Do you remember the time you were hiking in the mountains? The wind in the trees made a warm comforting sound. Birds chirped and sang off to the left and a couple of large trees creaked together to the right. The fragrance of the forest, slightly damp and musky, filled your senses. You hiked unhurried, along the trail that would lead eventually to the old lookout tower on the ridge. As you hiked to the top of a small hill, you noticed several people ahead, working on the trail. You could tell there were four men and a couple of women. They seemed to be repairing a portion of the trail washed out by spring runoff. Someone had split a couple of logs and two of the guys were now driving reinforcing posts to hold them in place. A couple of others were filling between the logs with gravel. The youngest of the women was finishing a ditch that was designed to route the runoff around the trail. As you approached I lifted my head, wiped the sweat from my brow with the back of my glove. I smiled and said, "Hi."
"Wow, you guys really have a rough job!" You said.
I smiled back at you and said; "Ah, it's not too bad. Besides, the number of times we use this trail, the least we could do is spend a day or two fixing a couple of places."
"But how did you get all this gravel up here? It doesn't look natural." You asked.
I laughed "Everybody asks that. Actually the Forest Service gets that delivered. Down here it's brought in by horseback, but up higher they actually drop off loads by helicopter."
"Well that makes a little more sense. I just had this vision of you guys and all these little wheelbarrows bouncing up the trail!" You replied.
"Now that would have been a rough job!" I agreed.
"We're going to move up to the Slippery Creek crossing. You gonna finish spreading the last of this gravel?" One of the guys asked.
"Yeah, I can get it. I'll catch up to you at lunch." I replied.
"I should let you get back to work." You said.
"It's been great chatting with you. I really needed the break too." I chuckled. "Maybe I'll see you later."
"That would be nice." You replied. "It'll give me something to look forward to."
You continued up the trail, your thoughts drifting back to our conversation, wondering if I was just being friendly or was I more interested than that. You slowly strolled along enjoying the day, relaxing and letting your mind wander. You pass the rest of the work group and ask if they are going all the way up to the tower.
"We're heading back into town when we're done here. I think Randy was going to check out the tower and see if we needed to schedule a work party up there later." One of the women mentioned.
"Randy? Oh, was that the guy I was talking to?" You asked.
"That's the one." She replied and turned back to work.
Maybe I should go up to the tower then. No telling what might happen, you thought to yourself.
It was late afternoon by the time you reached the lookout tower. It was still in good condition, although the Forest Service had abandoned it several years ago. Now it was used as a rest stop for hikers in the summer and cross-country skiers in the winter. Even though the tower was well maintained, it was still a little scary climbing the light stairway to the observation platform. Once you were at the platform area, you could see for miles. A deck ran all the way around the outside of the main room. The main room was surrounded by glass and the floor still had a directional reference plaque in the center, pointing out significant landmarks on the horizon. Suspended from the main room were sleeping quarters. They room looked a little rustic; with three bunks each having a footlocker next to it. They must have gotten these bunks from army surplus, you thought. As you walked back up the stairs to the main platform, you looked down the trail and saw me emerging from the tree line. You walked out on the balcony as I approached.
"What took you so long?" you yelled down to me.
"I didn't know we had a date!" I laughed. "Besides we had to finish the repairs on the bridge at the Slippery Creek crossing."
"I take it you got it finished?" You asked.
"Yeah, still could use a little cleanup, but it will do." I replied.
I climbed the stairs to the platform and went over to a cabinet against the wall. I unlocked it and pulled out a gallon of water and some food.
"Here. Help yourself." I offered.
"Thanks. I really didn't plan to be out this late." You replied.
"I'm planning to stay the night and hike out in the morning." I explained. "I'm going to clean up a little. I'll be right back."
You looked at me with a puzzled look as I went down to the sleeping quarters, unlocked a footlocker and got a clean change of clothes. I tossed a towel over my shoulder and headed down the stairs. You watched as I hit the ground and headed to a small shack next to the tower. You noticed that the shack didn't have a roof and saw that a pipe leading up to a large barrel.
"The original shower! Ok, that makes sense. Maybe he's not insane!" You thought to yourself.
I came back up still toweling my hair dry.