I believe the answer is idiom, the phrase is not comparing anything so simile and metaphor is out of the question, also personification is giving a non living thing human characteristics.
We need the article in order to answer your question
Answer:
In 'Lost in the Woods' Tarshis desribes weather by describing the atmosphere around, for instance, the weather was rainy which can be known through 'muddy trail.'
Explanation:
'Lost in the Woods' is a report of two kids who were lost in the woods in 2012.
The article was written by Lauren Tarshis. In her article, instead of directly describing the weather of woods, she describes the atmosphere of the woods.
The weather was rainy and dark. It can be known through 'muddy trail' on which volunteers were slipping over but it was Madee only who was sniffing around the muddy trail to locate the lost girls. When the girls were found, the weather described by Tarshis is dark, when she writes that the only light that shone in the forest were the headlamps that Madee and her owner, Greg, wore.
Answer: Most likely 2, Close.
Explanation: If it's not, I'd pick 3: Loud as my second answer. The paragraph hints distance so I can only imagine it being 2.
