January 30 2024, Aparima Hut to Telford Campsite:
I watched Elvis get dressed, biting my lip while he changed out of his base layers.
“Stop it,” he said, knowing I was sexualizing him in my mind. I wished he would’ve given me more of himself. I wanted to get fucked by him more often.
“Skinny guy,” he said as he threw on his hiking shirt.
“My type,” I said.
“Mine, too,” he said.
Did he mean skinny girls or skinny guys? I wondered.
Lenses and I got a head start, walking through forests of ferns, avocado green in color. Every ten minutes she asked where Ben was, just the way I asked where Elvis was. We sat down to take a break early on. We tried to stay occupied yet kept turning around to see if the boys were coming down the hill.
“We’re such girls,” I said.
Elvis appeared up over the hill and smiled upon seeing me from a distance. I waved to him then quickly turned to Lenses.
“Do I have anything in my teeth?” I asked.
She shook her head and smiled. “Beautiful,” she said.
He walked over to me, we chatted lightly then he continued on. He turned around to look at me and said, “I will wait for you at the hut,” then proceeded to run up the mountain.
“How long is he gonna wait for us?” Lenses joked as we watched him sprint up the steep grade.
He took it easy after that because we ran into him shortly after. I couldn’t help but look at his fingers, taking in the way he would wipe remnants of dirt off his backpack or unscrew his water bottle. The similarity he had to Voodoo was striking. He walked shirtless, his tattoos scattered in similar spots. He would randomly get the same urge to break sticks and push dead trees over. Just the same he would place his hand around tree shafts for balance as he stepped around roots and mud.
The main difference between them was that Elvis wasn’t as outwardly affectionate. Elvis had more of a feminine energy, not as inclined to ravage me. V would be aggressively obsessive with his affection for me and I loved it. He was constantly touching me, especially in public settings, making it known I was his girl. I missed that sort of attention. He spoiled me with it until he didn’t.
Elvis decided to tag along with us for a bit, saying he enjoyed the pace we chose to walk and the way we took breaks every twenty minutes or so. He said I was slow because of my pack weight but I assured him I walked the same regardless if I was even carrying a pack.
Overall, I enjoyed walking with him. He asked me to name different fruits and vegetables in Lithuanian to see if our words sounded similar. Turned out they were pretty much identical to Ukrainian, my language just added an ‘as’ on the end.
It seemed Lenses appeared down for Ben not being with her, however he eventually caught up. He was a typical clueless boy so I had to spell it out for him. I explained that it seemed important for Lenses if he actually hiked with her throughout the day. They were going to part ways so she wanted to spend as much time as possible with him before their departures.
We all took another break. Lenses laid down and sprawled out on the moss bed. I caught Ben looking at her and smiling as if he was crushing hard. He caught me catching him in the act. We both smiled and laughed. I loved witnessing those natural moments of human joy, the kine that were from the heart. I sat next to Elvis and shared my chocolate with him.
“How was that hut?” Ben asked him. “No disturbances from some animals?”
“Nope,” Elvis said as he shook his head and looked over at me disapprovingly. “Not ‘some’ animals. Just one animal.”
I giggled at the memory.
After we ate, Elvis pushed on ahead, figuring he grew impatient walking our pace. The moment we parted ways, we came across another thick bed of mud. I told Lenses to go first, sick of being the guinea pig. I laughed hysterically as her foot plopped down in the mud when she was trying to avoid it.
My turn. “Watch this, I’m a professional,” I said as I spotted a place to hop and ended up diving waist deep into mud. I instinctually tried stopping myself with my hands which just made it even worse. Ben helped me out while Lenses took pictures with her various cameras from the sidelines.
I scared all of the NOBO hikers when they saw how I muddy I was. I told them “good luck.”
I met Elvis at the hut before Telford Campsite. He helped take my pack off so I could go bathe in the river. Afterwards, I came back and made some food before the climb. There were two guys in the hut. One reminded me of my past lover, the Professor, whom I had met on the CT. Delicious. The other one was a young, handsome German guy who was sick and vomiting all day due to some bad water he apparently drank.
