Chapter 12

The two girls woke early the next morning, but even though both were curious about the other's activities, nothing was said. They quickly dressed and carried their stuff out to the car. Leaving the key in the room as they had been instructed, they started north again.

An hour later they hit the interstate and soon pulled off at a small shopping center to get some breakfast at one of the fast food places. As they were eating, Lisa suddenly had an idea. "Instead of eating more hamburgers for lunch, let's pick up something at the deli in the supermarket over there and have a picnic somewhere."

"That sounds great," Diana replied. Maybe we can find a nice rest area or even a park. We don't have any schedule and as long as I get time to see the falls I don't care what else we do this week."

As they looked through the selections at the supermarket, Lisa realized that the only tableware and stuff they had was their camping gear. So she suggested they buy some plastic plates and forks so they didn't have to fool with cleaning up. They ended up with some deli sandwiches and salads, some crackers and cookies, soft drinks, and not only the plates and forks but a small foam cooler and ice to keep the stuff chilled. While they were carrying it out to the car Diana said, "You know, even including the plates, cooler and such this still didn't cost us much more than fast food. I like this idea."

Getting everything to fit in the small sports car was a little hard, but they finally managed. They drove on up into New York and several hours later decided they were getting hungry. Lisa was driving and Diana began searching the map for a likely place to stop. She found something marked as a county park about thirty miles ahead and fifteen or so off the main road. Neither of them had been here before and had no idea what it might be like, but decided to try it. They left the interstate and soon were twisting down a two lane road between small towns. They found the park on a side road off of that one and weren't too surprised to find no other cars there at all.

Lisa pulled the car off the road at a small parking lot. There were two picnic tables on a partly wooded hillside overlooking a lake. Across the lake they could see a couple of houses, but otherwise there was no one else visible at all. "This looks perfect!" Diana said.

"Let's skip the tables and just take a blanket over there under those trees by the shore," Lisa said as she dug through the car to find the blanket. The two girls carried the cooler and bag of food the fifty yards or so from the car and spread the blanket on the grass.

Lisa kicked off her shoes and lay down on the blanket with her bare feet stretched off onto the grass. Diana soon followed her example. In a couple of minutes they pulled some of the food from the cooler and began to eat. A little later Lisa said between mouthfuls, "You know, I love it out some place quiet like this. I think backpacking into a nice isolated campsite and just relaxing is one of the best things in the world. Not the best, mind you," she said with a knowing grin.

Diana laughed. "I agree. But what makes it even better is to do it with a sexy guy. Have you ever made love outdoors like that?"

Lisa smiled, remembering. "Yeah. Several times. Not even counting some of the stuff we did outside last week. Just like food tastes better when you're out away from civilization, sex is better too."

"You mean sex tastes better, too?" Diana asked laughingly.

"That wasn't what I was trying to say, but, yes, I'm sure eating cock outdoors makes it taste better, too."

Diana went on. "One weekend last May Brad and I went backpacking up in the National Forest a couple of hours from campus. As soon as you get away from the roads, you don't see anyone up there. We camped beside a nice little lake and went skinny dipping. The water was pretty cold so when we came back out, we just naturally had to find some way to warm up again."

"I'll just bet you did," Lisa interjected.

"We sure did. Three times in a row in fact. Then again that night under a full moon. That was one of the sexiest trips I ever took."

The two of them went on talking for another half hour or so before finally deciding to get going again. As they were getting back into the car, Diana said, "You know, I liked that. After we leave the falls we'll still have a couple of days, so why don't we find some nice lonely spot and camp. It would feel good to just forget the real world for a while, wouldn't it?"

"I could go along with that," Lisa said. We can pick up some more food and we've got the camping stuff with us. You can see tourist junk any time."

They started out and later that afternoon crossed into Canada and reached the falls by early evening. Even though it was August they were able to find a small motel and got a room for the next couple of nights. "Once you've seen the falls there's not a lot else to do here but haunt the tourists shops," Lisa said. "But we want tomorrow to look around. Come on. Let's go on down to the river. We've got an hour or a little more until dark, so we can get a first look and grab something to eat. They light up the falls after dark and you'll definitely want to see that."

They found a place to park near the bridge and walked along the river up to the falls. Diana had never been here before and, like most people, was really impressed with the size of everything. They ate in the tourist trap overlooking the falls and watched as darkness fell and the colored lights began to play across the falling water. Finally they made their way back to the motel and went right to sleep. They spent the next day exploring the area. They rode the boat, complete with raincoats, out near the foot of the falls and heard the stories about the few who had made it over the falls alive and the many who didn't. When night came they stayed to watch the light show again and then headed back to their room.

The next morning Lisa asked Diana if there was anything else she wanted to see. "Not really. Like you said once you've looked at the falls, there's not a lot else to do. Why don't we head out and see if we can find some place to camp for a couple of days. When we come back out we can stay in a motel one night to get cleaned up and then I guess you can take me to an airport and head back to your sexy cousin. Unless, of course, you want to take me back to him, too."

Lisa wasn't sure if Diana was just kidding or not. Still she decided not to say anything and act like it was just a joke. They drove all morning, stopping at noon for a quick bite and to buy some food for the next couple of days. They had been discussing where to go and finally decided on a section of National Forest that Lisa knew, called Maple Run. It was heavily wooded and located back up in the mountains with a river and numerous smaller streams. It was pretty well off the beaten path and she thought they would probably have it to themselves. Diana thought this sounded fine and they headed the car in that direction.

