Of the Earth

2

Morning brought with it his usual routine of waking up, clambering out of the tent, finding a rock to pee on, and then setting up the burner for breakfast.

Rocks were not personally his ideal place to piss, but the principles of Leave No Trace said it was best. Apparently white-tailed deer, among other animals, loved to lick salty surfaces. Urine had a lot of salt. Pissing on a tree wasn't ideal because deer would lick the tree and strip its bark. Rocks, resultantly, were a safer place to pee. Much more eco-friendly.

Breakfast consisted of two packets of instant oatmeal, hot water ladled directly inside each packet. He had a bowl in his pack, of course, but it was a bitch to clean without soap, and usually he only used it for dinner.

The route of the day included crossing the Red Creek and then hiking a positive elevation of 1,500 feet, more or less, for a total just shy of ten miles of trail. It would be challenging but not impossible, Harry decided.

In the mood to get started early, he enjoyed his breakfast and downed half a Nalgene of water. He packed up his belongings, deconstructing the tent and taking down the bear bag as he waited for the boiling water from breakfast to cool enough to refill his water bottles. Only two bottles were empty, and the other two were perfectly full, but he didn't want to be in a situation where he ran out of purified water to drink.

The last chores before putting his pack on included strapping on his Tevas, the hiking sandals he wore while crossing rivers, and tying his hair back with a red bandana. With that, he heaved his heavy pack on his back and headed towards the river, scoping out the best path to cross.

For someone as clumsy as Harry, he surprised himself by not falling into the Red Creek river as he crossed it, for once successfully. Balancing on small, slippery rocks was hard enough, but adding a heavy pack on top of it all really made it difficult to stay upright. He felt proud of himself as he sat on a rock on the other riverbank, waiting for his feet to dry before putting on a pair of thick hiking socks and lacing up his boots.

The morning was beautiful, the summer-blue sky strewn with cotton-ball clouds. According to the ten-day forecast, it was supposed to rain later in the day, so it was for the best that he was leaving early.

Harry fell into a comfortable rhythm as he hiked up the side of the mountain, keeping his gaze on the footfalls ahead of him so he wouldn't trip on a stone or root.

The athletic rigor of this hike simplified his mind in a way he couldn't replicate through any other tactic. For once he wasn't worrying by all of the anxious thoughts in his mind. For once he was listening to his labored breathing and the step of his boots against the soft, stable mud of the trail, not thinking of anything else.

This part of Dolly Sods Wilderness was a deciduous forest, which held a special place in his heart because the light green leaves reminded him of summers spent at home, in New Hampshire. The Appalachian oak trees were the same as the ones at home and he let that observation lull him to calm. Sunlight filtered through the leaves, the wind causing the spots of warm glow to sway and dance.

He made it to the next river in record time. It was a benchmark indicating he was only two relatively flat miles away from his intended campsite, and the water gleaming in the sunlight looked absolutely gorgeous peeking from an opening in the forest. Feeling light and happy, Harry decided he deserved a rest from hiking. He definitely had enough time to spare to remove his boots and socks and dip his feet into the water.

He crossed the river carefully, wobbling a bit and shrieking as his foot slipped, but somehow making it to the other side of the bank with dry shoes and zero broken bones. It wasn't until he was shrugging off his pack, resting it against a rock, that he heard the peels of laughter.