Elvis said he wanted to finish with us at the end, but for now he decided to road walk while the rest of us continued on the TA. After just getting off the CDT, he was tired and just didn’t feel like hiking anymore. He wanted to get to town and rest his body. Understandable. Upon leaving, he grabbed the back of my neck, pulled me in close and kissed me passionately.
“Mmm,” I moaned as I melted, then he released me and went off.
I started my climb up the hill; Lenses and Ben had to take a shit five minutes apart so I lost them along the way. It felt good to get some space again and enjoy my own footsteps while having the view and experience to myself.
I arrived to Telford Campsite and set up my tent. There was an upcoming 25 mile stretch where camping was prohibited due to private land ownership so most everyone stopped here. Shortly after I set up, a spunky Japanese looking guy came out of the blue. I knew he was a thru-hiker from America just by his colorful vibe and overall friendliness. His name was Donuts and he had a friend with him named Longway—a girl who had just completed a thru-hike of the Hexatrek!
Naturally, I invited them to camp directly next to me, then I joined them for dinner. I felt so at home talking to them and simply being in their space. I didn’t realize how much I missed the American trail culture up until I got talking to them.
Donuts got naked in front of me to change into his base layers then started showing off his feet blisters. I didn’t find it weird at all, in fact I felt I was with my kine of people.
“Oh thank God you guys are here,” I said, “I love talking to you. I feel like I’m with my people.”
They were also experiencing a mental challenge being on this trail. They mentioned how lots of kiwis appeared afraid to relax and get dirty on trail. I noticed that, too. They were also getting a hard time for their trail names. I told them I understood. I guess I got away with it because the trail name ‘Freyja’ still sounded like a real name. Orange Man, however, received a difficult time with his name. I heard through the grapevine that even Too Clean was feeling a bit down over people not participating in the thru-hiking culture with him.
“I hate when people ask for my real name,” Longway said. “In America, people go along with it and that’s the whole point—it’s fun.”
“Agreed,” Donuts said.
Next moment, Ben and Lenses showed up. She got excited when she saw a Japanese looking man.
“What’s your name?” Lenses asked him.
“Donuts,” he said.
“What’s your real name?” she asked.
I could feel the cringing silence in the air, especially after I just spoke about how my friends were all about the trail names. Later on Lenses expressed that she never asked for people’s real names, she was just curious because he looked Japanese.
So, they sat down with us and then a young German guy joined us in the circle. He asked who was NOBO and SOBO.
We went around the group and when it came to the NOBO’s, he said, “It is ah clear you ah still fresh because you still got ze spark in your eyes.”
Then, he asked everyone’s age. We went around the group as we said our number.
“39,” Donuts said. “How old are you?” he asked me.
“28,” I said.
“Mm. Mhm,” he said in a sharp, annoyed tone as if he didn’t think anything would ever happen between us.
Longway and I started laughing. I was interested in him, though, I was just not feeling in an element to make a move right then and there.
Donuts smoked some weed and said he was going to play some music for us. He proceeded to pull out a mandolin and the German guy goes, “Ze amount of people zat take instruments on they hike is suspicious.”
His accent and word choice sent us in a roar of laughter.
Donuts played the mandolin for a good hour, but all he did was gently pluck at a string every now and then. It was clear he was super high. Then, he asked the German guy a question but he didn’t hear him. Donuts forgot his name, as did everyone else, so we all sat in silence. Ben gave me the side eye and we attentively watched what he would say next to get the guy’s attention.
In the most ‘stoned guy’ tone, Donuts goes, “Hey… duuude.”
We both died laughing because we were the only ones that caught it. I actually pissed myself from laughing so hard, finding it hysterical that all he could think of was the word ‘dude.’ God, I loved how much I laughed on trail just from the dumbest shit.
I felt very appreciative today. I felt grateful for Elvis and his kisses and I felt very grateful for my thru-hiking community. I loved that Donuts and Longway were keeping the energy of trail culture together even though people were apparently giving them a hard time. Tonight really made me realize how good I had it in America. It reminded me of what I loved so much about the trails there and the people that hiked them.
Before I went to bed, I peed beside the tent. Ben stood up and spotted me on accident. “Oh gawddamnit,” he said.
Lenses saw what happened and in the sweetest most genuine voice said, “Ah is okay, Ben. Is okay,” then rubbed his shoulder to comfort him. I started laughing, then she looked at me and said, “You scared him. Is okay.”
