Take a Hike

In today's story, Take a Hike, Emily's friends lend support during her first mountain hike 

Today's prompt was inspired by my own recent hike and by stories of my child's recent hike, both with lovely mountain views. 

More about Susan Quilty

Susan Quilty mainly writes novels, including two standalone novels and her YA series: The Psychic Traveler Society.  Susan's short stories for Freely Written are created during quick writing breaks and shared as a way to let go of perfection and encourage writing for fun.

Website:  SusanQuilty.com
The Freely Written Book: Freely Written Vol. 1
Freely Written merch: Bitter Lily Books Shop

Instagram: Susan.Quilty

Facebook: SusanQuilty.Writer

Transcript

Below is the transcript for Season 1, Episode 152 of Freely Written, a podcast by author Susan Quilty:

Welcome to Freely Written, where a simple prompt leads to a little unplanned fiction. 

[Light piano music]

Hi, friends! I’m Susan Quilty, and today’s prompt is Take a Hike

Today’s prompt had a dual inspiration. First, Peter and I went on a hike that was more ambitious than we realized during our recent cabin vacation. Second, my oldest child also went on an ambitious hike today. He and his friends made it to the top of their mountain—and sent beautiful pictures. Peter and I got almost to the top of ours but opted to stop when it got really steep and had more scrambles than we expected. 

Sometimes the victory is in reaching the goal. Other times, it’s in recognizing your limitations and being okay with that. I’m guessing that idea will likely influence today’s story. I’m writing it with my usual Freely Written process, where I sit down with the prompt and write whatever comes to mind, with no planning and very little editing. 

Which leads me to a little behind-the-scenes tidbit. In case you’ve ever wondered, I do write the intro to each episode before writing the story. So, at this moment—while I’m writing—I don’t know what is going to happen. But at this moment—while I’m recording—I do know where the story will go. Just a weird little quirk of how I write and record this podcast. 

Anyway… on to today’s story. 

Take a Hike

It was too cold to go hiking, but Emily resolutely put on her hat and gloves. She had made these plans days ago, when the November weather was unseasonably warm, and had assumed they would be canceled if the weather changed. Her friends were more stubborn. 

They didn’t think a sudden cold snap was a reason to cancel the hike. Even with the wind chill and the elevation, which would make it considerably colder up on the mountain. They loved to hike and had been badgering Emily to join them for weeks. 

Two days ago, while strolling around a lake on a balmy day, Emily finally agreed. The fall foliage was past its peak, but the trees were still lovely with pops of color appearing between the empty branches. Emily had commented that she wished she had gotten outside more this fall, and that’s when her friends pounced.

Devyn and Jamie swore that this mountain hike was an easier one. Emily wondered, “Easier than what?”

“It’s very doable,” Jamie had promised, with Devyn nodding behind her. “A little steep in places, but the view is well worth it!” 

The wording of that assurance worried Emily. Doable wasn’t the same as easy, and a little steep sounded awfully subjective. Still, the beautiful views around the lake had lulled her into thinking that the hike sounded like a great idea. Something they should do before the bitter cold of winter set in. 

Having been told to wear layers, Emily put a warm jacket over her long-sleeve shirt and quilted vest. She wrapped a short infinity scarf around her neck, thinking it was better not to have dangling ends, and laced up the hiking boots that she had bought years ago and only worn once. 

Devyn and Jamie were picking her up for the drive to the mountains. They had emailed a link to a website with info about the trail, but Emily had been more interested in the link to the winery they planned to visit after the hike. 

“We could go straight to the vineyard,” Emily suggested as they drove closer to their destination. “You know, save the hike for a warmer day.”

“Nice try!” Devyn laughed. They were unfazed by the cold weather, claiming Emily would warm up once they started walking. Emily didn’t like the sound of that. She wanted a casual stroll in the woods with a pretty mountain view, not a strenuous workout that would leave her sweaty and disheveled for the winery. 

When they parked at the trailhead, Emily considered leaving her coat in the car. Her friends were wearing thick thermal shirts and quilted vests over jeans and boots. But when she took her coat off, she shivered in a gust of wind and quickly pulled it back on. 

“Your base layer is pretty thin,” Jamie said assessingly. Emily guessed that “base layer” meant her long-sleeved cotton shirt. Unless she was meant to be wearing something underneath it, which she wasn’t. 

“Maybe wear the jacket but lose the vest,” Devyn suggested. But Emily felt cold with all of her layers, so she opted to keep all of them on. 

Twenty minutes into the hike, she regretted that decision. 

The trail had started as a gradual climb along a leaf-strewn path. It was well-maintained with small wooden platforms spanning the more uneven areas. The trees largely blocked the wind, but they also blocked the sun, leaving Emily comfortable as she tromped through the crunch of colorful leaves. She felt greatly relieved and relaxed into the experience. 

But after 10 minutes or so, Devyn directed them onto a trail that branched off the main path. Instead of following the trees marked with blue paint, they were then following the red blazes. 

Even without the color change, Emily would have known it was a different trail. The path was narrower and crossed by raised tree roots. It rose more steeply, sometimes skirting along worrying drop-offs. There were no more wooden platforms easing their way. 

