Chapter 9: A Strange Hike

As they walked along a grassy path through the forest, Cinnamon marveled at the beauty around her. Occasionally she would quietly ask one of her companions, whoever was closest to her at the time, more about some of the unfamiliar sights in the forest and about two cities they were traveling too, Morovale and Avondelle. She had learned some things earlier that morning but there was still much she didn't know. They in turn would ask about her home. When not asking each other questions or answering them, they walked in companionable silence and enjoyed the beauty of the forest.

As they continued to hike through the forest Cinnamon was reminded her of vacations with her dad and of summer camp, not that she had liked summer camp. In fact she hated it, and had been thrilled to get out of it this past summer even if it meant more school work.

However as much as she had hated camp, she loved being in the forest, when she could get away on her own. She thought she could come to love this forest, filled with tall Redwoods, Douglas fir, and Pine trees. It was so like home; home meaning Earth, not her home in the city. Even so this forest was unlike any on Earth that she knew of. Tall Blue firs with their blue leaves and soft bark and dark Iron Wood trees that looked like they were forged instead of grown were proof of that. So were other plants and animals that were similar, yet so different from home. There were Nana Bushes with their small yellow banana shaped berries, and tangles of Rash Weed that looked similar to Poison Ivy. Cinnamon was sure to stay away from those.

They'd been walking for a couple hours now. Cinnamon wondered how high they were as they'd been slowly climbing. There were times when the trail sloped downhill but the downs were never as long as the ups, and the spaces between the ups and downs were getting shorter.

Cinnamon stopped to rest under one of the mighty Blue Fir trees. She took off her pack and leaned against the tree to catch her breath. They'd just reached the top the steepest climb since they'd left the flower filled glade. And she was out of breath.

When she'd gotten her breath back she turned and ran her hand over the soft bark of the tree. It was much softer than a Redwood. So much softer in fact, it was almost as if the tree were wrapped in a blanket. Absentmindedly she continued stroke the tree as she gazed up in wonder into branches filled with blue leaves. The colors were amazing. They ranged from a deep purple blue to a pale sky blue.

As she looked, a small animal that reminded her of a squirrel ran across one of the big limbs. It stopped and looked down at her. Then it chittered, waved its twin tails and scampered further up the tree.

Muriel came up to stand next to her. She offered Cinnamon a water bottle and said, "Beautiful, aren't they?"

The water bottle was not a plastic bottle like you can get just about anywhere here, but more like a pouch or bladder with a stopper at the end. Cinnamon had to be careful with it to avoid accidentally spilling it all over herself or dropping it.

"Yeah they are. The whole forest is." Cinnamon agreed, and carefully took another drink.

"Do you have Blue Fir trees at home?" Muriel asked.

Cinnamon shook her head. "No. It'd be nice if we did though. They're beautiful. And so soft."

Muriel nodded her head. "Yes they are. They're great for making blankets and cloaks. Cloaks are especially nice as they keep out the rain. Sharmon and Ernon's cloaks are made of Blue Fir bark. Maybe they'll let you try one on later."

Cinnamon smiled and said. "That'd be nice, though I think you're cloak is nice too."

Muriel smiled. "Thanks." Her white cloak was made of a blend of cotton and wool. "I think you're sweater is nice." Muriel said, returning the compliment. Then she said, "I love the pocket in the middle. Does it go all the way through?"

"This one does." Cinnamon replied as she pulled her sweater out, and stuck her arm all the way through the pocket.

"It looks like you've had it a while." Muriel commented, as Cinnamon held it up.

"Yeah. I've had it a few years. It could use some patching." Cinnamon said indicating the holes in the elbows and cuffs as she pulled it on. It was getting chilly.

"Beloved things often do. And that sweater looks very well loved." Muriel said with a smile, as Cinnamon pulled her hair up out of it.

Cinnamon grinned. "Yeah is it. I can't imagine being without it." Her grin faded. "My mom hates it though. She's always trying to get rid of it. But I love it. My dad gave it to me. Mom hates it though, so I need to keep rescuing it from the trash." Her grin came back. "Besides I'm still growing into it!" she said holding out her arms. Only the tips of her fingers could be seen at the end of the sleeves.

Muriel laughed. "How long have you had it?"

Cinnamon thought for a bit and then said "Six years or so."

Muriel eyes widened and then she laughed harder at the image of a much younger Cinnamon in a much bigger sweater. "It must have looked like a dress on you!"