I watched Elvis get dressed, biting my lip while he changed out of his base layers.
“Stop it,” he said, knowing I was sexualizing him in my mind. I wished he would’ve given me more of himself. I wanted to get fucked by him more often.
“Skinny guy,” he said as he threw on his hiking shirt.
“My type,” I said.
“Mine, too,” he said.
Did he mean skinny girls or skinny guys? I wondered.
Lenses and I got a head start, walking through forests of ferns, avocado green in color. Every ten minutes she asked where Ben was, just the way I asked where Elvis was. We sat down to take a break early on. We tried to stay occupied yet kept turning around to see if the boys were coming down the hill.
“We’re such girls,” I said.
Elvis appeared up over the hill and smiled upon seeing me from a distance. I waved to him then quickly turned to Lenses.
“Do I have anything in my teeth?” I asked.
She shook her head and smiled. “Beautiful,” she said.
He walked over to me, we chatted lightly then he continued on. He turned around to look at me and said, “I will wait for you at the hut,” then proceeded to run up the mountain.
“How long is he gonna wait for us?” Lenses joked as we watched him sprint up the steep grade.
He took it easy after that because we ran into him shortly after. I couldn’t help but look at his fingers, taking in the way he would wipe remnants of dirt off his backpack or unscrew his water bottle. The similarity he had to Voodoo was striking. He walked shirtless, his tattoos scattered in similar spots. He would randomly get the same urge to break sticks and push dead trees over. Just the same he would place his hand around tree shafts for balance as he stepped around roots and mud.
The main difference between them was that Elvis wasn’t as outwardly affectionate. Elvis had more of a feminine energy, not as inclined to ravage me. V would be aggressively obsessive with his affection for me and I loved it. He was constantly touching me, especially in public settings, making it known I was his girl. I missed that sort of attention. He spoiled me with it until he didn’t.
Elvis decided to tag along with us for a bit, saying he enjoyed the pace we chose to walk and the way we took breaks every twenty minutes or so. He said I was slow because of my pack weight but I assured him I walked the same regardless if I was even carrying a pack.
Overall, I enjoyed walking with him. He asked me to name different fruits and vegetables in Lithuanian to see if our words sounded similar. Turned out they were pretty much identical to Ukrainian, my language just added an ‘as’ on the end.
It seemed Lenses appeared down for Ben not being with her, however he eventually caught up. He was a typical clueless boy so I had to spell it out for him. I explained that it seemed important for Lenses if he actually hiked with her throughout the day. They were going to part ways so she wanted to spend as much time as possible with him before their departures.
We all took another break. Lenses laid down and sprawled out on the moss bed. I caught Ben looking at her and smiling as if he was crushing hard. He caught me catching him in the act. We both smiled and laughed. I loved witnessing those natural moments of human joy, the kine that were from the heart. I sat next to Elvis and shared my chocolate with him.
“How was that hut?” Ben asked him. “No disturbances from some animals?”
“Nope,” Elvis said as he shook his head and looked over at me disapprovingly. “Not ‘some’ animals. Just one animal.”
I giggled at the memory.
After we ate, Elvis pushed on ahead, figuring he grew impatient walking our pace. The moment we parted ways, we came across another thick bed of mud. I told Lenses to go first, sick of being the guinea pig. I laughed hysterically as her foot plopped down in the mud when she was trying to avoid it.
My turn. “Watch this, I’m a professional,” I said as I spotted a place to hop and ended up diving waist deep into mud. I instinctually tried stopping myself with my hands which just made it even worse. Ben helped me out while Lenses took pictures with her various cameras from the sidelines.
I scared all of the NOBO hikers when they saw how I muddy I was. I told them “good luck.”
I met Elvis at the hut before Telford Campsite. He helped take my pack off so I could go bathe in the river. Afterwards, I came back and made some food before the climb. There were two guys in the hut. One reminded me of my past lover, the Professor, whom I had met on the CT. Delicious. The other one was a young, handsome German guy who was sick and vomiting all day due to some bad water he apparently drank.
Elvis said he wanted to finish with us at the end, but for now he decided to road walk while the rest of us continued on the TA. After just getting off the CDT, he was tired and just didn’t feel like hiking anymore. He wanted to get to town and rest his body. Understandable. Upon leaving, he grabbed the back of my neck, pulled me in close and kissed me passionately.
