Beth looked up from where she sat on the side of the trail as another fat drop of rain hit her jacket. She could see the line of clouds that had been chasing her much closer through the quiet comfort of the spruces surrounding her.
"Figures," she thought desultory as she gazed up from the boulder she had been sitting on. Beth thought about how she had gotten here as she brushed some crumbs off her legs from her snack.
This out and back trail, one she knew fairly well, should have felt like a balm against her frayed emotions. Unfortunately, she still felt like a badly wrapped skein of yarn that got put away wet.
She had glanced at the weather report as she had hurriedly thrown things into her pack through tear streaked eyes. The report stated that the cold front was to hang to the North, clear of her hike, or so she had thought.
Her Friday morning had started well, only to come crashing down when she found her now ex-boyfriend, James, sending her a text before lunch saying he needed space and it might be best to see other people. Things had spiraled from there.
"What a spineless piece of shit!" she exclaimed for what felt like the twentieth time as she kicked a small rock off the hiking trail.
They had plans to go out to dinner last night, maybe a nice glass of wine and an ending in a tangle of sheets on her bed. She had these great plans on surprising James with some new lingerie. Beth had tried it on the night before and ended up touching herself until she came hard at the thought of how he would love it on her.
She hated how she still felt herself react to that thought, her body betraying her as she felt her nipples stiffen, rubbing against her bra slightly. Beth wanted nothing to do with that bastard, even as she felt herself flushed from excitement still.
Instead of having a nice night with James, Beth drove out to her favorite trailhead and pounded down the trail until she had found a bit of solace in the peace of the forest. After putting down half a dozen miles, she pitched camp next to a shelter of spruces as she snuggled into her sleeping bag. The soft sounds of the forest lulled her to sleep, leaving her to chase dreams as Beth slept contentedly.
Morning brought a quick breakdown of camp, a refreshing and brisk walk through alpine meadows until she had her lunch overlooking a mountain lake. As much as she had hoped to banish James from her mind, her hike still hadn't done the job.
A friend had told her about this hike in passing while they drank their coffee studying for a class her first semester. Intrigued, she packed up and hit the trail with her that next weekend and was surprised at the solitude of it. While Beth had enjoyed being out on the trail with her, she secretly could not wait to hike it alone.
Shaking her head slightly to bring herself back to the present, Beth let the mountain air clear her mind as she idly played with a leaf as she tucked a loose strand of brown hair behind her ear.
Seated against a rock, she admired the reflections of the peaks in the lake. When she had first got there, the lake was as smooth as glass so you could almost not tell which view was the actual mountains. Beth watched as another ripple appeared on the far end of the lake, moving towards her as she felt the first hint of a storm from the wind.
Sighing again, Beth stared down at her toes as did a once over of herself, instinctively, as an ingrained lesson from her dad's teaching of woodcraft kicked in.
Her athletic and petite frame was layered in a windbreaker with a long t shirt, slightly muffling her full breasts. She always felt a bit self conscious of herself in that way, as they always seemed to get in the way of her pack straps. At 23, Beth felt that she had lost the last of what the high school jerks called 'baby fat'.
Her toned legs were wrapped in jeans, which she picked off some pine needles that had decided to tag along at her ankles. Smiling absently, she spun one between her fingers as if she could spin it fast enough to fly away. Flicking it away, she glanced to her North as she felt another cool breeze caress her cheek.
Beth could see the front her weather report had warned her of, much closer than it should have been, yet still a ways away. Beth let out a contented sigh, slowly gathering herself mentally. While she could have spent all day here, she knew it was time to head back.
Strapping on her pack, Beth took one last look before heading towards the trail as she felt another gust swirl around her legs. A slight chill raced along her spine as the cool wind reminded her of winter still.
Beth felt another couple drops hit her as she stepped away from the boulder. About the time that Beth reached the first screen of scrub trees, the rain had intensified as it was accompanied by another soft gust as she hurried down the trail.
She felt worried as her senses promised a wet and potentially cold night. Spring may just be flourishing at home, but here in the mountains, late winter still held reign for a bit longer. Another burst of cold rain fell against her as it somewhat chased away her feeling of contentment.
The campsite Beth slept at last night was a couple hours down the trail and she wanted to make sure she got it before it started really raining. Looking up, Beth watched the crowns of the Douglas Firs and Blue Spruces swaying as the front swept down from the upper elevations.
Starting down the trail, she scanned around naturally as she checked her surroundings. Occasionally she had met other hikers on this trail and a simple nod of the head or hello sufficed, but she never really liked sharing a trail, much less a camp with anyone. Luckily, she knew of a couple spots not too far off trail that would suffice in a pinch if her normal site was taken.
