Summer on the PCT

"You like?"

"Oh, God, Julie, you're absolutely beautiful. You, out here in the open, sun-kissed and all. I think I might have died and gone to heaven."

"You're laying it on pretty thick, but thank you. Listen, we need to keep hiking. Mind if I keep the girls out until it cools a bit?"

"No, not at all. Lead on."

An hour or so later we dropped into the trees where it was cooler and we stopped and slipped on our shirts. Her bra stayed on the pack until we hit camp that evening. The weather looked great so we left the tent in the pack and stretched out in a meadow side-by-side. There was no breeze and the rocky bluff behind us seemed to radiate heat down keeping us comfortably warm. As we lay there, her hand reached over and held mine. We talked a little bit about the day and plans for the next. However, the elephant in the room, or camp, that is, was our relationship. We were clearly becoming more comfortable with each other, her kisses were sweet and beyond compare, and on that day she had exposed herself to me, almost as if offering herself to me.

I decided she was going to have to take the lead. I did not want to come off as demanding and losing her companionship as a result. Eventually our talking subsided and we lay there in companionable silence, listening to the bubbling creek nearby.

"Ryan?"

"Umm."

"Do you, uh, like me?"

"Oh, yeah, you know I do."

"Are you attracted to me?"

"You know that too. Remember when you hugged me out on the trail today?"

"But was that just hormones talkin' or something more?"

"Listen. I find you incredibly attractive, sexy and desirable. I would love so much to..." I paused, not wanting to put it into words.

"Then why don't you try?"

"OK, let me explain it this way. You and I are in a situation where we need to totally rely on each other. We've combined our equipment and we need each other to finish our trip. The last thing I want to do is ruin our hiking relationship by making a pass and upsetting you so that either or both of us have to quit."

"Hmm. I see. What if I made a pass at you?"

"In a way, the same thing would apply. Listen, you are a beautiful woman. You're fun. Smart. Sweet. Any guy would be lucky to end up with you. I know I would be ecstatic to sleep with you. But let's make sure that's what we want to do, OK?"

"Give it some time?"

"Yeah, give it some time."

"OK, but could I interest you in a little making out?" she asked as she pulled herself next to me and reached over for a kiss. Our mouths met and the gentle kisses and nibbles became deeper and more urgent. I felt her hand take mine and slip it under her T-shirt up to her breast. She shivered a tiny bit as I started to tease her nipple. I did not try to take advantage of the situation and after some ten minutes or so she sighed and whispered in my ear, "You're the sweetest guy. I needed that to feel attractive when I've been all sweaty and gross. Thank you."

"Mmm-hmm. Sure thing. I kinda liked it too," I chuckled. A few minutes later she pulled away, stretched out and was soon snoring softly.

Over the rest of that section of the trail we seemed to bond together even more as hikers and as well as a couple. We would wake up to nice kisses and hold hands on wide spots in the trail. But the kisses and hugs at bedtime were the best. At the next resupply station there was again a tiny store where we could pick up our packages. There were indoor showers with truly hot water and free soap. We were in heaven. Ten days of grime washed down the drain and we were able to wash our clothes in a free washing machine out on the porch. I never figured out why the trail angels did what they did, but they were truly angels.

When Julie was in her shower I snuck out to the store. There behind the counter were the condoms. I grabbed two dozen and the shop owner chuckled saying they were some of his best sellers. I took them out of the boxes and stowed them deep in my pack.

That evening we dined on delectable canned pork and beans with a side of canned corn. Absolutely wonderful food, if you ask me. The next morning, we headed out and approached the northern California section of the hike. We were in full summer; the days were warm to even hot and the weather held with minimal rain and wind.

About five days out from the last resupply stop we found ourselves camped at one of the highest camps along the trail. Water was obtained from a melting snowfield and we ended up laying our sleeping bags out on a large, flat rock on a ridge. We had a glorious 360-degree view and as the sun went down the sky lit up with thousands of stars. The Milky Way seemed to be so close you could touch it. Julie and I sat there taking it all in while we sipped on her rum straight from the bottle as we held hands. Eventually she put the bottle down and turned to me.

"Kiss?"

"Sure."

We kissed for a while and turned back to watch the stars. Then she dropped the bomb. "I don't, but do you, uh, do you have anyone waiting for you at home?"

