A couple times a month a try to take my dogs, (a cattle dog and a pitt bull), on a long hike. This is not always possible, but I try nonetheless.
I also recently purchase a book that highlighted hiking trails within a 60 miles radius of where I live. This was going to make the hiking goal a lot less cumbersome. One Friday night I flipped through the book, found a good spot that was pet friendly and made a plan for the morning.
After staying up too late, (playing Skyrim, let's be honest), I got a late start to the day. It was going to be a very warm Spring day with highs in the upper 80's. I had wanted to get out the door by 7:30, but that time had long since passed.
I bustled around, packing the dogs' gear, grabbing some water, downing some breakfast, and hit the road around 11. The moment I stepped outside my house I knew it was going to be a little warm for too long of a hike. I though to myself, "Well, let's see how long we last, and worse case scenario, we get to see some beautiful scenery and get a bit of exercise and head home."
The drive to the park was only about twenty minutes or so. Once we got there I put my dogs on their tandem, tightened my trail running shoes, hooked their treat back to a belt loop on my cargo shorts, and through the small backpack filled with water and snacks on my back. And off we went!
I thought there would be more people along the trails, but I noticed just a few hikers, most heading back towards the parking lot. "Those are the smart ones." Both my dogs seemed to nod in agreement.
About a quarter of a mile in I stopped at a outcropping of rocks to have a seat and let the dogs sniff around and get some water. I hadn't seen anyone since the top of the trail, so I decided to take off my shirt and get some sun. I'm not build by any means. I've got pretty built shoulders, arms and chest (mainly left over from working out during college), but other than that, just a regular guy's body. I usually don't hot shirtless, especially in public, but it was getting warm and I figured I could get away with it without running into anyone along the trail.
I stuffed my shirt into my backpack, hooked on the water canteen, and rounded up the dogs to head deeper in the park.
We did a good .75 miles before we found a tiny, pebble creek with about two inches of clear water running through it. I thought it a great opportunity to take another break, have some water, and eat a snack (I had brought some fresh apricots and cherries for myself, and some biscuits for the dogs). I slid off my trail running shoes and socks and let the still cool water run over them. Both dogs were enjoying the doing the same. At this point I think the forecaster was off a few degrees, it felt much closer to 95 than upper 80's to me.
After a few minutes of wadding through the angle deep water, I decide to fill my canteen and pour some water over my head and face. Now that got me awake! Still a little chilly, but it did feel good!
As I was reaching down for another splash of water I heard some movement over to my right. I instinctively look for and locate both my dogs relaxing up the shade of a small tree to my left (since the trail was empty, or at least I thought it was, I let them off leash for a bit).
I look over and see a shadow following the trail and coming around the bend. Honestly I panic a little - I look for my backpack, trying to calculate how long it would take me to run over to it, unzip it, and pull on my shirt. I decide that there is not enough time as the shadow slowly become a form.
"Hello there!" A sweet voice calls. "How's the water?"
"Uh...still a bit chilly, but refreshing!" I call back, a little more forceful than intended.
"Looks like you're enjoying it though! My name is Amanda, what is yours?"
"I'm Jeremy, nice to meet you. You're not afraid of dogs are you? I've got a couple under the shade tree over there, they are harmless, worn out, and napping." I reply.
Amanda glanced over at the dogs snoozing under the tree, then back at me, looking me up and down. "No, not at all. Care for some company during your break? I could use one myself!"
"No not at all, please join us. I've some some fruit in my backpack if you want a snack."
Amanda walked over to where I had dropped my gear. "Looks like a little walk in the creek is refreshing." She dropped her backpack, kicked off her trainers and socks, and began to walk my way.
As she stepped into the water I could see a small chill run from her toes to her head.
"I should have warned you, the water feels good, but still fairly cold."
"Don't mind me," she said, continuing to walk my way, "I'm just a little more sensitive to the cold than others." And gave me a crooked smile.
As she walked towards me I finally got a good view of her. She was maybe 5'7ish, dark blond hair, fairly athletic build, wearing a pink workout tank top and some running shorts. And I could swear I saw her nipples poking through her tank top.
I had to quickly distract myself. "So, have you enjoyed your hike thus far?" I asked.
"A little warmer than I anticipated, I wanted to get out earlier, but just didn't get up in time." She replied.
"Same here. Just overslept. It is definitely warmer than I thought it was going to be."
"But you guys have it easy." She said. "You can just take your shirt off and no one cares!"
"You got me on that one!" I say with a chuckle. "But you can always do what you feel. I took mine off about a mile back, thinking I wouldn't run into anyone since it's the middle of the day."
"Hmmm, you got me thinking." She said with a sly smile...
