Trail Blazer

by Nicolette Dane

  “I’m Nao—Nova,” said Naomi, taking her turn to shake Stormy’s hand.

  “Nice to meet you, Nova,” said Stormy. “You chicks look fresh. I bet you’re excited to get out there.”

  “Definitely,” Gretchen agreed. “We’ve been planning this for a while. We just got in this afternoon from Northern Michigan.”

  “Oh, awesome,” said Stormy. “I’ve camped in the U.P. before. Beautiful up there.”

  “We’re not from that far north,” Naomi clarified. “But close.”

  “Well, I just thought I’d introduce myself and see if you girls needed anything,” Stormy went on. “We just finished and we’re leaving tomorrow, so if you’re missing anything and we might be able to help, let me know.”

  “Thanks,” said Gretchen. “That’s nice of you. I think we’re looking pretty good here. Anything we should know about the trail?”

  “Some hot trail beta?” Stormy said with a laugh.

  “Beta?” asked Naomi.

  “Just info on the hike,” said Stormy. “You know, how it’s looking or if there’s anything to be made aware of.”

  “Oh,” replied Naomi. “Yeah. Cool. We could definitely use that.”

  “Well, there’s a whole bunch of summer storms moving through lately,” said Stormy. “So expect some rain. Sometimes it comes up on you real fast. But hey, it’s par for the course for me. That’s how I got my name. Whenever I do a hike like this, I get caught in a storm.” She laughed again.

  “That sucks,” said Gretchen. “But I guess if you’re out long enough, it’s bound to rain.”

  “No really,” said Stormy. “I literally get caught in a storm. I was off peeing on our hike, and there I am squatting and it just opens up, pouring rain down on me. What can you do when you’ve got your shorts down and you’re squatting? You just have to finish and get soaked, I guess.” Stormy laughed at herself once more. She was obviously a pretty easy-going person.

  “Anything else?” Gretchen asked with a smile.

  “Pleasant River seemed a bit low,” said Stormy. “You might be able to just rock hop instead of fording it. Oh, and the mice are out in full force. Hang everything with food. Like, seriously. Don’t even keep a little snack in a pocket of your pack. They will find it and chew a hole. Trust me.”

  “That’s definitely good to know,” said Naomi.

  “This your first time?” Stormy asked.

  “Yeah,” said Gretchen. “Both of us.”

  “Well, I’m not sure how close the two of you are already,” said Stormy. “But be prepared to get close. Being out there with so little, in the middle of nowhere, hiking so many miles, you get friendly with your hiking companions pretty quickly. And don’t be afraid to make friends on the trail. Sometimes it’s nice to change it up a bit if you’re starting to annoy each other. Oh, and… really be yourself out there. Have fun and give in to it.”

  “Thanks,” said Naomi.

  “Okay,” said Stormy, putting her palm up. “I’ll let you ladies hike your own hike. We’re up and having a few beers if you want to join us. Otherwise, I’ll see you when I see you, Piggy and Nova. Peace,” she said, flashing the peace sign with her fingers. Without another word, Stormy disappeared through the door.

  Gretchen and Naomi looked at one another. They both smiled.

  Two

  After a filling, early morning breakfast at the hostel, Gretchen and Naomi along with three other hikers—two men and a woman with English accents—hopped into an extended cab pickup piloted by Bard. It was a quick ride to the trailhead, and the British hikers scurried off quickly. Their plan was to attempt to finish the 100 Mile Wilderness in just five days. Otherwise, they would have to rearrange their flight home. Gretchen and Naomi, however, were taken by a warning sign at the trailhead and asked Bard to take a picture of them next to it.

  “Appalachian Trail—Caution,” the sign read. “There are no places to obtain supplies or get help until Abol Bridge 100 miles north. Do not attempt this section unless you have a minimum of 10 days supplies and are fully equipped. This is the longest wilderness section of the entire A.T. and its difficulty should not be underestimated. Good hiking!”

  “Really puts it in perspective,” mused Naomi, considering the sign’s warning. “It’s like you kind of don’t realize what you’re truly getting into until it’s laid out for you like that.”

