LITMIR.BIZ

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I just rolled it up loosely and used it like a bivouac sack. After pumping up my little one burner gas stove, I heated up water and added it to the pouch of a backpacker meal. Then I used the rest of the water for hot chocolate. Backpacker food, oatmeal, trail mix and hot chocolate were my camping staples. I always came home craving fruits, vegetables and sweets. Preferably cheesecake.

      When my meal was finished I folded up the pouch, tucked it into a trash bag, then rinsed the cup and fork. As I lay in my makeshift tent, the smooth nylon brushing my face when the wind blew, I pictured Rusty, just like I always did before falling asleep. I’d told him this would be a quick trip but I hadn’t planned on spending hours helping Landon. I hoped Rusty wouldn’t be angry if he found out I’d continued alone. I knew he wouldn’t be mad at me. He would expect it of me, but he might be mad at Strict, telling him he should have called and Rusty would have jumped on the helicopter himself. I fell asleep with thoughts of Rusty and awoke in the morning determined to find Alisondra and get back home. I enjoyed the solitude and my time in the woods but each night I was away I felt more and more guilty and homesick.

      Mornings in the mountains were my favorite time of day. Everything felt crisp and new. The sun didn’t pound down, it filtered in sideways through the trees. Everything was still and peaceful. I went through my morning routine on automatic, only because I knew I’d last longer in my tracking if I ate properly. I took note of how much water I had left. I was tempted to pour some out to cut down on weight but knew I might need to share when I found my ten sixty-five. I found the end of the trail and started out, reading carefully and as quickly as I dared. I’d been on the trail for an hour when Strict checked in.

      “How are you?” he asked. “Holding up okay?”

      “Yeah, I’m fine.”

      “Got a call from Rusty last night.”

      “You knew to expect that.”

      “Yeah, I should have. Should have kept my mouth shut too. He wasn’t as upset as Peter was though. I had to outline your many successful tracking expeditions before Peter was convinced you’d be okay out there.”

      I gave him the coordinates off the GPS and he plotted my location on a map then let me get back to my tracking, not that I’d quit. It was just easier to track without dealing with the radio.

      If there was ever a search for me to do alone, I thought as I tracked, this is it. I had learned a lot about Alisondra as I followed her footsteps. She was a sturdy and practical woman who was also whimsical and fun. She became distracted by the simplest of things yet she kept her head and didn’t panic even though her path never made any sense. I found myself thinking, if I needed to get back to Elk Meadows from here I’d just go over this hill, turn west at the big shale mountain and I’d be there. But Ally didn’t seem to own a sense of direction.

      I was tracking along, still worried that I hadn’t found the place where Ally had spent the night, when I heard a movement ahead in some rocks.

      “Are you looking for me?” a voice called out from above.

      “Are you Alisondra?” I asked.

      “Oh, don’t call me that. It makes me feel so old. When I was five, people told me it was a pretty name because I was pretty. When I was in high school guys told me it was a sexy name because they wanted me to feel sexy. By the way, how old are you? Maybe I shouldn’t be telling you these things.”

      “Don’t worry, I’m old enough.”

      “When I was thirty it was a stately name and when I was fifty it was regal. Now that I am nearing sixty I’m afraid to hear what it’s considered next. So I go by Ally and now I can be whatever age I want.”

      “So what age do you want to be?” I asked.

      “I liked thirty-five the best. That was a good year. I was old enough to know I didn’t know everything but young enough to enjoy it. And I was old enough to know there was a lot of learning still ahead of me.” She climbed down lithely from the rocks and joined me on the ground. “I was hoping for a nice young man, maybe thirtyish.”

      “He was twenty-nine and he broke his leg. Don’t worry, there will be more of them when we get back to base camp. Have you had water?”

      “I knew to conserve that. I’ve got a tiny bit left.”

      “You can finish it. I’ve got more. How long has it been since you’ve eaten?”

      “About a day and a half. I look on it like a forced diet. Maybe I lost a little weight,” she said hopefully. She wasn’t fat but she wasn’t thin either. She was huggable to her grandkids but attractive to men her age. Her gray hair was in an easy care cut and her eyes smiled behind stylish glasses.

      I found a comfortable spot to sit for a while, removed my pack and rifle, then opened the pack and began digging around inside looking for something to eat. I brought out my camp stove and a packet of backpacker food. I handed Ally the remains of my trail mix and a bottle of water. A few quick pumps and a flick of a Bic and I had the stove working, then water heating. Even after going a day without food she picked out her favorite parts of the trail mix.

      “The one thing I missed out here was a bath. That water makes me want to go home and take a long, hot bath. When night came yesterday I knew it was time to stop running around in circles. I’ve always liked rocks. Rocks and trees are friendly. The trees close me in and the rocks are fun to climb around on. So I decided to stay here and wait.”

      “Smart move. I wish more of the people I find would do that.”

      While the water was heating I located our position on the map and figured out how to get back to Elk Meadows. I was relieved to see it wasn’t far. I poured the hot water into the pouch, folded the top over and shook it a little.

      I called Strict on the radio. I always felt self-conscious when I spoke on the radio. I let the guys carry the radio most of the time. It was a gadget and guys like gadgets.

      “Strict?”

      “Go ahead, Cassidy.”

      “Ten Sixty-five found.”

      “Ten forty-five?”

      “Ten forty-five A. We’re fine.”

      “Need a lift?”

      “Negative. I found us on the map. We can make it out today.”

      “Give me your coordinates.”

      I read them off the GPS, he located our position on the map and agreed to let us hike out.

      “We’re just eating some lunch and then we’ll head back.”

      “Ten four.”

      “Your name is Cassidy?” Ally asked.

      “Yeah, my dad is an old west buff.”

      As Ally ate her reconstituted noodle lunch she said, “I have a better recipe for this if you’re interested.”

      “I bet you do. What is it?”

      “I think it’s trying to be lasagna but it has a bit of a stroganoff flavor to it, too, like beefy sour cream. What would that make it strogagna? Lasanoff?”

      “I think the label says lasagna on it.”

      “So,” she said changing the subject, “what do your parents think of you traipsing around in the mountains by yourself?”

      “They are glad I’m doing this because it’s a lot safer than what I do when I’m not traipsing around in the mountains.”

      “What do you normally do then?”

      I laughed, “I’m a housewife and trouble magnet.”

      “You, a housewife?

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