Jenkins Trail Shelter Pt. 01

It all happened twenty-four years ago, but as I sat on the edge of my bed looking at her photo, the old journal sitting beside me, I remembered it all like it had happened yesterday. I could even hear her sweet voice with its pleasant accent in my head. My finger tracing the faint scar between my thumb and wrist.

Chapter One

The summer after I graduated from college, I accepted a great job offer with a fast-growing company. Only, the job did not start for another ten weeks. Something about a new account and ramping up production.

So, with time on my hands and no responsibilities, I decided to hike the Appalachian Trail before starting my new job. It was my college roommate, Rob, that had given me the idea. He and his father had hiked the trail the previous summer and all his stories about those two weeks on the trail just stuck with me.

Besides, when would I ever get to take two months to do something like that?

Rob and his family lived close to Roan Mountain in Tennessee. One short phone call to him, and I was making my way across two states to visit him. Even before I shut off the car, Rob was asking me if I was really going to walk the trail for two months. I reassured him that I was going to try.

That evening, his entire family gave me tidbits of advice for the hike. I could tell that Rob was bummed that he could not join me. He had already taken a temp job that could turn into a permanent hire, if things worked out. It was a great opportunity for him, so joining me was not an option for him.

That night, he and his dad looked over my pack and ended up replacing a bunch of my stuff with his dad's equipment. His mom gave me bags full of granola for quick energy, and they all assured me that if I had any trouble, one phone call from a pay phone, and they would be there as fast as they could drive. They even told me to call collect.

The next morning, when they dropped me off at the trailhead, Rob's dad took me aside and handed me a credit card. "It's a prepaid card. I got it from the store last night. If you need more than this, just call and I can wire more money to the account."

I tried to refuse it, but he insisted, telling me how he would feel better if he knew I had money. I promised to pay him back and hid the card deep in my pack.

They were a great family, and I was very appreciative. I still have that picture of all of us on the trailhead when they dropped me off.

That first week, I survived my blisters and earned my calluses. I was able to keep my goal of ten miles a day, rain or shine. I kept a journal, and every time I spotted something interesting, I would take note of it. Every evening, I would write about the day before going to sleep.

I was finishing up my seventeenth day on the trail and had hit my mark of 170 miles, when I took the side trail to the Jenkins Trail Shelter. There was someone already there, a cute short woman in a flannel shirt and worn jeans. She certainly did not look like the normal hiker you spotted along the trail. She was obviously comfortable in the woods.

As to not scare her, I called out to her when I saw her, "Hey."

"Oh, come on in. Promise not to bite." She had an interesting Pennsylvanian or West Virginian accent.

I rather liked it. Smiling, I replied, "You mind if we share the shelter tonight?"

"Not a problem." She walked over and held out her hand, "Name's Lisa."

Taking her hand, "Dave."

She looked me up and down and came to some conclusion in her head, "What's your mileage?"

"Ah, I am only at 170."

"Just started, did ya?"

"Two and a half weeks ago."

"Ok, slow walker, are ya?"

"First time."

"Oh! Well, then you are doing good. What way did ya come from?"

"I started at Roan Mountain, down in Tennessee." I got started with my evening meal, warming it up on the fire.

"I've been down that far before, but just the once."

"You hike the trail often?"

"Every year about this time. I find it a perfect vacation getaway."

So, my suspicions were correct, she was a veteran of the trail. I started eating my meal and organized my thoughts about what I would be writing in my journal entry tonight.

Her question pulled me from my thoughts, "Dave, there's a stream a bit further down the hill. Would you mind watching the trail for me, if I was to wash up?"

I looked up at her, "Absolutely. When did you want to go down?"

"In just a bit. When the trail activity slows down."

"Sure, almost finished with this, and I will be ready."

Twenty minutes later, we were walking down the small hill to the stream, as the sun was touching the top of the mountain. At the narrow bridge over the stream, there was a path that wound down to the water. I stayed up on the trail and tried not to think about what I might see if I were to look down over the embankment to see what all the splashing was about.

Fifteen minutes later, she was climbing back up the path, her long red hair still dripping wet.

"I have a dry towel in my pack if you need it."