  “You’ll be fine,” said Bard with a smile. “As the sign says, good hiking!” He smiled and waved at the girls one last time and then walked off toward the van.

  “Thanks!” they both called after him.

  With their packs tight against their bodies, dressed in long-sleeved technical shirts and shorts, and their reenforced hiking shoes, Gretchen and Naomi set off into the cool and misty morning, beginning their trek into the wilderness.

  “No going back now,” said Naomi, walking a leisurely pace by Gretchen’s side. They had planned for an easy first day to get into their groove, to not burn out too quickly, and Naomi watched Gretchen’s gait to match her speed.

  “Nope,” said Gretchen with a laugh. “This is awesome. Look, beaver dams.” Gretchen pointed to the pond they were walking by.

  “Oh wow,” said Naomi, scoping out the dams. “I feel like I’ve only seen beaver dams on nature shows.” She laughed.

  “It’s cool,” remarked Gretchen. “They’re so intricate.”

  “I’m glad to actually see them in person,” Naomi continued. “You ever feel like you watch too much TV and you don’t get out and actually see things?”

  “I did before I moved to Traverse City,” Gretchen admitted. “Back when I was in Lansing, working my salary job, my life was a lot of… go to work, come home, eat-TV-sleep, go to work again. I got out as much as I could on the weekends, but it was becoming harder and harder.”

  “Yeah?” said Naomi. “How was it becoming harder?”

  “Well, my friends were becoming less interested in getting out,” said Gretchen. “I had done a lot with my roommate at the time, Kim. But then Kim got a boyfriend and went out with him all the time instead. So, eventually, weekends just became time to clean up around the house, run errands, that sort of thing. It felt like I was hardly living.”

  “I see,” said Naomi. “I think that happens to a lot of people.”

  “I didn’t like it,” Gretchen went on. “I was going crazy. So I just picked up and left.”

  “That’s super brave of you,” Naomi conferred. “I mean, really. Not a lot of people will quit their job, leave their home, and move some place completely new without any kind of connection.”

  “I’m a bit crazy,” Gretchen said with a silly grin. “But I’m young. You only live once. Besides, I think the real risk is in not doing the things you want. People go all their lives without taking any chances. The end comes sooner than we think. You’ve got to be you today. Tomorrow might not come.”

  “Yeah,” Naomi said with a slow nod, letting Gretchen’s words sink in. “Yeah, that makes a lot of sense.”

  Gretchen let her smile linger, and she reached over and placed her hand on her friend’s shoulder. Naomi looked back at her, and she smiled as well.

  They passed along Little Wilson Falls, a pretty slate waterfall that looked like a staircase and disappeared into a gully below, and beyond the falls the girls ascended the Big Wilson Cliffs. This was a long section of cliff walking with some impressive views, overlooking a pond, and this stretch culminated at Wilson Stream, a sixty foot wide river that they would have to ford. Standing at the edge of the river, Naomi’s face conveyed her trepidation with what they were about to do. Gretchen, although she could feel a sense of anxiety within herself about fording the river, put on a confident face.

  “Sixty feet across,” said Gretchen. “That’s it. Easy peasy.”

  “Didn’t Bard say this might be a tough one?”

  “He did,” Gretchen replied. “But we’ve got no choice. Let’s get our shoes off.”

  Together, they removed
their shoes and socks and replaced them with their hiking sandals. After another moment of thinking it through, Gretchen enter the stream first. The water felt cool on her bare legs, but very quickly the temperature became mild and warm. She held her shoes together in one hand and began walking, stepping carefully on the riverbed below, trying not to slip.

  Naomi watched her friend for a minute and then just went for it. She followed Gretchen into the water and her heart raced as she felt the immediate coolness. The water settled just a couple inches above their knees, but didn’t reach the height of their shorts. It took Naomi a few moments of getting used to the sensation of walking through the river, getting her footing, and feeling comfortable with it all, but when she caught on it became much easier than she had imagined.

  “This isn’t bad,” Naomi called out to Gretchen over the sound of the current.

  Gretchen looked back at her, smiled wide, and gave her a thumbs up with her free hand.