“Mmm,” I moaned as I melted, then he released me and went off.
I started my climb up the hill; Lenses and Ben had to take a shit five minutes apart so I lost them along the way. It felt good to get some space again and enjoy my own footsteps while having the view and experience to myself.
I arrived to Telford Campsite and set up my tent. There was an upcoming 25 mile stretch where camping was prohibited due to private land ownership so most everyone stopped here. Shortly after I set up, a spunky Japanese looking guy came out of the blue. I knew he was a thru-hiker from America just by his colorful vibe and overall friendliness. His name was Donuts and he had a friend with him named Longway—a girl who had just completed a thru-hike of the Hexatrek!
Naturally, I invited them to camp directly next to me, then I joined them for dinner. I felt so at home talking to them and simply being in their space. I didn’t realize how much I missed the American trail culture up until I got talking to them.
Donuts got naked in front of me to change into his base layers then started showing off his feet blisters. I didn’t find it weird at all, in fact I felt I was with my kine of people.
“Oh thank God you guys are here,” I said, “I love talking to you. I feel like I’m with my people.”
They were also experiencing a mental challenge being on this trail. They mentioned how lots of kiwis appeared afraid to relax and get dirty on trail. I noticed that, too. They were also getting a hard time for their trail names. I told them I understood. I guess I got away with it because the trail name ‘Freyja’ still sounded like a real name. Orange Man, however, received a difficult time with his name. I heard through the grapevine that even Too Clean was feeling a bit down over people not participating in the thru-hiking culture with him.
“I hate when people ask for my real name,” Longway said. “In America, people go along with it and that’s the whole point—it’s fun.”
“Agreed,” Donuts said.
Next moment, Ben and Lenses showed up. She got excited when she saw a Japanese looking man.
“What’s your name?” Lenses asked him.
“Donuts,” he said.
“What’s your real name?” she asked.
I could feel the cringing silence in the air, especially after I just spoke about how my friends were all about the trail names. Later on Lenses expressed that she never asked for people’s real names, she was just curious because he looked Japanese.
So, they sat down with us and then a young German guy joined us in the circle. He asked who was NOBO and SOBO.
We went around the group and when it came to the NOBO’s, he said, “It is ah clear you ah still fresh because you still got ze spark in your eyes.”
Then, he asked everyone’s age. We went around the group as we said our number.
“39,” Donuts said. “How old are you?” he asked me.
“28,” I said.
“Mm. Mhm,” he said in a sharp, annoyed tone as if he didn’t think anything would ever happen between us.
Longway and I started laughing. I was interested in him, though, I was just not feeling in an element to make a move right then and there.
Donuts smoked some weed and said he was going to play some music for us. He proceeded to pull out a mandolin and the German guy goes, “Ze amount of people zat take instruments on they hike is suspicious.”
His accent and word choice sent us in a roar of laughter.
Donuts played the mandolin for a good hour, but all he did was gently pluck at a string every now and then. It was clear he was super high. Then, he asked the German guy a question but he didn’t hear him. Donuts forgot his name, as did everyone else, so we all sat in silence. Ben gave me the side eye and we attentively watched what he would say next to get the guy’s attention.
In the most ‘stoned guy’ tone, Donuts goes, “Hey… duuude.”
We both died laughing because we were the only ones that caught it. I actually pissed myself from laughing so hard, finding it hysterical that all he could think of was the word ‘dude.’ God, I loved how much I laughed on trail just from the dumbest shit.
I felt very appreciative today. I felt grateful for Elvis and his kisses and I felt very grateful for my thru-hiking community. I loved that Donuts and Longway were keeping the energy of trail culture together even though people were apparently giving them a hard time. Tonight really made me realize how good I had it in America. It reminded me of what I loved so much about the trails there and the people that hiked them.
Before I went to bed, I peed beside the tent. Ben stood up and spotted me on accident. “Oh gawddamnit,” he said.
Lenses saw what happened and in the sweetest most genuine voice said, “Ah is okay, Ben. Is okay,” then rubbed his shoulder to comfort him. I started laughing, then she looked at me and said, “You scared him. Is okay.”
