Hemingway is famous for avoiding three-syllable, high-flown adjectives; instead, he uses simple adjectives such as "good." Here, this was a "good place" to camp.
Afterward, Nick makes his supper — a can of pork and beans mixed with a can of spaghetti. As the two ingredients cook together, Nick inhales a "good" smell — not a "superb aroma" — just simply a "good" smell.
Nick is trying to return to basics, to regain a sense of the simplicity of life; thus Hemingway presents his camping trip in its simplest terms. Even though Nick eats plain, canned food, he describes it lovingly: " . . . he had been that hungry before, but had not been able to satisfy it." His hunger is satisfied both literally and metaphorically. And again, he pronounces his camp "good." Later, Nick again asserts that there "were plenty of good places to camp on the river. But this was good."
Hemingway presents a moving picture of Nick making camp with meticulous, detailed descriptions that add a methodical, ritualized dimension. It is this solitary, repetitive, methodical action of making camp that frees Nick's mind from stress, bad memories, and the cares of the world. It is a moving meditation unto itself, providing Nick with a mind-numbing and pain-relieving sense of calm and relaxation. Nick's own moving meditation here in the woods is no different from the traditional Eastern image of the spiritual seeker who sits on a mountaintop, chanting "om" and other mantras while in deep meditation.
