“Yeah, I saw a large grizzly in the forest near the next lake over the ridge. It’s about four miles off from here. I’m hiking on my own and want to make sure I don’t startle one,” the man replied.
“Ah! Thanks for the info. We’re camping up here tonight, so we’ll keep a lookout for him,” Avery said as she looked around her, expecting to see evidence of bears around. She had camped in grizzly country since she was a baby.
“Just keep a clean camp, practice Leave No Trace, and you should be fine. You know those things, right?” The man gave them the skeptical look they’d gotten since they began doing outdoor excursions on their own. The look suggested that women couldn't fend for themselves in the wild without a man's help. Just another stereotype being placed on women in the outdoors.
“Yeah, we know all about Leave No Trace. I work on a trail crew for the Forest Service and work ski patrol in the winters at Golden. My sister has just as much outdoor experience as I do,” Avery said, rolling her eyes.
“Well, good luck to you, then. Enjoy the lake too. It’s gorgeous out here,” the man said, turning his back to the sisters.
Once he was out of sight, Avery rolled her eyes as she snarked, “You little ladies know what you’re doing out in the woods without a man?”
Morgan gave her an apprehensive smile before saying, “He’s just checking to make sure we’re not idiots, but it is so irritating how men assume we can’t camp on our own. We’ve been camping in grizzly country our whole lives, and we shouldn’t have any problems.”
“I’m not worried about it. Do you know how often I’ve seen bears while working trail crew? If we were worried about encountering a bear, we should have stayed home.”
“Ave, you live, play, and work outside. Women who can handle their own gear, make trails, and build a fire intimidate men. Don’tworry about it anymore.” Morgan shook her head. Her long braid swung from side to side before resting on top of her backpack.
Avery gave her sister a relaxed smile. “You’re right. Let’s get camp set up and enjoy this view.”
Avery and Morgan walked along the trail before choosing a camping spot. They took off their heavy backpacks and leaned them against a tree. The best feeling was dropping the pack after a long hike, and they both began stretching their sore backs.
Within a few minutes, Morgan unstrapped the tent from the outside of her backpack. They walked to a flat patch under a few larch trees where Morgan began unrolling the tent. It was a small and simple setup: a tent with just enough room for two women.
“Let’s get the gear up in case there’s a bear around, then swim in the lake,” Morgan suggested as she grabbed her bear spray. Avery unclipped her multi-tool and bear spray from her hip belt. She always liked to have them within arm’s reach.
Once their gear was safely out of a bear’s reach, they changed into their swimsuits. Avery brought a floral-print dusty pink and yellow two-piece swimsuit. The cut of the suit accentuated her fit frame. Avery spent her summers outside building trails for the Forest Service, and she was proud of her strong body and all the places it led her. Morgan pulled out a dark-green string bikini. She was also short and strong, but unlike her sister’s defined muscles from working outside, Morgan had the lean muscles of a runner.
Morgan and Avery walked down to the lake. The water was a deep shade of blue. The kind of blue that only comes from snow runoff. There was no doubt in Avery’s mind that this water was going to be icy cold. But on a hot August day after hiking up a dusty trail, this icy water was what they needed. They waded in, going up to their calvesin the shockingly cold water. The dark blue water surrounded their feet and legs, but neither sister was willing to go deeper.
“You first, Ave,” Morgan suggested as she gave her sister a friendly shove into the skin-tingling cold water.
“Ah! No, you don’t!” Avery cried, grabbing her sister by the hand as they both tumbled into the frigid lake. They went under in a tangle of limbs, fully submerged.
The two women screamed and laughed as they swam into the small lake’s cold depths. “Let’s see who can stay in the longest,” Avery suggested.
“Fine by me. I’m sure your legs will cramp in this cold in no time!” Morgan challenged. As the sisters splashed and played in the water, the sun sank level with Quartz Mountain. Sunlight glistened off the quartz-topped peak. Avery took a sudden deep breath, moved by the beauty of the light shimmering off the mountain top.
“Okay, I’m getting out and getting the fire going so I can enjoy this sparkling sunset. You win, Mor,” Avery announced as she began swimming to the shore.
Once they were both back on land, they changed into their leggings and fleece jackets before building a crackling fire.
“Let’s start on dinner before the sun sets,” Morgan said. Morgan cooked, and they ate their simple backpacking meal as the sun ducked below the mountain peaks. As they ate, they heard rustling in the bushes near the edge of the lake. “What was that?” Morgan asked.
Avery yawned. “Probably just a squirrel or something.”
The bushes shook again, but they didn’t see an animal. “Sounds like a big fucking squirrel,” Morgan muttered.
“Just eat quickly, and we’ll get all our food packed away,” Avery suggested. She wasn’t actually worried. They’d be fine. After all, the man on the trail saw a grizzly miles away. It was probably nothing.
After eating and cleaning up, Morgan and Avery moved to the campfire with a flask of whiskey. Morgan passed it to Avery. Avery knew she needed to talk with her sister about her housing situation. It was awkward, but she should just get it over with.
“So I’ve had something on my mind. It’s kind of embarrassing… but I’m going to be basically homeless when my rental contract is up in two months. My roommate just left the state, and I don’t even know how I’m going to make rent for the next two months. I didn’t save enough this summer. I’m in trouble,” Avery said. Her hands shook as she thought about the financial trouble she was in.
Morgan shifted on the log, her body looking stiff. Avery knew exactly why. Morgan had encouraged her last summer to seek a full-time job. They’d even fought about it, the biggest argument of their lives. Morgan was more than willing to push Avery towards stability, but it was easy for Morgan to choose her lifestyle. She was always practical in her decisions, always the steady one. Avery knew Morgan never understood her choice to work outside for low pay. But being connected to nature and living in the elements was vital to Avery. Something she couldn’t live without. It’s not like she hadn’t tried. College courses had nearly broken her and her need for adventure.
Morgan’s furrowed brows and tight lips gave away what she was thinking. She was cautious with her words, as usual. “Have you considered looking for a full-time job?” Morgan asked as she took another sip of the whiskey and stared intently at the campfire.
“My supervisor has asked me so many times why I’m not working as a forester instead of doing trail work.” Her supervisor always asked her when she’d put her forestry degree to work. She wasn’t interested, though. She liked trail work. Being outside for a week straight, cutting into the mountain with an axe orsawing logs off a trail. Plus, Avery knew she was basically allergic to responsibility. “But I’m not interested. Maybe someday? And… I don’t want to spend my winters in a forestry office instead of skiing every day.”
