HAUNT DAWGZ STORIES

LEGENDS OF THE MOUNTAIN

The old shuttle bus' engine whined as it climbed in elevation, as if saying, "This is not a good idea." But how could it not be? The scenery was breath-taking. Snow capped mountains, trees so green it looked like a fantasy novel. Running streams meandered along the highway, with salmon jumping every few feet. "Hey, Jeremy, how hard is this hike tomorrow really going to be?" Jeremy put his hand behind Nicole's neck. "Oh, it's hard, but nothing you can't handle, sweetie. You run marathons and are pretty strong. You'll be fine. We just have to worry about the trail being ruddy with lose dirt and rocks."

Nicole's eyes could not stop looking out of the window at the grand beauty of Alaska. She saw some animal trails in the grass and on the adjacent hillside. She turned to look at Jeremy. "Hey, what kind of animals are out here?" Jeremy took a deep breath in then let it out before replying, "Well, of course there are foxes and moose and all sorts of bears, but we will be alert and not sneak up on any animals. We'll be okay, hon. Millions of people hike Alaska and never have a problem. Relax, this will be a hike to remember." Nicole leaned over, and kissed her fiancé on the side of the face.

The two were dropped off at their hotel. Nicole said, "Oh look how cute! All the rooms are their own little rustic log cabins! I want it to snow," said the Los Angeles resident. Dinner was served in the dining room, and soon after the two went to sleep. They woke up early, with plans to hit the trail just as the sun was coming up.

After eating a breakfast of oatmeal and two bananas each, they walked the half mile to the trailhead. Nicole took a couple of deep breaths while looking at the climb ahead. She pulled out her cell phone from the side pocket in her backpack, and took a few photos of the mountain ahead. "This is gorgeous," she said with a wide smile. Mount Logan itself towers over 19,000 feet, a rather daunting, yet beautiful site. The two were not going to climb to the peak, but climbing pretty high was in their plans. "Okay, Jeremy, you owe me lobster after we complete this hike!" Jeremy grinned, "Deal!"

"This is a good pace, Nicole. We're going at a decent clip, but not enough to overly sweat. If we sweat too much, the water on our skin can cool and cause hypothermia." After two hours into the hike, the two stopped for a snack break. The area was much more wooded than when they started, with tall pines towering above and deep to both sides of the trail. As they ate granola bars and took in several ounces of sports drink, Nicole looked just off the trail and saw something quite unusual. In the fresh snow there was a print, looking like the print of a human bare foot, only quite large. "Honey," she said sharply, continuing, "Look!" Jeremy stood up and said that's weird, why would someone go barefoot in the snow?" Nicole snapped her head from the track and glared at Jeremy. "No, what's weird is the size of it!" Jeremy replied, "It is kind of big, but those guys in the NBA have real big feet." Nicole smirked. "Are you saying a professional basketball player is walking here, in the snow barefoot?" Jeremy chuckled. "No, silly. But many people have big feet!" "Yeah, but who walks barefooted in the snow, a three hour walk back to the trailhead?" Jeremy pointed to the snow. "Look, the tracks are spaced far apart and go off deep into the woods." "Should we continue, or is this too

creepy?" asked a nervous Nicole. Jeremy took a deep breath in and slowly let it out. "Come on Nicole. We trained for this and have been looking forward to this for over a year. We can do this, and you'll have a great feeling of accomplishment when we're done."

"Yeah, I know. Let's own this trail!" said a now smiling Nicole. The two continued to climb over the next hour and a half, enjoying views of glistening snow capped peaks and green pines, with a light blue sky above. Jeremy pointed to the adjacent trees. "You see those white little balls high in the trees. Those are the heads of bald eagles as they rest." Nicole replied, "Or, looking for prey. I hope we're not anythings prey out here." Jeremy shook his head. "Hey, us humans are the scariest thing out here."