"Na, I'll dry."

"Well, you don't want to get a chill in this cool air."

"You don't mind?"

"No, I will feel better if you use it."

She giggled, "What? Are you worried that I will catch pneumonia?"

"Actually, I probably would."

"Well, just to ease your mind." She laughed.

Her laugh was like music. I looked down at the trail to keep from staring at her beautiful face; a smile plastered on my own. She dried her hair when we got back to camp, and we sat at the fire and just chatted. We found we had quite a few things in common. I also realized that I rather liked her.

When the conversation finally stalled, I took out my journal and started to jot down today's experiences by the firelight. When she saw me writing, she asked me what it was, and I explained to her that it was just my thoughts about the day.

She smiled and asked, "Will I be in there, too?"

"Probably. Watching the trail for an attractive woman washing in a creek is a good story."

"Suppose."

I looked up and asked her, "Would you like to read a bit of it?"

She looked surprised that I would offer, "Sure."

I handed it to her, and she looked through it, reading a few entries. At that moment, I was so struck by her beauty that I just had to capture it. I took out my camera and asked her, "Mind if I take one?"

She smiled and replied, "Okay."

I quickly snapped the image with my small 110 camera, image number 10.

She was caught sitting on her log, her legs crossed, my journal on her lap, her hand holding it. Her other hand was caught tucking her hair behind her ear. Her shoulders were slightly turned towards me. She was looking right at me with a half smile on her lips. The flash had made her eyes red in the image, but I would always remember the exact shade of green they were. I would look at that picture often over the many decades to come, always wondering.

I was just finishing up my journal entry, when she came over and sat down next to me.

"Would you be interested in sharing this?"

I looked up from my writing to see her holding a joint in her hand. Now, I had grown up all my life with 'Drugs Kill' and 'Dope is a gateway drug', so I was a bit hesitant. But I did not want to put a damper on our evening, so I reluctantly agreed.

She lit up and I got the impression that this was far from her first time. I only took a few small hits with her, before she finished it off. It must have been some good stuff because I was already feeling the effects with just the small amount that I had. (More likely, I was just a lightweight.)

We kept the fire going for a bit longer because of the cool air, but despite wanting to spend more time with her, I knew I needed to sleep for tomorrow's hike. She was looking sleepy herself, when I got up to lay out my sleeping bag in the shelter.

I confined myself to the opposite sides of the shelter from her, to give her some space. After putting out the fire, we slipped into our sleeping bags. Looking up through the trees, all I could see were the stars shining brightly. As I closed my eyes, I could feel that the temperature was dropping fast, and I was thankful to have Rob's sleeping bag.

It was about twenty minutes later, when I heard her whisper, "Dave? You awake?"

"Yeah?" I whispered back.

"You cold?"

"No."

I heard her getting up and then her next to me, telling me to, "Unzip." I looked up at her to see if she was serious, and I could see her shivering in the cold air. I opened my bag and she crawled in.

As she slid in, I could feel her cold legs on my bare chest. She skootched down, until she was pressed up against my waist, her cold shirt tight to my chest.

I could feel her getting comfortable, when she blurted out, "What is that? Do you still have your pants on?"

"Ah, yeah."

"Why?"

"Bears?"

"Take them off, I don't want them rubbing on my legs all night." She was already crawling back out and I undid my pants and slipped them off.

"Better?" I asked her, as I set them next to me.

"It will do."

When she pressed herself back against me, we were in the perfect spoon position. As she entangled her legs with mine, I realized how freezing cold she was. I put my arm around her and pulled her tighter to me. She rested her head on my arm and used it as a pillow. Slowly, she stopped her shivering, and I thought we would finally be able to get some sleep.

Only, all this close contact with an attractive woman—who felt so wonderfully soft and naturally smelled of the most beautiful wildflowers—was taking its toll. Despite my trying to control it, something was starting to get me in trouble. When I felt her start to wiggle around again, I knew I was in trouble, something was now poking her in the butt.

She reached back, "Oh."

Yeah, I was caught. "Sorry," I apologized.

I felt her fingers on my boxers, opening them up, finding me, and dragging me out. Her hand gripped me discovering my thickness; slowly, she ran her hand down over my length.

