I woke up to the sound of leaves rustling and sprinkling onto my tent after a gust of warm wind. It was hot waking up rather than the chilling cold I was usually met with.
I went up and over Hurrah pass, making it just in time for the colors of the sunrise. It was very easy in comparison to some road walks I’ve done. I met a cyclist at the summit who was on his morning out and back route. He lived in Moab and offered a place for me to take a shower and do laundry. I wished I could clean myself up in my current state, however there was no water to be found.
As I meandered down the mountain, I saw a sign at a junction that read ‘Base Camp Adventure Lodge.’ I didn’t know I would run into a lodge in the middle of nowhere. I felt super inspired to go even though it was a little out of the way. I was making great time so I walked on over to find a little desert oasis with people hanging out on the porch as the sun started coming through the rails.
What appeared to be the owner looked over at me, then back at his guests and said, “Oh you guys, this is a Hayduker, and I’m about to be her trail Angel.”
I set my pack down, smiling.
“What’s your trail name?” he asked.
“Freyja,” I said.
“I’m Royce.”
“Is there any way I can pay for a shower?”
“I’m sure I can think of something,” he said.
“I would really appreciate it. Just let me know how much it costs.”
“A million bucks,” he said as he handed me a towel and led me to a room where I could clean up.
When I came back, the guests asked me all sorts of questions while the owner praised us Haydukers for what kind of adventure we were on.
One of the older gentlemen asked, “Is there something wrong with your brain?”
“Probably,” I joked, then sat down on the floor and let the sun dry out my hair.
“You can stay here for as long as you want,” Royce said, “days, weeks, stay for a year for all I care.”
“Don’t tempt me,” I bantered.
Then, he jokingly asked if I wanted to clean his place since his two employees were feeling under the weather.
“Yes!” I said, “I love cleaning.”
“Seriously? Are you being serious?”
“Totally serious.”
He went to talk to his employees and they were stoked that I came in to save the day since they needed rooms cleaned and turned over.
He came back to me and said, “$20 an hour. You don’t tell anyone and I won’t tell anyone. Deal?”
“Deal!”
On top of that, he even provided food and lodging which happened to be an entire house on the top of the mountain all to myself. I couldn’t fathom the generosity I received. It was a better deal than what I had in the fancy lodge I worked at in Alaska.
So, I was given the materials and worked with a young twenty something year old named Payton who showed me their protocol for cleaning rooms. I really enjoyed his energy and found he was very easy to get along with. We both liked listening to the background noise of Seinfeld as we cleaned. At the end of the day, I went to make pasta for us. Royce was in the kitchen and said he had a bunch of work to do.
“I’ll be in my back office,” he said, “I have 53 voicemails I gotta take care of.”
“Wow,” I said, “I only have a message or two a day and it’s usually from my mom.”
He laughed out loud and placed his hand on my shoulder. “You are so cute, in such a naive kind of way.”
“Ha! My dad says the same thing.”
Payton and I hung out in the kitchen as the pasta was finishing up. Earlier I had lent him my charger that he needed to use in order to charge his speaker. Later, it got lost or someone happened to take it to which I happened to be the person he complained about it to. He was making a joke out of it saying that no one else came in the house other than the workers, then looked at me and said, “You’re the only one left to question.” Even as a joke, I didn’t take well to being accused of stuff I didn’t do.
I stared at him and blinked. “Hikers don’t steal shit,” I said, “because it would mean we would have to carry it.” Nor did hikers need speakers for music when most of them went into the wilderness to be away from noise and electronics. So, I dropped it, figuring he would eventually find it. We brought our bowls out to the dinner table. After we ate, he showed me some mud huts that hikers used in place of tent sites sometimes. They were a teepee style kine house with extra coverage.
Nighttime was approaching and my eyes were starting to get sleepy. “I’m gonna head up to my room,” I said.
They offered me a side by side to use so I wouldn’t have to walk the mile and a half back and forth to the main entrance of the lodge. I was extremely nervous because I’ve never driven such a contraption, but somehow I made it up the hill. I learned by now that sometimes you just have to act like you know what you’re doing even if you don’t.
At the house, I got to take care of my laundry, experience a refreshing shower and had a huge bed to starfish on. I felt next level grateful for the divine timing of it all. Thank you to the owner.
Later Payton drove up and fixed my parking to make it easier for me to leave in the morning when it was dark. I knew he just wanted to spend more time with me. I was splayed out in a position where my pussy and ass were revealed. I didn’t move until I heard him knock on the door. I opened it, my shirt barely covering my pussy as I leaned on the frame. We talked about the day, my bush peeking out anytime I made any subtle movement that slightly lifted up my shirt. I loved teasing myself just as much as I teased the boys that were in front of me.