(Page 2)
Mary [Shiff] Francis
(c) 2000
Leader Cheryl took off as if she had been shot from a cannon, and the group jerked off after her. Leaders Mark and Bob counted us as we passed. I overheard Leader Tom say something about counting every so often to make sure nobody disappeared. Then I was lost in total concentration on keeping up with the pair of feet I saw in front of me. Left, right, left, right. Too fast, too fast. I-i-i-h-h-h. Whooh! I-i-i-h-h-h. Whooh! I couldn�t get enough air. Suddenly I was drenched with sweat. The trail widened. I stepped aside to let others pass. My dear heart caught up and stepped to the side to join me. �I can�t breathe,� I whispered.
�You have the same effect on me,� he whispered back.
�No, the hike,� I panted. �If we have to go this fast, I�ll never make it.�
�We�ve been in high gear since the day we met.� He touched my cheek. A bead of sweat ran down my forehead and into my eye. The salt stung. I blinked back tears. He said, �We can go at our own pace. Follow me.� The two leaders who were guarding the rear of the hiking group motioned to us to go ahead of them. We stepped onto the trail. My beloved trekked slowly up the steep sections of the trail and picked up speed on the less sloping places. My breathing evened out and I stopped sweating. At the half-mile mark we caught up to the group where they had stopped for a clothing break. I took off my lovely warm polypro vest and strapped it to my daypack. I opened my daypack and drank from the water bottle that was cushioned by my flattened peanut-butter-and-jelly sandwich. I munched on a handful of the high-energy trail mix.
The group took off again. I followed my darling and watched his feet. Left, right, left, right. The trail got steeper. I-i-i-h-h-h. Whooh! I-i-i-h-h-h. Whooh! No, the trail wasn�t steeper. I was just bending forward more. I seriously considered opening my pack and throwing nine of the ten essentials over the side of the mountain. We passed the one-mile marker. Left, right, left, right. I-i-i-h-h-h. Whooh! I-i-i-h-h-h. Whooh! We caught up to the group at the rest stop. I took off my nylon jogging jacket and strapped it to my daypack. I opened my daypack and drank from the water bottle that was cushioned by my even-more-flattened peanut-butter-and-jelly sandwich. I ate another handful of the high-energy trail mix. I thought about taking out my first aid kit and using the scissors to cut the legs off my almost-new nylon jogging pants. So what if the pants legs had neat little zippers on the bottom edges. So what if bushes ripped my brand-new 100-percent-polyester long underwear to shreds. �I�m hot,� I whispered to my dear one.
�You have the same effect on me,� he whispered back.
�I�m sweaty hot,� I explained.
�But we haven�t done anything yet.� He smiled. �Want to step off the trail?�
�We can�t. Everybody would know what we were doing.� I was horrified, but intrigued, by the thought of making love on the side of a mountain in broad daylight. Was it because of the danger of forgetting where I was and ending up rolling in a tangle of nearly-naked bodies down the side of the mountain? Or was it because the group would go on without us and we could stroll back down to the car after we had finished enjoying our little interlude?
My lover replied, �Hey, it�s all right. We�re newlyweds.�
My practical nature rescued us from the danger of rolling down the mountain. �If we don�t make it to the summit today, we can�t go on the hike at Joshua Tree in two weeks.�
The group began picking up daypacks and getting ready to move on. We picked up our daypacks and faced up the trail. Left, right, left, right. I-i-i-h-h-h. Whooh! I-i-i-h-h-h. Whooh! My dear husband seemed to be slowing down. �You all right?� he called back.
�I�m better than I was before,� I replied.
�I still hear heavy breathing.�
�Mark�s idea works.� I-i-i-h-h-h. Whooh! I-i-i-h-h-h. Whooh! We passed the two-mile marker. The group was so far ahead that we couldn�t hear their boots crunching on the gravel trail. We caught up to them when they stopped for a long rest-break at two-and-one-half miles up the trail. We sat down and drank water and ate flattened sandwiches and munched on more of the high-energy trail mix. The cool wind made me put on my zip-front fuzzy polypro vest and zip it up.
The group began falling in line to ascend the steepest stretch of trail. My sweetheart and I were the last students in the line. There were five leaders behind us. I wondered if they thought it would take that many of them to get my beloved and me to the summit. As the trail became steeper, the line stretched out longer. I was glad that I wasn�t the only person slowed by the difficulty of the trail. Then I realized that I had lost sight of the brown boots that had been right in front of me. I looked back and saw no one. How did I get on the wrong path? No, wait a minute. I could hear my darling�s heavy breathing. How heartwarming that familiar sound was. Then I saw him come around the curve of the trail with the five leaders behind him. I waited for him to catch up. �I-i-i-h-h-h. Whooh! I-i-i-h-h-h. Whooh!� He was using Leader Mark�s breathing technique. It was good to hear something other than my own breathing and my blood pounding through my veins.
My dear one sagged onto a huge boulder and slid his daypack onto the ground. He looked up at Mark and whispered, �Uncle. My knees are killing me. I can�t make it to the summit.� My eyes filled with tears of joy. We could go home now. We could eat our lunch at a table. We could put on our swimsuits and go sit in the hot tub for hours and hours. We could use a shining porcelain flush toilet when nature called. We could lay down our daypacks and rest our weary bones.
My beloved looked up at me sadly, �I�m sorry sweetheart. I hadn�t realized how badly I�d be affected by the arthritis in my knees.� Leader Mark told me I could continue with the group, that I didn�t have to go back to the car with my husband. My darling whispered, �I�m sorry. You go on without me, love. I�ll understand.� I wanted to cry. In my mind I was already picturing us relaxing in the hot tub.
I touched my dear one�s cheek, �If you hadn�t said �Uncle,� I would have. I couldn�t have gone more than another two feet.� I smiled. �Let�s go home, dear. We have a date with a hot tub.�
He replied, �I-i-i-h-h-h. Whooh! I-i-i-h-h-h. Whooh! I-i-i-h-h-h. Whooh!�
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