The uphill was endless, and annoyingly steep. For the thousandth time, I questioned my propensity to sign myself up for extra tough hikes. Especially when going solo. It sounds so glorious when I am at home planning it! "If it's not hardcore, it's not worth doing!" Yeah, right. Here I am, legs on fire, lungs on fire...
Finally, I reached the ridge. Catching my breath, I gobbled some water from my hydration pack and enjoyed the amazing view. There's nothing in the world like the mountains. From here on, I could see a well-defined trail that was all downhill; good news indeed. Not wasting much time, I continued my hike.
I quickly dropped down below the tree line, and the shade was welcome. A warm sunny day is perfect for a casual stroll, but if you're pushing yourself, you start overheating. I continued through the woods for a while. Since morning, I haven't met anyone at all, and that was quite OK. On some hikes in this park, I could do a whole day without human interaction.
Following the trail, I eventually arrived to a small clearing. Going fast as I was, I almost blew right past it, but then, to my surprise, I noticed an old, beat-up wooden picnic table with a bench. What was even more surprising was that it was occupied: a young lady was sitting on the table, feet on the bench, enjoying her packed lunch. In itself that wouldn't be that rare of a sight, if not for two details: she was rather gorgeous, and - it took me a moment to process - she was naked from the waist down.
I stopped, puzzled, and automatically walked over to greet a fellow hiker. She was looking at me, studying but not staring. My presence didn't perturb her at all, and she continued to gnaw on her rather massive sandwich. The girl didn't seem in any way embarrassed by her partial nakedness. I told myself that it's only fair to stare given the circumstances; truth to be told, I couldn't _not_ stare. My eyes were gliding around the gentle curves of her slim, miniature frame. Her dark hair accented her tan face. The eyes - huge, black eyes, studying me, smiling without smiling - were interfering with my ability to think clearly.
It wasn't quite clear what made her undress - or was she even dressed in the first place, or arrived like this. I couldn't see any garment, although it could've been in her backpack.
- Er... hi there. - I was as eloquent as ever. She nodded - not rudely, just matter-of-factly. - I was, er, just following the trail from behind the ridge. Looking for a lunch spot.
- Have a seat, - she nodded, her words muffled by the sandwich. The bench was rather short, so the only way I could sit down was quite close to her muscular legs. Naked legs. I took off my backpack and lowered myself, being very careful about not touching her as if she was electrified. Forcing myself not to stare awkwardly, I reached into my pack and fished out my lunch. I put it on my lap but my mind was racing aimlessly, and I was struggling to focus on unpacking it. I need to say something, this is awkward. Gotta say something.
- It's, uh, very nice hiking in this park.
- Um-hmm.
- Not many people out here at all.
