Hiking

Before I knew it, the trail had grown narrow and practically disappeared amongst the creosote and pine tree covered hillside. Angry with myself for not paying more attention, I was growing more concerned that I had lost my way.

The globemallow, desert poppy and lupine spring show seemed to be mocking me as I stopped to take a drink out of my canteen.

My attention was drawn towards the ravine where the light sound of someone softly singing could be heard. Gazing in the direction of the ravine, all I could see were mountain vistas, saguaros reaching regally up to the cloud dotted sky and the faint hint of a monsoon storm in the distance.

Following the sound, I worked my way down into the canyon before me where the gentle rippling of water told me that I must be at Coyote Springs.

The trail all of a sudden reappeared before me and I eagerly followed it towards the bank of the creek, which was lined with huge sandstone boulders, wild grass, and a few palo verde trees. The creek was only a few feet wide but nestled into small pools, seeping through the rocks creating mini-waterfalls.

The air was quiet and the only sound that could be heard was the inviting tune, not in English and obviously male. Suddenly realizing that I was all alone in the Mexican mountains, miles from the trailhead and only God knows who was sharing this pristine reparian area with me, I continued with caution.

"They" say, never hike alone, but I wasn't a conventional person, I had my own ways, made my own decisions and never regretted a single moment of my life. So I slowly made my way towards the sound, skipping over rocks and occasionally soaking my shoe with a mis-step.

Rounding some brush, I came face to face with the most startlingly handsome man who was placing what looked like candy wrappers in his pack. We both stood still, gazing into each other's eyes, speechless. There seemed to be an immediate connection, something very apparent to both of us.

In unison we smiled and my heart skipped a beat as I took in his extraordinary beauty. His hair was shoulder length with chestnut highlights shining in the sun, contrasting ever so strikingly with gray green eyes that seemed to play off the water from the creek.

People from all over the world came to Monterrey to enjoy the outdoors and it wasn't uncommon to run across visitors from Germany, France Japan, Britain and Spain wherever you go.

He seemed to be looking beyond me, perhaps to see if I was alone, or if another hiker was with me. Avoiding the question that I knew he would ask, I reached out to shake his hand.

"Roy" he said taking my fingers into his slightly rough hand, drawing it near as he lightly kissed the back of my hand, his touch acting like an electric current reaching all the way to my feet. He didn't immediately let go of my hand, causing me to hold my breath.

"Yes, I'm from Quebec. I come here every year to hike " EL Chipinque" with friends, but they bagged out on me, so here I am alone, that is until you came along and rescued me from my loneliness." His voice flowed like romantic music.

"Yes, you see, I've been searching for you." He grinned showing white teeth surrounded by an invitingly beautiful mouth, with a hint of chocolate tucked in the corner. I thought to myself "very kissable".

"I'm serious. I've seen you before! Don't you remember? A couple of years ago you were with two girls, hiking the top trail. One was blonde the other had long dark, curly hair, but you stood out. Your red hair was longer then, but still coppery in the sunlight, like it is now. We passed on the trail and began to talk as we stopped to rest. You said you hiked here every Saturday in the summer, that you loved the peace of this place. As we talked I looked into your eyes and I was touched by your spirit and lust for life." he paused.

"Oh my God, that was you? Now I remember, you had on a straw hat and I remember..." I hesitated then continued, "thinking how wild and sexy you looked with your long curly hair sticking out from under it!" I was looking down, as the words escaped from my mouth in excitement. I could see him bend slightly to look into my eyes, so I lifted my head to meet his gaze and noticed an unruly curl that he kept tugging back behind his ear. "You had more of a stubble on your face than you do now. I watched as you walked away and realized how you intrigued me. You seemed so mysterious."

"The sound of your voice has been with me ever since that day" he interjected. "It was sweet, with a touch of mischief. It has haunted me and I decided to come back hoping to see you again. I remember how beautiful you were and still are." His voice was wonderfully sincere, his green eyes sparkling.

Blushing, once again I found myself glancing down taking in his strong muscular legs, which seemed out of place in shorts. Slowly working my view up to see that his body was stocky and a surprisingly very trim waist. His thin green t-shirt clung to his toned chest accentuating broad shoulders.