"Oh, you're big."

She shifted her hips, adjusting her legs so that I felt that I was now between her thighs. Another small shift of her hips, and I was overwhelmed with the feeling of her wetness, as she slid back against my erect cock. I let out a sigh.

She cooed in my ear, "You like that?"

"Where did your underwear go?"

"With the rest of my clothes."

"You just wear a shirt to sleep in?"

"Doesn't everyone?"

"No wonder you were cold."

I slowly slid my hand up under her shirt and gently caressed her bare skin, until I felt her breast. I explored her breasts and realized how perfect they were. Not too big, and very firm. My fingers brushed over her hard nipple, it was long and thick. I bent down and kissed her neck.

I heard her sigh, "Oh, let me take this off. It's just in the way."

She leaned forward and pulled the shirt over her head, and it joined my pants. When she leaned back against me, her bare back pressing into my chest, a surge of blood filled out my cock, pressing my length further between her thighs. She wiggled back closer to me, sliding herself just a bit further down, pressing herself harder on my cock. My hands found her bare breasts and slowly began caressing them again. I bent forward and lightly bit her shoulder, right next to her neck.

"Oh, you bite!"

"Is that okay?"

"Don't worry, if I didn't like it, you would know about it."

In my new position, nibbling on her neck and shoulder, I could feel my cock had shifted slightly and with the new angle, I was now positioned at the entrance to her moist opening. I slowly slid my thick cock through her damp thighs, sliding forward until I was rubbing over her clit. She was making everything down there wetter by the second. When I could hear the slick wet noises start to emanate from our motions, I knew I could not hold back any longer.

I pulled her tight to my chest. I whispered to her, "Are you ready?" As a response, I felt her fingers guide me to her entrance.

Pinching her nipple and biting her neck, I pressed myself into her wetness, finding her entrance. I heard her breath leave her, as my thickness tried to open her up. I pressed harder, feeling her resistance as I stretched her opening wide and allowing my thickness to fill her. I slid in a bit deeper and felt her opening squeeze close around my shaft just past the head.

My entry was punctuated with a sharp intake of breath from her, and a whispered plea, "Careful, you're so big."

I let her get accustomed to my size, as I kissed her neck and shoulder, my fingers teasing and caressing her breast and nipple. When I felt her hips starting to move, I slowly started sliding around inside of her. Just small movements at first, but soon she had opened enough that I could penetrate deeper into her.

I took my time working myself into her tightness, and eventually, I could feel the bottom of her vagina. I knew better than to press further without her being worked up a lot more than she was so far. I was impressed that she had even taken as much of me as she had. More than any of the other three women I had been with.

Just to let her know that I was completely filling her up, I pressed slightly harder against the bottom of her pussy, putting some pressure on her cervix. She cried out her response. She pulled my hand to her mouth and I felt her teeth lightly graze the skin between my thumb and wrist.

"You okay?" I whispered.

"Yes." She hissed back at me. "More, but not too hard."

I began slowly sliding cock out of her, then without warning, I forcefully thrust my hard rod deep into her, lightly pressing into her sensitive cervix. I felt her teeth sink into my skin, as I nudged her cervix again.

"Too hard?"

I heard a breathy, "No," in response.

Slowly, I repeated my withdrawal, followed by my quick thrusts deep into her. Each time putting even more pressure on her cervix. Every time I was rewarded with her teeth sinking into my skin. The deeper I thrust into her, the deeper her teeth sank. Soon, I was penetrating her depths with nearly my full length, and her whines and groans were filling the still night air, as I pressed her cervix into her abdomen.

This was the first time I had ever penetrated any woman so deeply. The feel of my balls slapping her vulva, ignited such an intense burning desire within me. I could no longer control myself. I started quickly thrusting into her depths, intent on fulfilling my desire to fully breed her.

I could hear her, breathing very heavily then, her breath hissing through her teeth that were firmly locked onto my hand. Her teeth might have been deep enough to draw blood, but it was relegated to just a background distraction, as I continued to forcefully breed the woman I had in my arms.

I am not sure how it happened, but just as I was about to cum, I felt my cock somehow slide even deeper into her, her cervix riding up over my cock head.

