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Erin nodded. "That's as close as he gets until he's had a significant amount of caffeine. I've learned to interpret his different grunts over the last few months. He's a great barista, but Ryan is not a morning person." He'd never talked much but even less at the beginning of their shifts.
He grunted again and glared at her a little, but she could tell he was kidding. While he spooned up oatmeal, she cleaned her dishes and went to the tent to pack. By the time he arrived, she had the sleeping bags, pads, and tent rolled and in their stuff sacks.
"Thanks. You didn't have to do that." Ryan shoved his bag in the bottom of his pack.
"No problem. I wasn't doing anything else." Erin packed her stuff and put on her socks and boots. She enjoyed helping him, probably because he rarely tolerated it.
"Hey, give me part of the tent." He stood over his open pack, reaching his right hand to her.
Erin patted her pack. "Too late. You can carry it on the way out." The tent wasn't heavy, and she was used to carrying it.
He scowled, and she gave him a challenging stare in return. "Okay, fine. But only because it’s too much work to pull out now." He plopped down and put on his boots. Erin hoisted her pack, checking around the site to make sure she’d packed everything. Back at the cook site, she grabbed the same group gear she'd had the day before, tightened all the straps down, and sat down to wait, but it didn't take long.
"Ready for the trail by eight-thirty. This is an amazing group!" Jules led them in warmups. Tyler gave them the same reminders as the day before, and then they moved out. As fast hikers, he and Ryan took the lead, then Erin followed, with Dan, Laura, and Jules bringing up the back. Jules wasn't slow, but she claimed to enjoy being last, so Erin left her to it. It was probably for safety reasons.
They stopped half an hour later to strip off their sweaters and hats because the temperature rose from the 50s to the 90s. As they hiked deeper into the wilderness, the hills rounded off, becoming less jagged, but the canyons were just as deep and steep. The wildfire had burned much hotter, leaving nothing but blackened stumps. The trail was a powdery mix of white and black earth over rock, each step raising small dust clouds. A few low, pale green plants sprouted in small groups on the edge of the trail. The fire had burned hot enough to sterilize the soil, and it was only ten years later that there were enough nutrients to support life. It was still beautiful but harsh and barren.
The trail was firm underfoot and gently undulated with no big elevation changes, so they made very good time. Gradually, standing burned trees became more and more common, along with a few larger green trees and smaller recent growth. They reached their target lake by lunchtime and gathered at a well-established campsite.
The site was lovely, with a large area of unburned trees around it and plenty of logs and rocks for seats. Far less than the required two hundred feet from the water to meet the Leave No Trace standards, but since it was already there, they'd use it. While they ate, Tyler told them he would make the fire ring smaller and naturalize the area before they left, but most likely, someone would rebuild the ring by next fall, despite the rules. "Find a tent site. There's a bunch past the lake. We can spread out a lot more than last night." Tyler winked at Dan, then pointed at the trail along the lake. "Make sure you're at least two hundred feet from the water." He rose, and they all followed. "We'll regroup here in thirty minutes. Jules and I will find a bear hang in the other direction, so bring all your food back here, please."
Dan and Laura took a side trail, while Erin stayed behind Tyler and Jules until they split off. She continued along a narrow trail across a grassy meadow to a small grouping of young trees in the middle. She followed the light path between two thirty-footers to an area of mostly bare ground inside the small copse, just big enough for a tent. Surrounded by decent size, healthy-looking trees, the site allowed a good view of the sky, with no hazards overhead. "This looks perfect, don't you think?"
Ryan smiled at her, his gaze intent. "Yeah, perfect." He turned away and dropped his pack.
Feeling a little flushed from his regard, she did the same, and the two of them set up the tent quickly. Ryan was all business, so she must have misinterpreted his look. Probably wishful thinking on her part. She had to remember he couldn't be hers—too young and her employee. They hoisted their much lighter packs and headed back to the cook site.
After hanging extra food and gear, Tyler took the lead with a Forest Service GPS unit and map. They hiked less than a mile to the area on the map. “Okay, spread out and look for signs of the old west-bound trail. But don’t go more than, say, four hundred yards from here. The growth is too thick to keep an eye on everyone, and we want to find you fast if something happens. Stay in sight of at least one other person.” The area had burned in the same wildfire but cooler, leaving thickets of willows and dog hair pines sprouting among burned, mostly downed timber. It looked like a giant dumped a box of scorched logs, covering the ground with crisscrossed trunks. Recent growth sprang up in and around the piles, so thick it was difficult to even see the ground in places.
