Meet Me at the Summit

by Mandi Lynn

  “I just got here yesterday, so to be determined,” I say, but I feel a little spark of hope as we hike. I’ve never hiked in a large group before, but it ignites a small sense of excitement. The air is perfect today, with an occasional breeze that makes its way through the trees. It lights me up and propels me forward.

  “Ah,” Stacey says. “Well, on that note, let’s see what this hike can do to impress you,” she says, picking up the pace a little and taking the lead again. She takes a small detour, and I trail a few steps behind. The main trail goes straight, but she takes a beeline off to the left to another, thinner trail.

  I hear the waterfall before I see it. We’ve been hiking along a river for almost the entire hike, so I’d gotten used to the sound of it flowing by, but this time the sound is much more than just a stream of water. Stacey runs ahead of me, and I rush to catch up with her.

  “Welcome to Ouzel Falls,” Stacey says, posing with her arms in the air as water cascades down behind her. It’s not exactly the size of the waterfall that’s impressive, but how much water is rushing down. Gallons and gallons of water rush over stone, surrounding the area with a thunderous stream of sound.

  “This isn’t even the best part of the hike,” Stacey says, hands on her hips, admiring the waterfall. She smiles as she watches the water, and I see a sense of pride in her as she stands tall among the rocks.

  “You showing off, Stacey?” Dylan says, as the rest of the group catches up with us. Allie and Molly rush over, taking their phones out for photos. Trent is smiling, but he’s the first one to find a boulder to sit on. Dylan laughs watching Trent’s momentary relief when he sits.

  “Marly just got to the Rockies yesterday. I need to give her reasons to stick around long enough to hike a Fourteener,” Stacey says, glancing at Dylan over her shoulder.

  “You want to hike one?” Dylan asks me.

  Stacey takes a step down from the boulder, and I follow suit.

  “I want to, but I need to figure out what I’m getting into,” I say, pulling my backpack off and putting it on the boulder. I dig around until I find my camera and pull it out.

  “I think Mount Elbert would be good,” Stacey says. She watches me as I mess around with the settings of my camera. I lift my head a little at the mention of Mount Elbert. It’s one of the hikes on the list.

  “No, that’d be too easy for her,” Dylan says, giving me a little side smile.

  Stacey raises her eyebrows. “You think?” Stacey says. Now they’re both looking me over, as if how I’m standing will reveal if I’m physically fit enough to climb the mountain. I let the camera drop to my chest, the strap hanging across my neck.

  “If she got here yesterday, and she’s hiking at this altitude without any issue, she’ll be fine. Mount Elbert is a cakewalk. She’d need to go farther south if she wanted a real challenge,” Dylan says, watching me.

  “Ye of lots of faith,” I say, shifting away from his gaze, but I smile regardless. I pull my backpack on, take a few steps back, and snap a photo. I review it to see if the exposure is right.

  “How many feet of elevation do you cover on a typical hike?” Dylan asks me. He takes a few steps back so he’s not in the way of my photo, but I can feel his gaze everywhere I go.

  “Back home?” I ask, pausing a moment to think. “Probably somewhere between twenty-five hundred and three thousand feet of elevation, but I’ve done up to six thousand feet while backpacking.”

  “In one day?” Dylan asks, his eyebrow raised in surprise.

  “Not on purpose.” I laugh a little. “Made some miscalculations on how far we needed to go to get to camp.”

  Dylan nods, looking a little impressed, and crosses his arms across his chest. “Stacey, she’ll be fine,” he says, walking past Stacey as he goes to where Trent is sitting on a boulder.

  Stacey shakes her head, glancing over at Trent, who clearly isn’t enjoying himself. Stacey takes a few more steps until she’s behind me, watching me as I work.

  “We’ll let you have another day or two to adjust to the altitude before we take you up a Fourteener. You’re staying in the area, right?”

