camp
what the man is likely to have for dinner

Answer 1

why the man is alone

The passage explains the others came over a different route (across the divide from Indian Creek) while he took a roundabout way, which accounts for his being separated from the group.