Max pecked at a few keys. “You bet. I’ll put in two more, and if you decide on more or less, just let me know. Also, it’s Friday, so the bar’s open tonight.” He pursed his lips to the other side of the room. A rustic, old-fashioned-y but obviously newly built bar stuck out from the rest of the shabby, dated lobby.
Max must have read Logan’s thoughts.
“One of the first—and only—upgrades we did.”
“Smart.” Logan smiled. “Good markup on alcohol. I’ll keep it in mind. If not tonight, I’ll check it out next Friday. Somethin’ tells me I’m gonna need a stiff drink after this week.”
“Where ya headed?”
“I’m doing this weekend warrior thing. Have you heard of it?”
“With Tess? Yeah, of course.”
“You know Tess?”
“It’s a small town,” Max said. “I know everyone. Don’t worry. You’re in capable hands. Tess really knows her stuff.”
“That’s reassuring. Thank you.”
Logan walked to his room, curious how Max could be so flexible with dates. It was the last week of June, and a place like this should be booked solid with tourists. The inn had great bones and a ton of potential. Max’s decision to flip it was a good one, and it was a shame he was having to put it on the back burner to mourn his wife. Logan wondered how or if he could help somehow. He’d give it some thought over the week.
The next morning, he dropped his suitcase off with a woman at the front desk and drove to the trailhead where Tess had told them to meet. It was just before dawn, and the early morning light exposed a tired group.
“All right, y’all,” Tess said. “Hike’s about five miles. Might not sound like much, but the terrain’s tough and the pack gets heavy fast. I mentioned this yesterday, but it bears repeating…Take care of your feet. You will be very sorry if you let blisters form and have to hobble around the whole week. Any, and I mean any, discomfort, rubbing, soreness, whatever, slap some moleskin on it. It can’t hurt, and it might save your life. No heroes. Am I clear?”
Everyone mumbled their understanding.
“Okay, then,” Tess said. “Let’s go.”
They hoisted their packs and set off. Logan thought he was in decent shape. He worked out five or six days a week—cardio and weights—but within minutes, he was huffing and puffing alongside everyone else. Tess hadn’t exaggerated about the pack becoming a burden pretty quickly.
Along with his personal stuff—sleeping bag, tent, clothes, emergency food rations, and bare-essential toiletries—he hauled his share of the group’s equipment.
As part of the gear check process, they’d divvied up all the supplies they’d be sharing—cookware, which included a coffee pot, a skillet, a pot, and a fire rack, food basics like flour and instant coffee, fire and water collection necessities, including an ax and a couple of buckets, gear for rappelling, and other miscellaneous essentials—tarps, rope, first aid kits, et cetera. They’d split it up by weight, so supposedly each man’s burden was the same, but that didn’t negate the fact that the junk was heavy!
Every twenty minutes or so, they stopped to drink, have a snack, and confirm with Tess that their feet felt fine. On one stop, Ashton scarfed down a granola bar and pushed the trash under a log.
“What are you doing?” Tess asked with a frown. “Pick that up. Right now. We do not litter.”
“It’s just a wrapper. It’ll biodegrade, won’t it?”
“It’s not only about that,” Tess said. “That’s what lures animals, including bears. Trash goes in a ziplock bag. Period. I catch you doing that again, and you’ll packeveryone’strash out.”
“All right. All right.” Ashton retrieved the wrapper and shoved it into his pocket. “Damn, you’re bossy.”
“You have no idea.” Tess shot him a glare. “Let’s get moving.”
No one had the breath to chat while they hiked, but on the breaks, they started to get to know each other.
Carter and Ashton struck Logan as kind of douchey, but Joseph and Grayson seemed cool enough. When Tess wasn’t barking orders or teaching them something, she mostly stayed quiet.
Along the way, she showed them which berries were edible. And which were not. She pointed out poison ivy and warned to watch for it before engaging in any bare-butted squatting.
“Anyone else about to tap out?” Grayson asked during one of the breaks. The group laughed nervously.
“Not yet,” Carter said. “But am I crazy, or is it getting harder to breathe? Are we so high the oxygen is thinner?”
Tess nodded. “Considering you’re from Boston, yes, we are definitely at a higher altitude. We’re almost there. This is about as bad as it gets, and your body will adjust.”
