After working for five years with the environmental department, I took a few years leave to rediscover the passion for Ecology that got me in to the business in the first place. After a few enquiries, a university had a research opportunity a few hours out of town, and I was happy to get away. So I found myself living in a cabin on the edge of a state forest for a two-year project taking photos of successional change. I was in heaven.
Initially, my days were spent identifying local conditions and species, and recording reams of data to be entered into the laptop in my cabin. It doesn't sound that exciting, but the solitude, the work, and the world outside my window was enough to keep me entertained. I ventured in to town to watch some football games and have a few drinks every week too, and I got to know some of the locals superficially. But that's all I needed right now.
It was a small town bordering a state forest, and about 10 years ago the council had made every effort to make the town a nature lovers stop off. Picnic grounds, walking trails, maps, camping. It was well set up, but it didn't gain any traction, the GFC hit, and there was no funding to maintain the facilities. The walking trails were overgrown, but useable as a passing hiker infrequently trampled by. My cabin was originally built for a ranger, but no one had lived there for 10 years. It was next to the main picnic point that acted as a gateway for the walking trails.
One of the tracks was a fitness trail that has exercise equipment littered along the steep slopes over 5km return hike. I had noticed that the equipment was in pretty good working order, but didn't think much of it. I used this track pretty often as the slopes allowed me to identify the species changes with altitude, and there were some magnificent views along the range when you reached the top.
I usually did my walks in the morning, and did data entry in the afternoon, but I wanted to watch a sunset at the peak, so I found myself on the fitness trail about 4pm, about 2 hours before sunset in a subtropical summer. I had brought some food and lighting gear in case I didn't make it back before dark. It was a lot quicker when you aren't recording data though, and I was heading back down the track after a 90min trip.
About halfway, I heard the squeaking of metal about 30m ahead. I thought it must have been an animal on the equipment, but as I approached I could see a back to me doing pull downs on the body weight machine. It was a woman, brown hair tied up in a ponytail that fell down to the line of the sports bra at her scapula. I stopped and watched from a distance, kind of shocked to see anyone at all, and a young attractive woman especially. She finished her exercises, grabbed her backpack and sprinted off. Watching her from behind, her tights revealed that she was an athlete with hardened calves and ass that made the lycra taut against her skin. And that ass didn't jiggle one bit.
The next day, I took my laptop out on the deck to observe the comings and goings on the track. It was a hundred meters away, but I could see the entry to the 3 main tracks pretty clearly. A few older couples came in to do the gentle walks and have a cup of tea in the picnic area, but the place was deserted when a car pulled up at 4.15pm sharp, and the woman from yesterday hopped out and headed up the track again.
I locked up the cabin and followed.
I thought that as she was running, and I was ambling, I might just see her as she run past, but I could hear the tell tale squeaks as I approached the first set of equipment, the leg workouts. She was lying down flat with her legs at a 45 degree angle, pushing up on a platform. I didn't stop to watch this time, and I audibly kicked a few sticks at the clearing so as not to alarm her.
She looked surprised to see someone, but was obviously mid repetition, and didn't want to have to start again, so she just kept pumping her legs. I took this to mean she felt comfortable enough, so I though it safe to sit down. I made no pretense of being there to exercise, giving I was wearing my hiking pants and work shirt.
"Hi there," she said flatly. She had finished her reps and sat up to wipe some sweat from her face with a towel.
"Hi. I didn't know anyone still used this part of the woods?"
"I do."
There was silence. She looked like she was ready to leap up and run, and I realised how creepy I must have looked.
"Sorry, I'm being rude. I'm James, I live in the Cabin in the picnic area. I'm here doing research in the State Forest. I walk this track every day, and I hadn't really seen anyone using the exercise gear."
"Oh." She relaxed al little. I think it was clear who would win the running race, and a wrestling match if it came down to it. "I use this pretty regularly. No one else seems to."
"Cool. Well, don't let me ruin your routine, I just thought I'd say Hi. I don't see many people under 45 these days. Very nice to meet you." I set off to go up the slopes, hoping she was only just starting her session, and we would meet again. I was in luck, as she ran past 5 minutes later, and I got a close up look at her figure. She wasn't body builder muscly, but very well toned. I would say it was a strong body from head to toe. She had long tights again that rode up her cheeks giving a perfect out line of her ass. She obviously didn't have anything on under them either.
The next clearing was the same as when I first saw her, and she was evidently finished by the time I came into view. She was standing up toweling down, and breathing heavily.
"Tough workout eh?" I said.
"Yep." She didn't seem angry, or even inconvenienced, just kind of distracted.