Beth had always enjoyed the peace she found in the forest; away from the world, she found tranquillity in the woods. Even as a little girl, her dad guiding her through the vast forest, she felt an affinity to these kinds of places.
Growing up in a one blinking stoplight town, she found an escape beneath the crowns of the trees, the soft crunch of needles under her feet as she strode along the trail. It wasn't easy growing up when you did not fit in, so she found solace in these quiet spaces.
Whenever she could sling her pack up onto her shoulders, it felt like a wrap of a comfy friend as she cinched her waist belt to get her weight right. Dad had taught her all of the woodcraft she knew, building a good foundation for the confidence she had alone in the woods.
She wished he was here to smile at her and shine down some fatherly advice or have her soon laughing about some inane thing. With her in college, the hikes she'd had come to value growing up with him became fewer and fewer.
Smiling, she sauntered back down the path as she felt the rain tapping more insistently against her.
Beth kept a comfortable gait as she mentally replayed her time with James. Tall, dark hair and nice build, she felt heart skip when he was assigned as one of her lab partners in her biology class.
When he asked her if she ever wanted to grab a coffee, she felt like she all but dragged him to get a drink. One date led to another and soon they found themselves at each other places, like bunnies under the woodshed, to quote one her dad's sayings.
She sighed as she felt her body react to these thoughts. As much as she did not want to admit it, James was her first real love and lover. Not her first time having sex, as she slightly shuddered remembering her first time, yet still he made an impression on her.
James though was the first time though that she felt truly connected to her partner, much stronger than the other flings she had before him. The men before him were flings, moments of pleasure without the connection she had felt with him.
Her mind wandered about all the different ways they explored each other as she pounded down the trail; the soft kisses he laid along her body, the feel of him over her as he slipped in her, the smell of him as she buried her head against his shoulder as she came.
It felt bittersweet to her as she fought off both the rising excitement and also the sadness at thinking of him. Beth had a fleeting thought of going home, putting on the most sexy dress she had and going to pick up some guy. Let him have his way with her to help banish James.
She felt a burst of excitement to this as she daydreamed how she let him strip her down to her underwear. She would kneel and undo his pants before pulling them down and his underwear roughly and then just taking him in her mouth.
Swirling her tongue around his head, feeling his hands in her hair as she relaxed her jaw and let him take her. Even as she felt herself getting wet, she imagined how he pulled her up and quickly bent her over her bed.
Even as she walked down the trail, she imagined him ripping off her underwear and roughly taking her as he held her hands behind her back. Beth softly moaned as she could imagine feeling him wet from her mouth, thrusting easily deep in her as she pushed her hips back against him.
Beth felt herself turned on, her nipples hard and sensitive as she felt herself getting wet and the itch to rub herself. She felt herself flushed as she imagined being held down as he took her hard and fast, even as she got one hand free and rubbed her clit as he fucked her hard.
Beth came back to reality as she crested a rise as she looked down at the small valley she had to cross. She could just see the highlights of the late afternoon light reflecting on the mountain river cutting through the valley.
The cold rain continued to pelt her harder as she watched the clouds race across the valley. She watched as the sun was cut off from her, leaving a muted gray landscape. She let the view calm her excitement slightly, as she found herself breathing hard as her body tingled in excitement.
Walking down towards the river, Beth looked forward to refilling her nalgene and taking a deep drink of the cold snow runoff. Even though it was a high mountain stream, she still filtered her water as she could ill afford to get sick from unfiltered water.
Beth could hear her dad in his teaching voice, "You'll have your guts on the outside if you don't filter your water. Always filter and your body will thank you."
Also, Beth looked forward to that drink to cool her down. She was surprised by the extent her daydream affected her as she found herself turned on even as she felt the delicious friction of her bra and underwear on her sensitive areas as she walked towards the river.
Taking a long pull of cold water, Beth let out a contented sigh. The water hit the spot for her as she assessed her situation. Beth knew that once she got across, her campsite was further up the trail, right next to a fork of this small river. With the rain starting to come down heavier, she was looking forward to settling in to the warmth of her sleeping bag with her belly full of dinner. In her current state, Beth thought how it would feel good to slip her hand down between her legs and scratch a needed itch.
Gazing across, she looked for a good line to cross on the rocks. The water seemed to be a bit higher than when she crossed this morning, but nothing to be afraid of. About fifteen feet across and filled with rocks poking out, Beth knew she could cross as she had done in a number of times before.