She cried out in an anguished "Ahhh!"

Thinking I had hurt her, I stopped and said, "Sorry."

She started screaming at me, "Don't stop! No one has ever filled me this full before."

Slowly pulling back, I pressed in hard again, hearing her whine again as I slipped so far inside her, well past her cervix this time. I continued to fuck the entire length of my thick cock into her depths. The opening to her womb riding up over my glans, as I filled the never-before-explored depths of her vagina. After every thrust, I could hear our hips slapping together, something I had never experienced before.

When I felt her body tighten up around my hard cock, I felt my bloated balls pulling up, and I knew I could not last any longer.

When she let out a series of cries into the night air, I realized she had been holding her breath, as her orgasm overwhelmed her.

"I need you to cum in me now!" she hissed at me through her teeth.

I felt my balls reacting to her words. I pulled back and hammered hard into her, forcing everything I had deep into her. I felt the pleasure-filled contractions start pushing the semen up through the length of my shaft. When I felt that first release start to fill her up deep inside, I groaned out my pleasure.

"You feel so wonderful," she cooed, as I kept myself pressed tight to her, pumping my semen into her. It felt like it went on forever, but forever was not long enough—all too soon, I was spent.

I just lay there, breathing hard, pulling her tighter to me. I continued to feel a series of small spasms inside her pussy, as she sighed in contentment. I softly began kissing her neck and shoulder. Ten minutes later, I could hear her soft, deep breaths, she was sleeping. I eventually fell asleep, still lodged deep inside her.

She woke me up when her body moved. She was not quite awake yet, but my cock was still inside her and I was quickly getting hard again.

"Again?" she whispered.

"If you want?"

"Please."

I held her in the sleeping bag and slowly, we made love. I know it was love because I had never felt such intense feelings while doing this before. It was like she was giving me some of her own happiness. When her spasms started this time, I was nearly there, too. I buried myself deep inside her, as her orgasm overwhelmed her.

I had not realized she was biting my hand again until her teeth broke the skin and blood filled her mouth. The pain in my hand only intensified my orgasm, as I released my seed deep inside of her.

My primal mating grunts joined hers, as we cried out our pleasure in the cold night air.

It took a long time to catch our breath afterward. I held myself tight to her, as I slowly started to soften inside of her.

All of a sudden, she burst out, "I bit you!"

"I felt that."

"I am sorry, I did not realize I did that."

"That's okay, I was more focused on other things, myself."

"You felt so good, Thank you."

"I should be thanking you."

"No, I think I got more out of this than you did," she laughed. "I can feel you are still hard."

"Yeah."

She sighed, "You feel so good in me."

She pulled my hand to her chest and squeezed my arm, pushing herself back onto me. Getting the hint, I pulled her close and slowly made love to her again, as the birds sang their morning songs to us, and the night sky lightened.

The last time I ever saw her, she was waving to me as she turned and headed southbound on the trail, and I started heading northbound.

Five weeks and four days later, my friend and his dad picked me up in Harpers Ferry.

---<<<>>>---

Twenty-four years, and it seems like it was yesterday. How does time slip away like that?

I did look for her. The next year, I searched the trail for her and never found her. I even tried looking her up in a bunch of phone books from cities all over the Pennsylvania and West Virginia area. But I never saw her name.

In desperation, I even spent a winter checking every phone book in the library for every city along the trail from Jenkins Trail Shelter north to Pennsylvania. But it was not in the cards. One night in paradise would have to last a lifetime.

Twenty-four times I have hiked the trail, a total of just over 700 days. Over 14,000 miles. In all those days and miles, I have met many people, but I have never met anyone like Lisa.

Eventually, I did get married, and together we had a little girl, Britney.

Britney, now eight, lives in Texas with her mother and her mom's new husband. My daughter comes to stay with me on the holidays, but there is so much in her life that I have missed. My heart aches as she tells me stories of her time in school or things that have happened in her life since the last time that she has spoken to me.

I now have a lovely home in the suburbs of Knoxville that I designed myself for the family I fear I will never have.

Work is good, the small architectural firm I started after the divorce, has grown to a dozen people.