They finally arrived at a wide spot in a gravel road that served as a trail head about six o'clock. Lisa said, "we've still got a couple of hours of daylight and even if it gets dark, I know a good site where we can set up without too much trouble just using the flashlights. The trail's easy and we can get by without boots. Running shoes will be fine for this." They quickly stuffed anything else they thought they might need into their packs and started off.

It took a little longer than Lisa remembered and dark did catch up with them when they were still a half hour from the site. But like she had said the trail was pretty smooth and they only needed the flashlights occasionally to find their way. Finally Lisa pointed to a small side trail. "There it is. About two hundred yards down that way."

They walked down the trail, nearly overgrown with branches from the bushes on either side, and finally came out into a clearing. There should have been nearly a half moon, but it was pretty cloudy so they couldn't see too much. "We can set the tent up right here," Lisa said, pointing at a flat area near one side of the clearing. "And there's probably even a little fire ring over here on the rocks." Sure enough, her flashlight discovered a small pile of rocks which only needed to be restacked a little to make a small, safe fireplace. It was located on a rock and sand area and there were several large boulders that could serve as seats. Diana set about rebuilding the fire ring and starting a fire, using some nearby pieces of dead wood, while Lisa set up the tent. In fifteen minutes the two had their camp ready.

"The fire's nice," Lisa said, "but the stove will heat stuff a little easier. How about stew tonight?"

"Sounds good to me. I'm glad we just brought cans so we don't have to wait for the freeze dried stuff to rehydrate. A little heavier, but we're not going that far." As she said this Diana was digging out the small butane stove and Lisa was opening the stew can. They heated the stew right in the can and soon were eating a warm supper.

When they had finished, Diana put the can in the fire to burn off any food smell that might attract animals while Lisa washed up their plates and forks. "There's a stream down below us here and we can get some more water in the morning," Lisa said. "We got enough for tonight and breakfast."

After they finished cleaning up, the two girls sat around the fire talking. They talked about the falls, about their last year at school, and about their plans for the coming year. They talked for almost two hours before deciding to turn in and later Lisa decided the most amazing thing about their conversation was that they hadn't even mentioned sex.

They awoke the next morning to sunlight shining onto the tent. Diana unzipped the flap and left. Lisa heard her exclamation and followed her out. "You said it was nice here, but I had no idea," Diana said. The campsite was located on a flat area about twenty feet above a good sized stream. Across the stream, through a break in the surrounding hills they could see several mountain ridges receding into the distance. Now the sides were draped in morning mist, slowly rising from the ground. The stream flowed from left to right, tumbling over a series of rocks and rapids and then dropping over a six foot waterfall into a pool that looked large and deep enough to swim in. Evergreens mingled with oaks and maples and the sunlight filtering through their leaves reflected in ever changing sparkles from the tumbling water. There was no sign of civilization at all and the only sounds were the breeze, the water and occasional insects and birds.

Lisa stared at the lovely scene and finally said, "Yes. It is pretty, isn't it. I've probably camped here a dozen times and have never seen another person. It is a well kept secret. There's a little hollow over there we can use for a bathroom and the stream is clean enough so it takes only a little purifying. Come on. Get a couple of those bottles and we'll get some water."

They climbed down an easy path to the stream and filled the plastic bottles. When they finally made their way back up and added the chlorine tablets, Diana said. "I'm hungry. What did we bring for breakfast."

"We've got some granola bars or some dry cereal, take your pick. And we can boil some water and make hot chocolate."

The two ate breakfast, mostly not talking and just looking at the scenery. After they had cleaned up, Diana asked Lisa, "Since you've been here before, you can tell me what we should do today."

"Well, there's a nice trail up the creek or another one up over that ridge. Or we can just lie around in the sun and when it warms up a little more go swimming. The pool down below the falls makes a really nice swimming hole. What do you feel like?"

"If you don't care I vote for just lying around and maybe swimming a little later. I haven't had a chance to get out in the sun and I can't go back to California with a faded tan or I'll never hear the end of it."

Lisa laughed, "OK. Let's drag a blanket out there to that grassy area above the stream. We can just sunbathe and yak for a few hours."

They pulled the old cotton blanket over onto the grass Lisa had pointed out. Both girls were wearing shorts and short sleeved shirts and at first they just lay down in the sun. But the day was heating up fast and soon it felt quite warm. "You said no one ever comes around her, right?" Diana asked. Lisa nodded. "Then I think I'll just go topless," Diana said as she unbuttoned her shirt and took it off.

"Sounds like a plan," Lisa said, removing her own shirt. "In fact, why not take this chance to get an all over tan. At least if you don't mind seeing my striped ass," she teased.

"As long as you're sure no one comes by here."

"Like I said, I've never seen anyone. And if someone did, we'd hear and see them long before they got close enough to tell. Come on." Lisa pulled off her shorts and panties and stretched out on her stomach.

Diana looked around then shrugged and shed her own shorts and panties. She lay down beside her and said, "You know, it feels kind of nice not to have to wear anything. A kind of free feeling."

"You know it," Lisa replied. "I told you Dan kept me naked all last week, inside the house and out. In fact he spent a lot of it nude too. And never wore more than a pair of cutoffs. At first I felt pretty self-conscious, but it didn't take long until I really liked it. I find I really enjoy the feeling. Besides, in our case, it saved a lot of time."

"I'll just bet it did," Diana responded, dryly. "I still find it hard to believe you two really made it that much."

"Me too. But it did happen. I probably won't be able to get my legs all the way back together until October."

Diana giggled. "I really envy you. I've dreamed about a guy who wanted me all the time. Well, maybe not as much as you two managed. But someone who was hot for my body and wanted to spend most of our time naked and screwing. The bondage and spanking stuff would be wonderful icing on the cake. I sort of wish You would lend Dan to me for a little while."