The long Hike

We walked in silence, the light summer rain making little sounds of white noise on our ponchos. A constant static of water drops on the leaves above. Our feet where soaked, sloshing through the puddles on the trail. Then the lake came, the surface dancing with the rain. A vibrating, almost. The mountains rose on either side, trapping the water. The trail clung to an edge, haphazardly calling us onward. This band of misfits, thrown together by fate. Strangers all. Boys and girls, But we grew to know each other, at least superficially. This week we spent together, hiking and climbing the peaks of the Adirondacks. I grew to appreciate tea with honey that week. And card games in the evenings before the light faded. But most of all the conversations around the campfires, quiet murmurings of stories and thoughts. Sharing pieces of our then young lives. I can no longer recall their faces or names for that matter but the experience still lives in my memories. One week helping form who I would become.