“I imagine this hike is nothing for you.I’m sure you’re used to twice the weight on your back walking for twenty miles through marsh and uphill,” she commented, changing the subject.
Carson barked with laughter; the mood instantly lightened.“Where did you get that idea?”
“Movies about basic training always show long hikes with heavy gear and weapons in their hands.Is it not true?”Not that she watched a lot of military movies, but the ones she had seen always looked grueling.Someone was always yelling at you and telling you to drop and give so many push-ups.
“There were hikes, sure, but not twenty miles.Then there was water training.”
“So you had to swim with that kind of gear?How did people not drown?”
“You do know what SEAL stands for, don’t you?Sea, air, and land,” he remarked without waiting for her to guess.“We were trained for all different terrains.So we had to learn to maneuver on both with extra gear, or if we extracted someone, to carry their weight if necessary.Sure, we had packs and weapons, but a lot depended on the mission we did.Some required more gear than others.It wasn’t like we had to carry an extra hundred pounds on our backs trudging through the forest, but to answer your question, no, I don’t find this hike difficult.”
“So, what is all in your backpack; it looks like it weighs a ton.”
“Just basic essentials.”
“No, this is basic essentials,” she said half turning to show her small backpack.“Yours is like living in the wilderness for days on end.”
“And for me, that’sbasic essentials.You never know what you’ll need.”
“Planning on getting lost out here and having to camp, Gilligan?”
“Hey, if they had packed like I do, they would have been off the island in days, not years.But I’d rather have it and not need it than need it and not have it.The weather could change any moment, and there might not be a shelter.”
“You’re saying there is a shelter in your bag?”It had to be small to fit in that bag.
“There is,” he responded casually, as if it wasn’t a big deal.It wasn’t, she’d just never hiked with someone on a less than five-mile hike who hada shelter in their bag.
“Is there a full-size kitchen in it as well, or would that require two bags?”
The corner of Carson’s lip twitched.“You joke now, but if there was a sudden rainstorm and we had to seek shelter, you’d be thankful for the shelter in my bag instead of waiting under a tree.”
“I’m not the Wicked Witch of the West.I’m not going to melt stepping into a little water.I can walk back to the car.”
“And risk slipping on a rock and injuring yourself?”
Fair point.“So you didn’t answer my question.”
“No kitchen, just food packs.”
“MREs?”Eww, she’d seen those before.They looked awful.Anything that could be stored for years and heated in a matter of minutes made her leery to try.Even dried pasta had a shelf life.
“No, but similar.”
Allie made a point to look up at the sky.“Well, lucky for us, not a cloud in the sky.”There was only supposed to be rain in the late afternoon, but they should be back home before it started.Allie had never tried an MRE, and she didn’t plan on starting now.However, she did have a little surprise for Carson when they made it to the end of the trail.
“How are you holding up?”Carson asked, giving her a side glance.
“Good.”
“Your ankle isn’t bothering you?”
Allie rolled her eyes at his needless concern.“No, I told you it was fine.You don’t need to fuss over me, Carson.I’d tell you if my ankle hurt or if I didn’t think I could finish this hike.Though I must say, this feels like a scenic route.”She stepped up on a boulder and leaped to the next rock to avoid splashing down in the stream.
“There are two ways to get to Big Falls.There is the regular dirt trail or follow the stream.”
“So, you thought a trek through the stream was the best way to go?”Not that it bothered her, she was merely curious.
“It’s not all walking through the water,” he protested.“This is nothing compared to some of the marches I’ve been on.Besides, where’s your sense of adventure?”