Cinnamon laughed too. "It did!" she agreed. The sleeves weren't the only thing big on her. The bottom of the sweater still came down to about mid thigh on her. And the hood, when it was on, could be pulled completely over her head to cover her face, without pulling the strings.

The two smiled at each other. Then Muriel said. "Well, we'd better get going. Are you ready to go? I'll help you with your pack."

"Oh... yeah. Thanks. Will we be going much further?" Cinnamon asked.

"Only about another hour." Muriel replied. "If I know Sharmon, she'll have started setting up camp a little ways past the next big climb."

Cinnamon paused as she started to put her arm through the strap. "An hour?" she thought. Then looked at Muriel and asked, "Um... can I have a minute? To... um..." she trailed off blushing.

Muriel smiled. "Sure. Go ahead. I'll wait for you."

"Thanks." Cinnamon replied gratefully and reached up to pluck a soft, pale blue, palm sized leaf off the tree.

"I'll just be a sec!" She told Muriel and then ran around to the other side of the tree.

While the bark of the Blue Fir Tree was water repellant, to keep the water inside the tree, their leaves were very absorbent. They had many uses such as napkins, handkerchiefs, as well as other more personal uses. Cinnamon had learned that earlier in the day at a previous rest stop.

Cinnamon came back a minute or so later, blushing. "Thanks. I didn't think I could wait another hour." She said embarrassed.

Muriel smiled and said, "It's alright. I understand. And it's a good idea. It's a long climb and there's not really any place to stop once we start up again. That's why I went earlier while I was waiting for you to catch up." as she helped Cinnamon into the pack.

Cinnamon frowned and spoke. "I'm sorry I'm slowing you all down."

"Oh Cinnamon, please don't think like that." Muriel said softly lifting Cinnamon's chin, forcing the young woman to look up at her. "None of us think that." she told Cinnamon. "In fact you've surprised us by how well you're keeping up. And besides, you've been a big help to Sharmon by carrying her pack for her."

"Really?" Cinnamon asked uncertainly.

Muriel smiled. "Really. When we started off this morning we thought we'd have to camp in the meadow but you're still going. And by carrying Muriel's pack you're allowing her to go further faster, as well as giving her more time to hunt and gather food for us. So don't fret. You're doing very well by us."

Cinnamon, blushing, gave her a shy smile and thanked her. And with that they began to hike after the others.

Forty minutes or so later the path they were walking leveled out and came to a fork. Cinnamon slowed down to take in her surroundings. They had come to a fork in the trail. The wide path that they'd been walking on continued off to the right. Cinnamon had learned earlier that instead of a trail, this was actually an old and little used road. Letting her gaze follow the road she saw that the road actually doubled back on itself and continued it's gentle climb back in the direction they had come from quickly disappearing into the forested blue and green growth as it rounded a bend. On the left side of the fork was a narrower path that climbed up rather steeply, turned sharply to the left and disappeared into the forest. If Cinnamon could see a map of the area she'd have seen that the road climbed the mountain by a long series of switchbacks that maintained a gentle slope to the top. The smaller trail was a much short and steeper switchback that went in the opposite direction of the road. It was in the middle of this smaller switchback that the bathing pools were located.

Sitting on a mossy tree stump at the base of the narrower trail sat Ernon with a long pole leaning against him. He stood up at their approach and after greeting them, said to Cinnamon "Here, this may help you." and tossed the pole to Cinnamon. "Oh!" she said with surprise as she caught it.

It was a walking stick, or a staff, that appeared to have been recently made from a sapling. It's blue wood smooth to the touch, and just the right thickness for her hand. There was also a knot, just the right size and at just the right spot, that would keep her hand from sliding down when she leaned on it heavily. It was quite study and could be used as a quarter staff if needed, something that Cinnamon would discover later on.

After looking it over and feeling the wood, she looked up at him and gave him a smile. "Wow! Thank you!" She said quietly.

He nodded to her and said "You're welcome." He then nodded to Muriel. Muriel smiled gratefully and with more than a little relief. She had just been ready to offer Cinnamon her own walking stick. Unlike the blue fir sapling that Enron had found and given to Cinnamon, hers was made from redwood. Long and straight, the top end of the pole had been modified to include the head of a hammer with a large single claw. From the top of the hammer head protruded a short spike. Muriel had not wanted to part with the pole arm which had seen many years of use, even thought the loss would be temporary. But she knew that Cinnamon would need it more on this climb, than she did.