  “I’m at a campground a few minutes away,” I tell her. I’m setting my camera on a rock, wishing I had brought my tripod. It’s easier to take photos of waterfalls with a tripod, but today I’ll just have to make do with using the rock to keep the camera still. I prop my camera up so it’s balanced and then adjust the settings until the shutter speed is slow enough to make the water look like silk.

  “Perfect. Then we’ll plan another hike,” Stacey says, still watching me.

  I snap a photo and adjust the aperture of the lens, so the photo isn’t overexposed. With that tiny adjustment, the next photo is perfect.

  “Are you a professional photographer?” Stacey asks.

  I pick my camera up again and scroll through the photos, checking them all. The water looks dreamy as it blankets over the rock, and the low angle of the photo makes it the perfect position for sun rays to peek in from the corner of the frame, making the stones of the waterfall glow just a bit.

  “I dabble,” I say, handing the camera over to show her the photo.

  “Looks a little better than dabbling,” Stacey says, examining the photo. She hands me my camera back. “That’s really good.”

  I take it, smiling a little before taking a few more photos.

  We continue the hike after that, reaching the lake at 10 a.m. The view at the lake is nothing short of stunning. It’s a perfect blue-skied day. Birds chirp quietly as they fly through the air. Greenery surrounds the lake, with grass going up to the very edge of the water. And once again, massive mountains peek up from behind the trees, but this time they’re so close, you can see all the details of different rocks and even greenery close to the summits. I can practically picture myself standing there at the top, looking down at this lake surrounded by Douglas fir trees, higher than any alpine tree I’ve seen back home.

  Stacey brings out a thin blanket for all of us to sit on and makes the afternoon turn into one of those picture-perfect moments. I snap a few more photos, and everyone else scatters around to explore. Stacey is setting up her tiny hiking stove on the blanket, boiling water, and pulling some food out of her bag.

  “So where’d you learn photography?” Dylan finds me right as I’m kneeling in the grass, my face and camera pushed up close and personal in a small bundle of wildflowers I found growing near the water. I’m pretty sure as I bent down to take the photo, my butt was in the air. When you’re trying to take a good photo, you don’t always think through how you might look to outsiders.

  “Um.” I get up and brush some dirt off my knees. “Self-taught.” I pull up the photo preview and show him, scrolling through them quickly. Embarrassingly enough, there are a few of him. Technically there are photos of everyone, but there are too many of Dylan. I like taking candid photos, and Dylan is just really good at being… candid? I pull the camera away and turn it off.

  “They’re great. You don’t do it professionally?” Dylan asks, pointing back to the camera.

  “I used to take senior photos in high school, but not anymore.” There’s more to that explanation, but Dylan doesn’t push. He just gives me a small smile until Stacey breaks the silence.

  “All right, it’s officially lunch!” Stacey calls everyone over to sit on the blanket.

  We all pull food out to eat, but Stacey surprises us with the fact that the water she was boiling was for hot chocolate. She even packed small cups for everyone and hands out servings. Everyone takes the cup eagerly. It’s not often you enjoy a cup of hot cocoa in the middle of summer, but the breeze makes it the perfect temperature to drink something warm.

  Little conversations happen around me, and for a moment, I feel completely free. With the sun on my back and the breeze in my hair, I feel like I could be here all day and never have another care i
n the world.

  We stay at the lake for almost two hours. I walk around the perimeter until I settle on a rock beside the water and admire the view. Stacey is napping on the blanket she had packed, using her sweatshirt as a pillow. Molly and Allie sit next to each other, engrossed in some sort of conversation, and Trent and Dylan stand at the edge of the water, pointing at something in the sky. Dylan turns quickly and throws something at Stacey that stirs her awake. She rolls over, an annoyed look on her face.

  “Clouds are looking iffy,” he shouts to her.

  Everyone in our group turns to look, and there, off in the distance, is a gray cloud just beginning to form.

  “All right, time to pack up,” Stacey announces.

  The hike down is quicker. Molly and Allie are faster paced and lead the way, either for fear of getting stuck in a storm, or because it’s easier to go downhill. Trent also manages to pick up his pace and wanders to the front of the group with Stacey, leaving me and Dylan in the back.