Anyone could see that this man takes good care of his body. I could feel my heart rate increase and had hoped it didn't show on my face that I had been checking out his physique. Even the moisture of the warmth of the day that was on display across his forehead seemed sensual to me. Our bodies were close and the faint hint of musk swept over me.

Roy reached out for my hand and pulled me gently to the side of the stream and we both sat down on a boulder, not able to steal our eyes away from each other. As we sat hand in hand, I intuitively felt safe with him.

I wondered if fate had a hand in our meeting like this. These things only happened in dreams, or did they? Breathing heavily he let out a chuckle.

"What?" I smiled, taking in every inch of his face, his nose, slightly bent from possibly being broken at some point, eyelashes that any girl would die for framing his deep emerald eyes. "Come on, tell me," I begged.

"I was going to ask you-" Before he could finish his sentence the sky darkened with the thunderheads that I had previously seen in the distance, the sudden breeze blowing large raindrops all around us. A peel of thunder crackled eerily across the expanse of mountains garnering our full attention.

Together we both looked up at the coming threat and then back into each other's widened eyes. I viewed the scene as if in slow motion as he firmly took my hand and we stood looking for shelter. "Come" he said, commanding.

Pointing to a small cave half way up on the far canyon wall, across the stream from where we sat, Roy tugged my hand, reached for his backpack and we scurried across the stream towards the ascent to the opening of the cave.

This time lightening peeled it's warning and we instinctively knew we had better seek higher ground and quick. Flash floods were common in these mountains and very dangerous in canyons and ravines. We could be stuck for hours waiting for the weather to clear. Somehow that didn't bother me one bit, and I sensed that it wouldn't bother Roy either.

Climbing hand in hand up the boulders and then along the ledge towards the cave, Roy suddenly stopped and looked back at me, the wind blowing his dark tresses about, half covering his face. He paused and said with a devilish smile and a glimmer in his radiant green eyes.