Erin climbed over the downed wood, slipping and sliding despite her caution, willows and branches smacking her across the face. She panted in the heat. Only a few minutes later, she sat and drank, grateful for the slim protection of her floppy sun hat, and wished she'd done more squats. Her legs ached.
Ryan bounded from log to log, seemingly without a care; she worked hard to keep up. About fifteen minutes into their search, he whooped. "Hey, I found an old water diverter!"
Erin shoved through the willows to reach Ryan, a hundred yards from the trail. "Nice, Ryan." She patted his shoulder, and he shot a grin at her. Then he hugged her, shocking her. By the time she recovered enough to hug him back, he was pushing away. The other hikers gathered around them.
Tyler tied a piece of thin blue plastic surveyor's tape on a branch above Ryan's find. "Yep, that's a water bar, not just a log. Great job, Ryan." Everyone cheered, while Ryan smiled a little sheepishly. "Now that we have a starting point, Jules, Dan, and Laura will head back toward the main trail while me, Erin, and Ryan will go west." Tyler waved the roll of blue tape. "Onward!" He and Ryan jumped from log to log while Erin sweated behind them. But she found the next sign; they'd missed the line of carefully piled rocks on the edge of the old trail.
Tyler tied another ribbon. "Outstanding, Erin. Guess me and Ryan will slow down a bit."
Erin chuckled. "Nah. Leaves something for me to do while you mountain goats make distance."
Tyler laughed but bounded ahead, taking her at her word. He found the next two trail signs, tying more flags. "Let's head back. It's super hot, and we've already done five miles of backpacking today. We got a great start for tomorrow." Even with the flags, going back was slow and arduous, clambering over the log piles and hacking at the undergrowth to clear the trail a little.
At the main trail, the other group had found the intersection and cleared a few feet, marking it on both sides. Jules took off her hat and wiped her sweaty brow. "Great job, everybody. We'll take the rest of the afternoon off and relax. It's way too hot to do this kind of bushwhacking and trail work, especially after this morning."
They strolled back to the lake, refilled water bottles, pulled off their hiking boots, and snacked. After repacking her food bag, Jules stood up. "This is a big enough lake, so if anyone wants to splash a little, go in on the far side, closer to the tent sites. But it’s cold, so be careful." She walked away, pulling off her shirt.
Erin gazed at the lake. The cold water would feel so good on her hot, sweaty skin. She couldn't compete with Jules’s or Laura's beauty, but she was too sticky to worry about it. She looked at Ryan; his eyebrows waggled above a challenging smirk. "Come on. Let's go."
Ryan smiled, a slow lift of his lips that grew. Then he swept his eyes from her head to her feet and back. He was grinning by the time his eyes made it back to her face. Erin almost fanned herself like a Regency heroine. He jumped to his feet and held out his hand.
Erin forced a grin in return, ignoring the flush of heat his gaze caused, and took his hand, letting him pull her up. He yanked too hard, and she stopped herself with a hand on his firm, muscular chest. Ooh. Despite her overwhelming need to touch, Erin stepped back and turned toward the lake. She had to stop thinking about Ryan. He was off-limits. What did she need for the dip? Sandals and her pack towel, fortunately in her pack. Maybe a comb. But with Ryan right behind her, so close she could almost feel his breath on her neck, keeping her mind on swimming was difficult. She needed that cold water right now, or she'd combust.
When they reached the far side of the lake, Jules was already in the water, floating on her back in her underwear. Erin breathed a sigh of relief. She wasn't stripping all the way in front of strangers or Ryan. Erin peeled off her hiking pants and shirt, then splashed into the frigid lake. She'd learned to get the initial plunge over quickly, or she'd never submerge. When the water reached her knees, she took a deep breath and dove. Shuddering at the cold, cold water on her hot skin, she emerged, gasping.
She swam a few strokes and then did another shallow dive, coming up at a steep angle so her hair wouldn't fall back in her face. As she put a foot down and opened her eyes, Ryan was doing the same beside her. He wiped his eyes, grinning. Then he shook his head like a dog, sending water flying. Erin shrieked and splashed him back. Then all six of them were throwing water at each other. Ryan held his own, even with one hand. Even with the fight and the scorching sun beating down, the cold water soon made Erin shiver. She waded back to shore with Jules and Laura, toweling off and basking in the sun, watching the guys talk, standing hip-deep in the lake.
Laura waggled her brows. "The scenery around here sure is great."