  “If I knew rain would get him to hike faster, I would have told him a storm was coming ages ago,” Dylan says, slowing down to meet me.

  I laugh, watching my feet as we make our way down.

  “You don’t seem as freaked out by the possibility of rain,” he says, noting my slower pace. The rest of the group is a bit farther ahead, rushing down, but I’m trying to enjoy the last of the trail while I still have it.

  “I’ve been stuck in the rain before. Rain is okay. Lightning isn’t.”

  “Has that happened?” he asks.

  “Yup. It was all blue skies on the summit, then when I got into the tree line, I heard thunder. I tried to go as quickly as I could, but I was stuck in pouring rain and lightning for about an hour. It was maybe the one time I actually felt unsafe hiking.”

  Dylan raises an eyebrow, impressed. “And yet you don’t fear the rain,” he says.

  “I fear rain’s big brother, lightning,” I remind him, and then pick up my speed to catch up with the rest of the group.

  We get back to the trailhead in just over an hour. Molly and Allie say their goodbyes quickly, eyeing the sky as they walk off. I wave a thank you, and I’m about to walk away when Stacey grabs my arm.

  “I was serious about hiking a Fourteener with you,” she says. “If you want to, that is.”

  I look at her and then at Dylan, who is standing behind her, smirking as if to say, “You gonna do it?” Challenging me.

  “I’d love that,” I say, smiling back at Stacey.

  “Good! I’ll message you tomorrow!”

  Dylan gives me a small wave before getting in the car with his sister.

  Chapter 12

  I send Lori the photos from the hike once I get back to the campground, and it takes only ten minutes before she calls me on FaceTime.

  “Who is he?” she asks. That’s the first thing she says. Not, “How was the hike?” Or, “Are you feeling alone in the bus?” Nope. Boys first. Always.

  “Who?” I ask. Not because I don’t know, but because this is how Lori and I work together. We’re both experts at poking each other’s buttons, and you’d think at some point, one of us would get sick of the other, but it’s never happened.

  “Umm, the guy? Mr. Tall, Dark, and Handsome?” she practically screams through the phone, her eyes wide and bug-eyed.

  “His name is Dylan,” I tell her, laughing at her reaction. “His sister is the one that arranged the hike in the first place.”

  “Marly, did you get lucky on this one! He’s like…built,” she says, referring to some of the candid shots I took of him. I will admit Dylan has more muscle than the type of guys we used to date in high school.

  Lori’s watching me, waiting for a similar reaction, but I don’t give her one. Lori’s always been the boy crazy one. She dated a lot in high school. Like, could never maintain the status of being single, dating. I dated too and even had semi-serious boyfriends here or there, but nothing ever stuck.

  “He’s a hiker,” I tell her matter-of-factly, as if that explains his build. My face is straight, but my mind is in a similar place as Lori’s even if I’m not showing it.

  “Oh my God, Marly. Give me some sort of reaction. Don’t you like the guy? I mean, you took enough photos of him!”

  I let out a laugh. “Yes, I mean, I appreciate him…looking at him, if that’s what you’re trying to get at.”

  “Marly, I’m really thinking I shouldn’t have flown home because I wouldn’t have let you leave without getting his number.”

  “I have him as a friend on Facebook,” I tell her. Not that it really means anything. I friend people who are hikers on Facebook all the time, sometimes just to see photos of their hikes. But access to his messenger inbox? I have that, at least.

  “Marly!” Lori shouts. From what I can tell through the phone, she buries her face in the couch pillow. Always one for the dramatics.

  “What?” I ask.

  “Are you going to ask him out?” she pushes, her face expectant.

  “Lori, it was just a hike. I may never even see him again.”

  “Ask him to go on another hike with you. But like, just the two of you,” she says, wiggling her eyebrows a little this time.

  “I’m going on a hike with his sister. She said she would message me tomorrow.”

  “Well, that’s not hiking with him.” She raises an eyebrow, disappointed.

