"Well, damn it," my husband, Chase, grumbled as he pulled our Subaru into the parking lot of the trailhead to our favorite trail. "There's someone here." There was an obnoxiously expensive LandRover parked in the first spot. "And it's a bunch of kids," he sighed an exaggerated sigh. A slightly exaggerated sigh.
Gathering their stuff from the back of the monster vehicle were three what appeared to be students from the college not too far from the trail. They were noisily chattering as they put on their name-brand backpacks and filled their designer water bottles.
"Now, come on, sweetie," I tried to soothe him. "It is a public trail on public lands. We can't have it to ourselves all the time."
"Why not?" We had gotten out of the car and were gathering our own hiking gear. "I am a grumpy old man that likes his solitude."
I punched his arm. "Just because you're turning 40 next month doesn't make you a grumpy old man."
"Maybe, maybe not. Regardless, I'm counting on my young, sexy wife to keep me from becoming too grumpy." He smiled at me and gave me a quick, public-appropriate kiss.
"I'm only six months younger than you." I kissed him again. "But thanks for calling me young and sexy." I smiled at him. He often calls me sexy. It's one of the many things I love about him.
The kids were satisfied they were sufficiently and stylishly equipped, so they started on the trail. The three of them, one guy and two gals, were excited and chatty and playful. And noisy. "We're going to have to put up with that noise all day, aren't we?" Chase huffed.
I just chuckled and patted his arm. "Let's wait a few minutes and give them a head start. We'll never know they're here."
This trail is our favorite for many reasons, the solitude being very high on the list. It's not listed on many trail maps and even many locals don't know about it. One has to traverse several miles over two narrow, curvy, gravel mountain roads deep into the national forest to get to the dirt parking lot at the trailhead. But once there, oh my goodness. The trail starts along side a stream and heads up in elevation. There are 3 waterfalls as the trail climbs into some of the higher elevations of the southern Appalacian mountains. There are several clearings where one can rest and soak in the view. At the summit of the trail is a large clearing with a nearly a 360-degree view of the surrounding mountains. From there, one can either take a short loop that circles back to the main trail or continue to follow the trail down the mountain ridge before circling back to the trailhead. The short loop makes the trail roughly 3 miles. The longer loop is a little over 5 miles. There are some strenuous portions, but overall, I wouldn't call it arduous. When done, you're not exhausted beyond hope. But you know you've had a workout.
We gave the kids about a 10-minute head start. We both thought we should probably give them longer, but neither of us wanted to wait any longer. Chase and I are "outdoors people". We love to hike, camp, fish, hunt, kayak, ski in season, etc. Our children, 15 and 12 years old, likewise love the outdoors. But we frequently leave the kids at home on our Saturday morning hikes to give Chase and me time together in the outdoors that we cherish. So, I understood Chase's irritation at the unwelcome intrusion.
His irritation quickly dissipated once we started walking. Hiking in nature does that. We must have given the college kids enough of a head start as we didn't hear a human sound for the first twenty minutes or so of our hike.
As we approached the first waterfall, however, we heard giggling and talking against the noisy backdrop of the cascading water. There's a short path off the main trail, less than 50 yards, to an open spot near the base of the waterfall. It was late spring, so the stream was high and the waterfall very active. But even in the high water, there's an area of bare rocks that just begs people to play or sit or take pictures or otherwise enjoy the surroundings. We typically stop there for a quick break amid the refreshing sounds and smells and feel of the waterfall.
Chase just rolled his eyes as we paused to look at them enjoying themselves. The guy and one of the girls were walking and climbing on the rocks around the stream. The other girl had taken off her shoes and was splashing around in the water. It was a warm morning for late spring, but that water still had to be very cold. She didn't seem to mind, as she was giggling and hopping from rock to rock and not caring if she occasionally stepped in the stream. She even tried splashing the other two, but they stayed far enough away to avoid her mischief.
"Come on," I tugged on his arm. "Let's give them their space. You know we goofed around like that when we were their age."
"Hell, we would be doing that now if they weren't here," he said, continuing his grumpy act.
Since he's been looking at 40 for about a year now, he's been trying out the "grumpy old man" act. But he's neither grumpy nor old. He is in as good shape at 39 years, 11 months as he was in his early 30s, if not better shape. He has an office job, so, yeah, he's got a little extra around the waist, some gray starting to show in his otherwise jet-black hair, and a few smile lines around his mouth and eyes. But he's still hot. He's tall, around 6'2, with broad shoulders. I mean, really broad shoulders. I love holding on to them when he's on top of me missionary-style. He has a strong chest that makes the little extra on the waist unnoticeable. I love his tight, muscular ass. It has just the right shape: not flat but not too big. When we're doing it missionary-style, if I'm not holding on to his shoulders, I'm grabbing his ass. I often let him lead our hikes just so I can watch his ass in his jeans.
We headed on up the trail. At that point, it takes a steep climb to get to the top of the waterfall. This is one of the more strenuous portions and does require careful attention to footwork. Since it had rained recently, the path was extra muddy and slick. We managed to get up to the top without any serious incidents.
At the top of that incline, the path flattens out for a bit. There is again another little offshoot that leads to a clearing on top of a rock that is just above the top of the waterfall. From that rock, we can look down to see the waterfall and the basin below or up to see the mountain range in the distance. If we don't stop below, we typically stop here for a rest and a water break and to enjoy the scenery.
Walking into that clearing, Chase shook his head and chuckled. "They're still playing down there." Then, after a quick pause, he exclaimed, "Holy shit!"
"What?" I turned quickly to him.
"Look at this!" He pointed down below.
"Holy shit!" I agreed. The girl who had been playing in the stream was no longer playing in the stream. She was lying on a towel on one of the big, flat rocks along the shore. Topless.
