Total darkness forced horse and rider to navigate an icy canyon by touch

Evidence

It was unutterably dark, and all these operations had to be performed by the sense of touch only. I remounted, allowed her to take her own way, as I could not see even her ears, and though her hind legs slipped badly, we contrived to get along through the narrowest part of the canyon, with a tumbling river close to the road. — Isabella L. Bird, A Lady’s Life in the Rocky Mountains, 194

Categorization

• FICTION: Sensory deprivation plus a cliff-edge river is a chapter-length suspense scene waiting to be written.
• STORYSTEM: A rider who surrenders control entirely to an animal in absolute darkness, trusting its judgment over her own senses, is a strong narrative spine about trust.