Emily could feel her heart and lungs responding to the steeper climb. Her legs felt it too, beginning to feel warm and shaky as she doggedly followed her friends’ steady pace. 

It was around the twenty-minute mark when Emily stopped walking and rested her hand against a broad tree. She took slow breaths, looking across a view of the valley below, as if that were the reason she had stopped. 

“How are you doing?” Jamie called, walking back to Emily’s stopping point. Devyn hesitated further up the trail before slowly returning as well. 

“Oh, fine,” Emily said with a forced smile. Her face felt flushed, and she fumbled to unzip her jacket. “A little warm.” 

“We can turn back,” Jamie offered. “Go back to the blue trail. It’s a nice short loop.”

“No, this is fine,” Emily insisted. “We’re already halfway there.”

Devyn and Jamie exchanged a concerned look. 

“What? You said it was about 40 minutes to the overlook. We’ve been walking for 20.”

“Yeah,” Devyn agreed uneasily. “But we’re going slower than I expected, and it gets harder from here… We’re maybe a quarter of the way now.”

“Maybe a third,” Jamie corrected, seeing Emily’s face fall. They stood awkwardly for a moment before Jamie added, “It’s a nice view from here.”

Emily took off her jacket and tied it around her waist. She looked at the steep trail ahead of them and said, “Well, I guess we’ll just have to pick up the pace.”

About 15 minutes later, they came around a curve that again looked out over the valley. They’d been making steady progress while also taking short breaks for Emily to stretch and catch her breath. Despite the chill in the air, she’d unzipped her vest and pushed up her sleeves. Her whole body felt flushed, and her legs were trembling. 

“Well, what do you think?” Devyn asked, sweeping her arm to show off the view. Emily saw the confusion on Jamie’s face before she smiled broadly, too. 

“Nice,” Emily answered uncertainly. It was a lovely view showing farmlands in the valley below and a ring of mountains in the distance, from what they could see between the trees.  

“Just nice?” Devyn asked, rolling her eyes at Jamie. “We came all this way for nice?” 

Emily looked between them, then back out between the trees. 

“I mean, it’s more than nice. It’s really beautiful, but… we aren’t at the end of the trail yet.”

“What? Sure, we are.” Devyn sat on a large rock, took off her backpack, and handed out small water bottles. “This is it.”

“This isn’t it,” Emily insisted. She’d spent more time on the winery’s website, but she had looked at the trail’s site and knew that they were meant to be on a large rock outcropping with views in multiple directions. This was merely a break in the trees at a wider part of the trail. 

Turning, Emily pointed out a red paint mark beside a rocky incline. To her untrained eye, the path seemed nearly vertical with jagged rocks that were more like a slanted ladder than steps on a path. But she was fairly certain it was their path. She heard voices above them and saw a couple walking on a higher trail. 

“Well, yeah,” Jamie said, after taking a swig of water. “There are other trails here, but who said we were going to one of the higher ones?”

“We said we were taking you on an easier trail,” Devyn reminded. “This is it. You made it.”

Emily looked between her friends again, then back at the treacherous scramble ahead. She didn’t want to let them down, but she also didn’t want to break her neck. 

Devyn inched over and patted the rock beside her. They crowded in and took a selfie, trying to catch a glimpse of the view behind them. 

After several minutes of peering between the trees at the partially obscured view, Emily laughed and said, “You are such bad liars. But I’m okay with that.”

“Time for the winery?” Jamie asked. And Devyn quickly answered, “I’ll drink to that!”

The walk back to the car was much faster. Halfway down, Emily zipped her vest but left her jacket tied around her waist. She could feel the places where her boots rubbed against her heels and big toes. 

They talked as they walked. Laughing over old college stories when they had lived in the same dorm. That was when Jamie and Devyn had first started hiking, but Emily had always been too busy with study groups and play rehearsals. 

“Remember that guy in that bar? Hiking guy? He’s the one who started it all!”

“Hiking guy?” It sounded vaguely familiar, but Emily couldn’t remember the details.

“Yes, hiking guy!” Jamie laughed. “He kept trying to buy us drinks, then Devyn told him to take a hike…”

“Oh!” Emily broke in, the memory flooding back. “And he started in on how much he loved to hike! Wait! That’s why you started hiking?”

“Well, not with him,” Devyn clarified. “But the way he went on and on about it made us curious.” 

They laughed the rest of the way to the car, then traded more stories on the drive to the winery, which was perched high on a hill with a spectacular mountain view. 

Emily stopped before going in. Her smile faded, and she said, “I’m sorry I couldn’t make it to the overlook.”

Jamie bumped her shoulder affectionately as Devyn said, “We made it exactly where we wanted to be.” 

Sitting near a window, they raised their glasses and toasted to a beautiful hike. 

The End 

Thanks for listening. So, the details have changed, but I clearly drew from my shortened hike. I like the idea of finding more joy in the journey than the destination. If you enjoyed this story, please share it with your friends. 

As a reminder, this podcast is a fun side project, but my real love is writing novels. You can learn more about my published books at my website, SusanQuilty.com, or by searching for “Susan Quilty” wherever you buy books. There are also links in the show notes. 

Until next time, try a little free writing of your own. Let go of any planning and see where your imagination takes you. 

[Light piano music]