  “He might come along for the ride,” I tell her. “And if he does, then I might be able to assume he likes me.”

  I can tell Lori is thinking over what I said and seeing if there’s any way she can convince me to speed up the process a little more.

  “Okay,” she finally says. “But if his sister doesn’t message you tomorrow, then you need to message him.”

  “Okay,” I tell her, also knowing in the back of my head that if Stacey doesn’t message me, then I might message her before Lori can make me message Dylan.

  Lori seems satisfied, so the conversation moves on. I tell her about the hike, and she tells me about her latest assignments that she has to deal with. We talk for about an hour before Lori admits that she has to go.

  “But keep me updated!” she says, her enthusiasm enough to tell me that updating her isn’t optional. “Like, full play-by-plays next time. And I wouldn’t mind more photos.” She gives me a quick wave before hanging up.

  The bus feels emptier once she hangs up. I sit in silence for a few moments, seeing if I can trick myself into falling asleep now, but my anxiety is there, creeping in at the corners of my mind. After a few minutes, I pull my laptop out and turn on a movie. I fall asleep like that, curled up in bed with my laptop playing some overly dramatic comedy, only half-interested in it.

  §

  I sleep in the next morning. It’s almost lunch by the time it occurs to me to open the curtains of the bus. A message is already waiting for me on my phone from Stacey. I smile, knowing that means Lori can’t give me a hard time about messaging Dylan.

  Hey! Hope you enjoyed the hike yesterday and that it was enough to impress you! I still think Mount Elbert should be your first 14er. Did you want to do another smaller hike with me to warm you up before we do some serious hiking?

  I reach into the front seat of the bus and pull my notebook out of the glove compartment where I stashed it. I flip through the pages quickly and find Mount Elbert, the trail description written in my handwriting, even though it feels like it’s from an entirely different life. I close the notebook and grab my phone.

  What’d you have in mind? I send.

  Another alpine lake to test your hiking legs? She pastes in a link to view Lion Lake Trail.

  I click the link, and it’s easy to see that this trail will be a little more difficult. There’s over 3,000 feet of elevation gain, and it’s also about twelve miles, so it’s a hike that’s closer to what I’d be doing back
home.

  I’m up for it! I reply. I don’t know much about the altitude sickness that Stacey and Dylan mentioned yesterday, but I have yet to feel its effects. All I know is altitude sickness can take down even the most experienced hikers if you’re unlucky enough, so I’m thankful to have something smaller than a 14er to warm up my body before Mount Elbert.

  Tomorrow morning? Meet me at the trailhead? It’s the same trailhead as last time, but a different trail. Bring your usual hiking gear.

  I send her a thumbs-up emoji and then immediately text Lori.

  Hiking with Stacey tomorrow.

  It doesn’t take her long to respond.

  Anddddd?????

  And that’s it. That’s all the news I have for you, I tell her.

  No Dylan?

  Maybe? I’ll let you know.

  Lori responds with a crossing fingers emoji. I’ll admit, I’m also crossing my fingers.

  The next day I see Stacey’s car as soon as I pull into the parking lot. I park next to her, and we both get out and pull our backpacks on. It’s just Stacey today, and I try to ignore the little pit of disappointment in my stomach.

  “You ready for this?” Stacey asks, hopping a little as she goes to the trunk to get her stuff.

  I nod my head as I set up the GPS on my watch to track us during the hike. “Just us today?”

  Stacey is adjusting the straps on her bag. “Dylan has to work. Normally his boss is super flexible, but there’s some deadlines that he can’t miss or something like that.” She locks up her car, and I do the same, tucking the keys into a zippered pocket of my backpack. “All good?” she says. I give her a quick nod, and we continue toward the trailhead.

  “So what about you? What do you do for work?” I say.

  “I’m a nurse, so my shifts are weird. Couple days in a row off, followed by a couple twelve-hour shifts in a row. Some people hate it, but I love it because I get more days off in a row. What about you? No job or college keeping you in New Hampshire?” Stacey checks a map for the trail name again before tucking it into her pocket.