Chapter 72: New England Mountains

Between the stop in North Adams and the state line into Vermont four miles away, there was a mountain to climb. It was damn steep. I climbed UP almost two thousand feet in elevation in those four miles. After that, there were more undulations that taxed my body almost to the limit. My thirty-five-pound backpack started to feel more like a hundred pounds.

Every state that has bears has a Bear Mountain. Vermont was no exception. I was at the top of that peak on my third day in the state. I was not knocking off twenty-five miles a day in those mountainous conditions.

Moreover, the tropical storm had dumped about six inches or more of rain in the state, and every brook had become raging torrent. The trail crossed them, expecting hikers to be able to use stepping stones to cross, but those stones were a foot or two under surging water in most cases. Other crossings had to be found.

I joined up with three younger guys from Boston that were hiking the trail. The trail mostly paralleled U.S. 7, but was higher with great vistas occasionally. We were in the Green Mountains.

Crystal and any of my friends that were interested could track my progress with the ‘Find Me’ app. I wasn’t making a secret of where I was or how little or how much of the trail that I hiked any particular day. Being close to the major highway, we all had pretty good cellphone reception most of the time.

I had just made camp with my fellow hikers at the Big Branch Shelter near Wallingford, Vermont, when Crystal called me. Getting a call was unique. Everyone had pretty much left me alone except for text messages for most of my trip.

Crystal said, “I hope you say yes to what I’m about to ask you. I want to fly up and join you for part of your hike. I’ve been working out and even using the stair master, so I’m in a lot better condition than I was when you left. I know I can be a good hiker, even in the mountains that you’re in now. I’ve done my homework so I know what to expect.

“Further, I’ve taken your checklist and I’ve assembled my own backpack, and I’m rarin’ to go.”

I just said, “Yes. Where do you want to meet?”

We ended up meeting over a week later in Lebanon, New Hampshire. Crystal flew into Manchester and then took a bus to Lebanon. She was in a ‘roughing it’ mood. I got there before her and got a motel room.

We spent two days in the motel, and most of that was in bed making love. I really missed my wife.

“I’m going to finish this, but I am NOT going off like this again.” I was certain that my goals for the hike were going to be completed.

She asked, “Have you found yourself or whatever you were looking for?”

“Not quite, but I will have it firmly established by the end of the trip in Maine.”

Crystal grinned, “Good, then fuck me again.”

We got back on the trail where I’d gotten off at Dartmouth College. We did deviate to walk through the campus, but classes hadn’t started up yet for the fall semester, so things were quiet. I sat in several spots in the campus and meditated. The campus impressed me greatly.

After that we went about twelve miles and climbed up 2,000-feet. I didn’t push Crystal hard, and I was kind to myself as well. We stopped at the Moose Mountain shelter. We had lots of time to get our gear in order and to fix our late-afternoon meal.

Some other ‘thru-hikers’ passed by the spot and we waved or greeted them. The younger guys I’d hiked with were long gone. Eventually, another couple and two rugged guys stopped to overnight at the shelter.

I explained to Crystal that unless we set up a tent, these were our sleep mates for the night. She pondered that and then said, “I want to make love with you.”

We set up a tent in a reasonably level area about a hundred feet from the shelter building. Nobody said anything, but I think they knew our plans. The other couple that had hiked in also set up their tent on the other side of the clearing from us, so everybody was evenly spaced apart. Three more guys arrived and were glad to have the space in the shelter to sleep.

Everyone at the shelter site, pretty much crapped out at dusk. We’d talked to some of the others before that and signed in on the shelter logbook. I explained some of the shelter etiquette to Crystal, including about bathroom habits. There was an outhouse at this shelter.

We did make love and I think we did a good job of keeping the noise down. She did let out one moan when she had an orgasm. We also tried to keep excess fluids to a minimum, since there wasn’t a lot of water to wash with.

In the morning, we were up at dawn, about five a.m. We had eaten and were hiking by five-forty a.m. The other couple at the site were also early risers and they asked whether they could hike with us. We welcomed Andy and Lexi Sharp.