  As Naomi grew even more comfortable still, fording the river with ease, she looked ahead of her and focused her attentions on Gretchen. A new sense of longing filled her heart, something she had never felt before. Previously, she never would have considered walking through a river like this. But Gretchen had inspired her to take this chance, to believe in herself, to try something new. And that inspiration that Gretchen had given her, mixed with the vastness of the landscape that surrounded them, was imbuing Naomi with a reinvigorated sense of love for her friend.

  When the girls came out on the other side of the river, they cheered loudly and hugged one another tightly. The sense of accomplishment was palpable, and they both held on to one another for a little longer than one of their hugs might normally last. Once their embrace came to an end, they found a few large rocks to sit on as they put their shoes and socks back on.

  “That was incredible,” beamed Naomi. “I’ve never done anything like that. I feel like I’m glowing, I’m so happy.”

  “You are glowing,” Gretchen replied joyfully. “I can see it in your face.” She reached her hand out and lightly pressed her palm to Naomi’s cheek.

  “Wow,” Naomi said. “Just… wow.” She giggled and felt her cheek after Gretchen removed her hand.

  “You’re giddy,” Gretchen said and laughed. “Come on, stand up.” Reaching down, Gretchen took Naomi’s hands and pulled her up from where she sat.

  “Thanks,” said Naomi, still feeling that wild energy move through her. For the first time in far too long, Naomi felt an authentic sense of happiness. She had accomplished something she had never thought possible.

  Not too far from the river there was a flat clearing, and the two stopped to have lunch. They were only about halfway through the miles for the day and still had a ways to go, but both Gretchen and Naomi felt good. And it felt good to eat. They filled up easily on trail mix—nuts, dried fruit, some chocolate chips—and a few spoons of peanut butter. It wasn’t a glamorous meal, but it was calorie-dense and satisfying.

  Looking on at Naomi as she pushed a titanium spoon of peanut butter into her mouth, Gretchen couldn’t help but smile. Naomi looked so beautiful there with her dark hair woven back in a single braid, her pale face lightly reddened on her nose and just below her eyes, her cheeks filled with peanut butter and trying to get it down. She had removed her long-sleeve shirt as the weather warmed, and sat there in just a tank top and shorts. Seeing her in this environment, under these circumstances, made Gretchen feel all the more attracted to her friend. Her heart ached for Naomi.

  “Hey,” said Naomi, still trying to swallow a bit of peanut butter. “Can I get one of those salmon jerky sticks we got from the general store?”

  “Oh yeah,” Gretchen replied, breaking her adoring gaze on her friend and instead beginning to rifle through her pack. “I’d like one, too.”

  “Let’s eat and walk,” Naomi said confidently, standing up and putting her lunch stuff away. “I’m ready to get moving.”

  Gretchen nodded happily in agreement. And as they set off on the rest of the day’s hike, each with a piece of cured salmon in their hand, she felt deep down like something was possible here. Something with Naomi. Gretchen wasn’t sure how or why she felt it, but it hit her hard. There was a growing certainty replacing the uncertainty of before.

  She smiled to herself as she chewed, putting one foot in front of the other. The clouds from earlier had cleared, and the sun was shining down on them. It was a beautiful day in Maine.

  Near the end of day one’s miles, the girls ended up joining with a group of Appalachian Trail thru-hikers and together they all rock-hopped through Long Pond Stream, the final river of the day. On the other side of the river there was a clearing for tents, and the thru-hikers stopped here to camp, while Gretchen and Naomi pushed further still with plans to sleep in the Long Pond Stream Shelter, just a bit more uphill. Gretchen had checked her phone, and the forecast was calling for rain overnight and they decided together that the shelter would be a better bet.

  But as they came upon the shelter, they found that it was already inhabited by a handful of other hikers. In fact, the hikers in question were those very same British hikers that they had started the trail with. There was Queenie, the lone woman of the group, a very freckled redhead, along with her two male compatriots Seb (short for Sebastian) and Cask, who took his name from his love of cask-conditioned beer. They were a delightful and lively bunch, and Naomi found herself loving their accents and the rapport they had with one another.

  “The boy won’t shut it about his chip butties,” barked Queenie with a dramatic eye-roll. “He kept on about spotting a chip shop just over that next ridge.”