"Maybe, maybe not," I answered after a few seconds. "It's hard to describe, but I'll try. To be perfectly honest, I was living with someone when I planned this trip. She was pretty upset that I wanted to do it. We talked quite a bit and I suggested she might want to use this time to further her professional situation."

"So?"

"Well, she's not outdoorsy at all. She's into art and museums. Long story short, she's taking the summer off of work and traveling through Europe visiting museums, making contacts for her job, things like that."

"And?"

"Here's the funny thing. Even though I thought we were fairly close, she proposed the night before I went to the airport that we not consider ourselves exclusive for the summer."

"Wow."

"Now, I know you could think it's just a lie to get you into bed with me..."

"No, I don't think you'd do that. You never have tried, you've even so much as turned me down."

"Wait. I haven't turned you down, I've merely suggested we make absolutely sure that's what we want to do, given our situation."

"Yeah, I know. I get it."

"Anyway, that's the skinny. I'm sorta attached, maybe not, and have been told I don't have to be exclusive with her. Quite honestly, I got the idea, well I don't know what idea I got, but I was really surprised."

"So, what are you going to do?"

"Well, I hadn't planned on anything like this, so I never thought the question would come up. Now that you're here and I'm big-time attracted to you, well, I'm a bit torn."

"Now, if you ask me my opinion," said Julie, "I want to let you know that, given what you've told me, well, you're going to have to make your own decision. I shouldn't try to sway you one way or the other."

"OK, let's be brutally honest. If I said I'd like to take you to bed right now, what would you say?"

"You stinker! You have to ask? I'd jump your bones so fast! I've been wanting to sleep with you for days now."

"Even knowing what I told you?"

"Sure. She so much as gave you a hall pass, didn't she?"

"Yeah, I guess she did."

"So, let's put it this way. If you and I sleep together and at the end of the trip you go back to her and I never hear from you again, I'll remember this as the highlight of the decade. Sure, I'd be sad, but the fond memories would last a lifetime," she said. "Don't get me wrong, I'm not a slut but I am attracted to you. But if this isn't meant to be for the long term, well, I'll need to get over it."

"Let me get this straight. You know I was living with someone, that we've decided on a long-term quasi separation and we've decided to not be exclusive during the time. And still you'd be interested in you and me..."

"Oh, definitely. And we'll see what happens over the next few months."

"Uh-huh. OK, then, I have a proposal. Let's zip our bags together."

"I thought you'd never ask," she squealed as she pulled our zippers all the way down and sat about hooking our bags together. Once it was done, she snuggled over to me and slid her leg between mine. I felt her kisses on my chest as I wrapped my arms around her. I pulled her up to me and we kissed and snuggled until we both started to drift off. The last thing I heard her say was, "Here I get this guy to agree to sleep with me and we're both so exhausted, that's all he'll do. 'Nite Ryan."

"G'nite, Sweetheart."

The next morning dawned cold and there was even a hint of frost on the tops of our bags. I was toasty warm with Julie's arms wrapped around me. As I stirred, she woke up as well.

"Brrr. It's cold," she said. "Keep me warm."

I reached down to give her a nice kiss which rapidly deepened into a most sensual event. Our lips teased as our tongues explored. I couldn't remember when I had had such a sensual kiss in the past. I felt myself get hard particularly as she rubbed up against me.

Finally, she broke the kiss and murmured, "Mmm, nice," as she hugged me tightly.

"Yeah, very nice."

"You know, as much as I'd like to continue this, I really gotta pee," she laughed.

"Yeah, me too. But can I get a raincheck?"

"You bet, and I expect you to collect soon, hear me?"

"Oh, I plan on it. Here, I'll go first and fire up the hot water."

We scurried around camp, ate, packed and got ready for the day just as the sun started to warm up the camp. The hike was one of the most beautiful ones of the trip. The High Sierras are unbelievable. The grey and pink granite peaks were mirrored in little lakes below. There were scattered, fluffy clouds which broke up the monotony of the deep blue sky. We saw marmots and heard the shrill cries from the picas. It was the best alpine experience of my life.

At one point over a large bare-granite crest the trail was marked by tiny cairns built of a few stacked stones. We walked side-by-side holding hands as we took in the beauty. Suddenly Julie stopped and said, "Look, down there. Isn't that picture perfect?"

She had pointed to a small lake hundreds of feet below us on an exposed ridge. It was surrounded by a meadow of wild flowers and on one edge was a small patch of bare soil.