They were from Bethesda, Maryland. He worked for the National Institutes of Health specializing in biomedical imaging technologies. He was an M.D., but had taken the direction into research rather than practice with patients. He saw enough patients as it was in connection with his work.

Lexi was a flight instructor at the College Park Airport. That provoked an interesting discussion between the two of us, as I had becoming a pilot on my relatively new bucket list.

I did learn that if you ask a flight instructor what you need to do to become a pilot that they will tell you – in very specific detail. I felt well informed, and our chatter helped the miles crank by as we walked the mountains. We were heading for the Presidential Range in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. When we were through, we will have hiked Mounts Madison, Adams, Jefferson, Washington, Lincoln, and Pierce, and a few others. Most were over 5,000-feet above sea level, and Mount Washington was 6,288-feet ASL. Moreover, despite being August, the temperatures in the mountains could become dangerously cold. I made sure that Crystal was as prepared as I was.

We didn’t bite off all of that in one day. We made it to Smarts Mountain. An energetic climb from the night before. There was tenting, and we were early enough to be able to claim the old fire warden’s cabin as our shelter.

I heard Crystal talking to Lexi. “Tonight ... well, this is awkward ... but I’ve been away from my husband for months, and we ... well ... we will want to make love. If that will bother you, we can tent.”

Lexi laughed. “So long as turnaround is all right, we have no problems. We might like to watch, but you two can watch us. In the tight quarters of the shelter, it’s unlikely anybody else will try to horn in.”

Lexi was right. Six other campers arrived, but ended up in tents in the tenting area rather than insisting on a sleeping slot on the small floor next to the four of us.

We already had the fire pit going, so the new arrivals went out and foraged for some more wood and kindling. Pretty soon, we had a great set of coals to use for heating water so we could have a hot meal. The fire also gave us some needed heat. When we were hiking, we were warm, but standing around at the end of August in shorts at an elevation of 3,200-feet was a little chilly as the sun started to get low in the sky.

After our communal dinner, everyone signed the logbook for the site, and then each group went off on their own to adjust their tent and hiking gear. I asked Crystal how she was doing.

Crystal came close and said, “I think our bunk mates want to swap. I heard Andy say to his wife, ‘I will if you want to,’ and then he said something nice about me.”

I shrugged. “She is cute.” I glanced at the steps into the small ranger shack that had become the shelter. Lexi was sitting on the stoop applying some waterproofing liquid to her hiking boots. Andy was in front of her and they were talking in very hushed tones.

I looked back at Crystal, “Feel like some new cock, do you?”

She laughed, “You know me too well. You are perfection, but I always like to see what else is out there.”

I joined her in a chuckle, “Me, too. Let’s let them take the lead, but we might tease them a little.”

Lexi finished and then went to their cache of water to wash her hands and face. Crystal and I washed up, and then went in the shelter to arrange our sleeping bags. Andy and Lexi came in right behind us. The space was small enough that we were bumping into each other if we weren’t careful.

I figured that I’d toss some kerosene on the fire. I asked Crystal, “Are you going to sleep nude like you usually do?”

She shrugged, “If our cabin mates don’t mind.”

Lexi sported a huge grin, “Mind? We’ll join you.”

Crystal stripped down to only her undies and then went to blow-up her inflatable pillow. Andy was drooling, and Lexi wasn’t exactly not paying attention to Crystal’s hot tits. Crystal wasn’t a double-D, like Elynn, but she had some great tit flesh.

She put the pillow in place next to mine, and by then, I was in my briefs and nothing else. Andy was removing his clothes and Lexi was also stripping off her hiking shirt and shorts. At least, the inside of the cabin was still warm from the day’s sunshine and some infused heat from the fire pit.

I yanked off my briefs and put them beside the bed. Crystal had also doffed her undies by then. She did a big stretch for the ceiling of the room, and then asked me, “Will you give me a massage? You know how that warms me up.” Her voice had that ‘come hither’ tone to it.