  “It’s my comfort food, Queenie,” Seb responded sharply, but still in jest. “Pardon if I miss the amenities of home.”

  “I could certainly eat a donner,” mused Cask. “A kebab and a pint, and I’d be right.”

  Naomi excitedly looked back and forth among these new friends, not quite understanding what they said but enjoying every moment of it. Gretchen caught her looking and smiled.

  “Well, it’s ramen for us,” said Gretchen. “Just too easy to carry and cook.” The water in front of her had begun to boil over their camp stove, and Gretchen put her brick of dehydrated noodles into the pot.

  “Us as well,” confirmed Seb.

  “What are chip butties?” Naomi asked, her interest piqued enough that she had to know.

  “Oh Lord,” Queenie said, dropping her head back.

  “Only the most scrumptious sandwich there is,” said Seb. “You see, my dear, you take yourself to the chip shop and you purchase your chips—”

  “Sorry,” interrupted Naomi. “Potato chips?” The Brits all laughed.

  “Very cute,” said Seb. “But I won’t be had so easily.”

  “No, really,” Naomi said, still smiling innocently. “Potato chips?”

  “She doesn’t know, Seb,” said Queenie. “It’s not a joke.”

  “Love,” said Seb. “In Britain we call chips what you Americans call French fries. Yeah?”

  “Oh God,” Naomi replied with embarrassed laughter, putting her hand to her head. “I swear I knew that. Oh my God. I’m sorry. Jeez.” They all laughed again.

  “Have no fear, little Nova,” said Cask. “At the recreation outlet, Seb almost popped a bloke for asking if he needed technical pants. My man here thought he was talking about his smalls.” The Brits all laughed together once again.

  “I did not almost pop a bloke,” countered Seb. “I knew what he meant.”

  “You didn’t,” said Cask, still laughing. “You thought he was criticizing your y-fronts, mate.”

  “Yeah, well I don’t even wear y-fronts, now do I mate?” Seb boasted. “You know I wear—”

  “Knickers,” Queenie interrupted. “Seb likes his undergarments frilly.”

  Gretchen laughed, and she looked over at Naomi, who was wide-eyed with a big silly grin on her face.

  “Anyhow,” Seb said, putting his hand up. “The conver
sation at hand. The glorious chip butty.”

  “Here we go,” said Queenie.

  “Yes, so… you get yourself to a chip shop, Nova,” he went on, miming the story with his hands. “You purchase a bag of chips. Done. You head to your flat, you procure two slices of white bread and you spread butter over each. Chips go in the middle, you make yourself a sandwich, and you enjoy it. It’s wonderful. I beg you to try it.”

  “That’s a chip butty?” asked Nova.

  “It is,” affirmed Seb.

  “It sounds… well, I guess it sounds pretty good!” said Nova. Queenie threw her hands up and Cask laughed.

  “I assure you, you will love it,” said Seb with finality.

  Throughout the story, Gretchen had been preparing the ramen for her and Nova. She seasoned it with the small accompanying packet of spice, and made sure to collect all the packaging, fold it up tightly, and push it into a small plastic bag she had for trash. Gretchen handed Nova a spoon, but she was still too enthralled with the conversation to eat. Not eager to wait for dinner, Gretchen began eating.

  “I love it,” said Nova. “I’m definitely going to try that when I get home.”

  “You’re in for carbo-overload,” said Queenie. “Those monstrosities give me such indigestion. I’m feeling ill simply considering it.”

  “I see now why she’s called Piggy,” teased Seb. The group looked over at Gretchen, who was already plowing through the ramen in her pot. Everyone laughed as Gretchen looked up from her meal in surprise.

  “Save some for your girl,” said Queenie, pointing to Nova. “That one’s going to waste away if you don’t get some noodles in her.”

  “That’s an oddly sexualized way of describing it,” mused Cask. The Brits all laughed and Nova quickly joined in.

  “I’m sorry,” Gretchen said with embarrassment, pushing the pot away and closer to Nova. “It’s exactly why I’m called Piggy.”

  “Don’t listen to him, Pigs,” Queenie countered. “Seb is afflicted with a congenital case of verbal diarrhea. He gets it from his mum.”