"Let's go down there," she exclaimed.

"Julie, we'd lose altitude and then we'd have to gain it back. Let's enjoy it from here."

"Nope, I'll never see it again as long as I live and I want to be there. C'mon, maybe we can even take a quick dip," she laughed as she grabbed my hand and started to work her way down the slope. There wasn't a trail at all so we picked our way down off the crest, then further down through a lot of trees and eventually we came out into the opening. I had to admit she was right; it was picture perfect.

"Oh, don't step on the meadow, it's too pretty. Go around to the sandy area first," Julie told me. I agreed stomping down the flowers would have been sacrilege. We moved over to the side and approached the lake over what must have been an area recently covered with snow, but was now bare. We dumped the packs and looked around while holding hands.

"Isn't it beautiful?" she whispered to me.

"Umm-hmm, it is."

"Now aren't you glad we came down here?" she asked as she pulled off her boots.

"Yeah, I am, though I won't be too happy climbing back up to the trail."

"Oh, yeah. I think I know what might make it all worthwhile," she laughed as she pulled away from me, turned to face me and slowly reached down and grabbed the hem of her shirt. My breathing must have stopped for a second or two and my pulse pounded in my ears as she slowly pulled her top off. Her breasts were absolutely stunning. As I said, they weren't particularly big but their shape was perfect and they stood proud on her chest. I couldn't pull my eyes from her.

Next she reached down and grabbed the tops of her shorts and panties and slowly, oh so slowly, pulled them down to her knees and let them drop to the ground. Her sleek torso tapered to a tight, lower belly and to a crop of hair over her slit.

"I'm going for a swim. Care to join me?" she asked with a smile before turning to the water. I couldn't believe it. Her prior modesty had completely flown out the window and I was looking at a vision of beauty walking away from me towards the water. Her cheeks were tight and heart-shaped and not an ounce of flab was to be seen. As she approached the water she looked carefully into the clear water, walked over a few steps and then dove in.

As I started to pull off my clothes her head popped up and she was smiling and laughing. "It's perfectly warm, you've gotta try this!" she shouted out to me. Once I was stripped, I went over to the same outcropping and launched myself into the water.

Holy shit it was cold! As I surfaced sputtering and swearing, I saw her laughing with glee.

"You rat, you dirty rotten rat!" I shivered.

"Yeah, but it still feels nice to get wet. I'm going to sponge down a little bit."

I offered her my supply of biodegradable soap and once I got it from the pack and re-entered the water, we stood waist deep and washed ourselves quickly. It was too cold to stay in very long and we ended up back on shore letting the warm sun dry us. I pulled out our mattresses and let them inflate before we sat facing each other. After a few minutes she looked down at her pubes and sighed, "A girl doesn't get any chance to groom much out here, does she?"

"Hey, if I can be so bold as to say, you look absolutely delicious just as you are."

"Yeah, well at least I'm of northern European stock and my hair is fairly sparse and light. But look at my legs; all hairy and icky."

"Look at my beard. No big deal. I'm not looking at the hair, anyway. I'm looking at you and I like what I see," I said as I leaned over and gave her a nice, sweet kiss. She reached her arm around my head preventing me from pulling back so we sat there kissing for some little while. She scooted closer to me, lifted her legs over mine and our kisses became deeper and more erotic. My arms slipped around her and her one arm reached around me while I felt the other hand hand slide down my belly to my stiffening cock.

She gently grabbed it and started to stroke up and down lightly as she leaned up to my ear. "OK?" she asked.

"Yeah, OK," I replied.

"You can touch me if you want."

"You sure?"

"Umm-hmm, I'm sure."

I reached down and teased her hair apart and stroked between her lips. I slipped the velvety moisture, which was pooling at the opening, up to lubricate her clit and began to move my fingers in little circles to her obvious delight. After a minute or so she reached down, moistened her own fingers with her juices and reapplied them to my knob. We both stimulated the other while we kissed deeply. Rather suddenly she started to breathe heavily and irregularly, hugged me tighter with her free hand and then, with a few gulps of air, moaned and twitched in an obvious orgasm. After a bit she looked up at me and whispered, "That was nice, super nice."

"Glad you liked it."

