I wasn't very happy. My boss made me take a vacation because I hadn't taken one in years. Ever since I divorced my wife, I simply drowned myself with work. I didn't want to date or even look at another woman. I was just so damn heart broken. Heather was perfect to me. I guess she didn't feel that way about me since she had an affair with her old crush from high school.
My boss said that I was still too young to be working like a hermit. Granted, I'm in my late twenties, I just didn't want to get out there and date again. He suggested I take a camping trip of some sort. Working in the tech industry can really spoil you. Not knowing what else to do, I took his advice. I booked a 3 night stay at some camp grounds near Mount Baker.
I've never been the outdoors type. My family never went camping. I've gone a couple times with some friends when I was still married, but Heather usually packed everything and I was in charge of getting us there and back. I looked in my closet to see what camping gear I had. After finding the necessities, I shoved them into my Prius and left. I'd packed a notebook, a sketchbook, and my guitar just in case I got some kind of inspiration while I was out there. I doubted there would be wifi or even a cell signal at the camp grounds.
Mount Baker was a couple hours away and half way there I noticed the sky was no longer blue. The dark clouds rolled in like a thief in the night. I wasn't worried though, I figured by the time it started to rain, I'd be at the camp ground already. Boy was I wrong. When I got to the foot of the mountain, the rain was already coming down. I slowly drove up the mountain until I saw a sign that pointed me towards my destination. I got very uneasy when the paved road turned into a dirt one.
I took a deep breath and trudged on. Times like this I wish I had a Jeep or some kind of all wheel drive vehicle instead of this damn Prius. Luckily, it didn't seem like I had to travel up or down a slop of any kind. But whatever luck, ran out. My front end dipped with a sicken thud and jolted my body down with it. I was now leaning to my left at an alarming angle. I tapped my gas pedal and could hear the wheels spinning in the mud. I reversed and got the same result.
I was stuck. My heart sank as I opened my door to get out. My front driver side was laying at ground level. I looked around to see if I could maybe jam something down there so that the tire would catch when I gunned the engine, but no luck. I tried to use my phone to see how far away the campground were but had no cell signal. Frustrated and nearly feeling defeated, I started to frantically look for anything that could help me get out of this terrible situation.
I was soaking wet and decided that maybe the best course of action was to sit in my car until a park ranger found me. I was starting to worry if a bear or mountain lion could be out there. I sat there cursing myself, my boss, and Heather for what was happening to me. This would have never happened if Heather wasn't a whore. Or if my boss would have just minded his own damn business, I wouldn't be stuck here. Just then something in my rear view mirror caught my eye.
A big pickup truck was rolling towards me. Finally, a break! I got out and tried to flag it down. The big old green Ford truck pulled up next to me. The window rolled down and a older rough looking guy asked if I needed some help. I nodded so he hopped out to survey the situation. He introduced himself as Ben and said there was nothing he could do. He didn't have any equipment to pull me out but the rangers would be by in the morning.
I told Ben I was headed to the campgrounds, which was lucky for me because he was staying there for the week also. We quickly grabbed my stuff and tossed it in the bed of his truck where he covered it with a tarp. The camp site was another 20 minute drive, that gave us enough time to chat. I gave him my quick summary of why I was there and he explained that he was retired and went camping. hunting, and fishing very often.
My campsite was only a couple down from his. Since it was raining, he thought it'd be a good idea if he helped me set up my tent. After we dragged it out, Ben asked where my tent poles were. I looked and looked but couldn't find the little green bag they were in. I must have left it at home or misplaced them. He chuckled and asked if I'd like to camp with him. I didn't really have a choice at this point so I relented and thanked him.
He was defiantly prepared. At his site, the tent was up, there was a fold out table with a chair and a nice covering over it. All of his stuff was dry under it. He notified my his tent could fit 6 people so there was more than enough room. I unpacked my stuff under his covering and thanked him again. I took a good look at him. He was a burly guy. You could tell he know how to work with his hands. Ben was a true mountain man. He the beard and everything. I bet in his younger days, he was a very handsome guy.
I was snapped out if it when he asked me if I had anything to eat. I grabbed a couple cans of pork and beans. I took them and asked where the can opener was. I flushed red and shook my head to myself. Ben busted out laughing.