	HIKING By: Ange Copyright February 14, 2001 ***All Rights Reserved. Story cannot be reprinted/reproduced without Ange's permission.* Before I knew it, the trail had grown narrow and practically disappeared amongst the creosote and pine tree covered hillside. Angry with myself for not paying more attention, I was growing more concerned that I had lost my way. The globemallow, desert poppy and lupine spring show seemed to be mocking me as I stopped to take a drink out of my canteen. My attention was drawn towards the ravine where the light sound of someone softly singing could be heard. Gazing in the direction of the ravine, all I could see were mountain vistas, saguaros reaching regally up to the cloud dotted sky and the faint hint of a monsoon storm in the distance. Following the sound, I worked my way down into the canyon before me where the gentle rippling of water told me that I must be at Coyote Springs. The trail all of a sudden reappeared before me and I eagerly followed it towards the bank of the creek, which was lined with huge sandstone boulders, wild grass, and a few palo verde trees. The creek was only a few feet wide but nestled into small pools, seeping through the rocks creating mini-waterfalls. Who would believe that such lush beauty was nestled amongst some of the wildest territory in the state? The air was quiet and the only sound that could be heard was the inviting tune, not in English and obviously male. Suddenly realizing that I was all alone in the Mexican mountains, miles from the trailhead and only God knows who was sharing this pristine reparian area with me, I continued with caution. "They" say, never hike alone, but I wasn't a conventional person, I had my own ways, made my own decisions and never regretted a single moment of my life. So I slowly made my way towards the sound, skipping over rocks and occasionally soaking my shoe with a mis-step. Rounding some brush, I came face to face with the most startlingly handsome man who was placing what looked like candy wrappers in his pack. We both stood still, gazing into each other's eyes, speechless. There seemed to be an immediate connection, something very apparent to both of us. In unison we smiled and my heart skipped a beat as I took in his extraordinary beauty. His hair was shoulder length with chestnut highlights shining in the sun, contrasting ever so strikingly with gray green eyes that seemed to play off the water from the creek. "Hello" he whispered softly with a touch of accent. People from all over the world came to Monterrey to enjoy the outdoors and it wasn't uncommon to run across visitors from Germany, France Japan, Britain and Spain wherever you go. "Hi" I said shyly, still stunned by his good looks. He seemed to be looking beyond me, perhaps to see if I was alone, or if another hiker was with me. Avoiding the question that I knew he would ask, I reached out to shake his hand. "I'm Angely McDonald ," I said firmly, smiling once again. "Roy" he said taking my fingers into his slightly rough hand, drawing it near as he lightly kissed the back of my hand, his touch acting like an electric current reaching all the way to my feet. He didn't immediately let go of my hand, causing me to hold my breath. "Where are you from, Roy, if you don't mind me asking? It's the accent. French?" "Yes, I'm from Quebec. I come here every year to hike " EL Chipinque" with friends, but they bagged out on me, so here I am alone, that is until you came along and rescued me from my loneliness." His voice flowed like romantic music. "Rescued you?" I asked, puzzled at his words. "Yes, you see, I've been searching for you." He grinned showing white teeth surrounded by an invitingly beautiful mouth, with a hint of chocolate tucked in the corner. I thought to myself "very kissable". "You've been searching for me? Now that's a good line, I've never heard that one before". I chided him. "I'm serious. I've seen you before! Don't you remember? A couple of years ago you were with two girls, hiking the top trail. One was blonde the other had long dark, curly hair, but you stood out. Your red hair was longer then, but still coppery in the sunlight, like it is now. We passed on the trail and began to talk as we stopped to rest. You said you hiked here every Saturday in the summer, that you loved the peace of this place. As we talked I looked into your eyes and I was touched by your spirit and lust for life." he paused. "Oh my God, that was you? Now I remember, you had on a straw hat and I remember..." I hesitated then continued, "thinking how wild and sexy you looked with your long curly hair sticking out from under it!" I was looking down, as the words escaped from my mouth in excitement. I could see him bend slightly to look into my eyes, so I lifted my head to meet his gaze and noticed an unruly curl that he kept tugging back behind his ear. "You had more of a stubble on your face than you do now. I watched as you walked away and realized how you intrigued me. You seemed so mysterious." I couldn't believe I had just said that to him, it was like we were old friends. "The sound of your voice has been with me ever since that day" he interjected. "It was sweet, with a touch of mischief. It has haunted me and I decided to come back hoping to see you again. I remember how beautiful you were and still are." His voice was wonderfully sincere, his green eyes sparkling. Blushing, once again I found myself glancing down taking in his strong muscular legs, which seemed out of place in shorts. Slowly working my view up to see that his body was stocky and a surprisingly very trim waist. His thin green t-shirt clung to his toned chest accentuating broad shoulders. Anyone could see that this man takes good care of his body. I could feel my heart rate increase and had hoped it didn't show on my face that I had been checking out his physique. Even the moisture of the warmth of the day that was on display across his forehead seemed sensual to me. Our bodies were close and the faint hint of musk swept over me. Roy reached out for my hand and pulled me gently to the side of the stream and we both sat down on a boulder, not able to steal our eyes away from each other. As we sat hand in hand, I intuitively felt safe with him. I wondered if fate had a hand in our meeting like this. These things only happened in dreams, or did they? Breathing heavily he let out a chuckle. "What?" I smiled, taking in every inch of his face, his nose, slightly bent from possibly being broken at some point, eyelashes that any girl would die for framing his deep emerald eyes. "Come on, tell me," I begged. "I was going to ask you-" Before he could finish his sentence the sky darkened with the thunderheads that I had previously seen in the distance, the sudden breeze blowing large raindrops all around us. A peel of thunder crackled eerily across the expanse of mountains garnering our full attention. Together we both looked up at the coming threat and then back into each other's widened eyes. I viewed the scene as if in slow motion as he firmly took my hand and we stood looking for shelter. "Come" he said, commanding. "Where?" I said, with a little more than slight anxiety in my voice. Pointing to a small cave half way up on the far canyon wall, across the stream from where we sat, Roy tugged my hand, reached for his backpack and we scurried across the stream towards the ascent to the opening of the cave. This time lightening peeled it's warning and we instinctively knew we had better seek higher ground and quick. Flash floods were common in these mountains and very dangerous in canyons and ravines. We could be stuck for hours waiting for the weather to clear. Somehow that didn't bother me one bit, and I sensed that it wouldn't bother Roy either. Climbing hand in hand up the boulders and then along the ledge towards the cave, Roy suddenly stopped and looked back at me, the wind blowing his dark tresses about, half covering his face. He paused and said with a devilish smile and a glimmer in his radiant green eyes. "Angely, I hope you like chocolate." The End**