"Now it's your turn," she said as she scooted back, leaned down and took me in her mouth. It felt sooo good as she tongued the area below the glans that I had to lean back and support myself with my elbows on the ground. She applied gentle up and down movements with her hand as her mouth concentrated on the last few inches of my cock. It had been so long for me that I found myself rushing towards an orgasm in no time at all. I patted her shoulder to warn her but she kept up her attention so I finally came with a wild throbbing of my cock. She swallowed it all, kept stroking me a bit before sitting up and smiling.

"Like it?"

"What's not to like? Was absolutely fabulous."

"I think getting the first one out of the way will help us for round two. Interested?"

"Uh, yes, I am. You?"

"Oh, Ryan, I've wanted this for weeks now. I figured I just had to take the lead and make it happen. Now I have something here in my pack you might be interested in."

"What's that?"

"Condoms."

"So do I! Did you carry them the whole way?"

"No. I bought them at the angel camp before last."

"Funny. I got mine at the last camp."

"See, I knew before you did, we'd come to this."

"Smart lady," I replied as she continued to stroke my reviving cock. We kept kissing and after a few minutes my cock was firm again. She slid the condom on me, gently pushed me down onto the mattress and climbed on top. She grabbed my erect cock and rubbed the head along her folds, wetting me. Once she was satisfied, she sat up a bit and put my cock right between her lips. And with a slow satisfied sigh, she let herself down on me, impaling herself millimeter by millimeter.

"Feels so good," she murmured while resting there, letting our bodies relax and enjoy the sensation. "Having myself stretched and filled like this is the height of being a sexual woman. There's something primal about it...."

She slowly rose up until the tip of my cock was at her opening before she paused and then slowly slid back down. Over and over, she rose slowly and dropped even slower, but as time went on, I became aware her tempo was picking up. Eventually the intensity of her thrusts increased along with the tempo. She sank deeper and deeper onto me until her pubic bone and mine were rubbing together with each deep thrust.

I don't think I had ever seen anything so sexy as Julie was that afternoon. The sun played on her gently swaying breasts as her head, framed by puffy clouds in the sky, was thrown back in ecstasy. Her breathing was deep and slightly irregular and as she became more excited, I noted a slight flushing of her upper chest. Her head bent down and I saw the firmly shut eyes, furrowed brow and partially open mouth of a woman nearing orgasm.

It felt almost voyeuristic watching her so I closed my eyes and pulled myself upright with her still thrusting up and down. With no visual input, my other senses took over. I could feel her soft skin and her loose hair down her back. Her breasts made little trips across my chest and her vagina had me in a tight, moist grip as I sensed intermittent spasms on my cock.

Her hair smelled of fresh mountain water and along her neck was a faint whiff of residual sweat. A stronger scent of female arousal wafted up to my nose and mixed with the pungent smell of the wild flowers a few yards away.

In my ears I heard her soft sighs and moans mixing with the wet slapping sound from below. A faint breeze stirred the nearby trees and the remote screech of an eagle mixed with the shrill cry of a marmot.

Her sounds of arousal intensified as her fingers on my back started to dig into my flesh. I sensed she was nearing climax and right as I was falling off the edge into the abyss of orgasm, she plunged down several more times as her body spasmed and she cried out, "Oh God, oh God, oh God, you make me feel so..." She sagged away from me, forcing me to hold her up. It was at that exact moment that I felt closer to another person than I ever had before. We were one being, melted together, joined head to toe and not just at the groin.

I wrapped my arms around her and felt her beating heart against my chest. Her breathing calmed and she finally stirred a bit, turning her head towards me. Our lips touched in a most tender, loving kiss. She then nuzzled into my neck and I could feel her breathing on my skin as I sat there in a state of absolute awe.

By that time, I had been sexually active for over ten years. I was never one to sleep around and I generally preferred to have sex with someone I already had a connection with. Certainly, Julie and I had a connection; we'd been hiking together for weeks, talking and sharing. But this connection, this connection was somehow so much more than any I had experienced before. As I looked over her shoulder and gently rubbed her back, I realized this had been the most meaningful sexual episode of my life. The word 'love' kept coming back into my mind as I thought about our relationship. Sure, I had used the word 'love' with others, but I knew, I just knew while I had deep feelings about other women in the past and thought it might have been love, it hadn't been Love, with a capital L. This was Love: a deep aching desire to fuse with another, to be one, to share everything, to be simply together, no matter what life would throw at you.