Hiking Buddies-Chapter 1 12 July 2010 AUTHOR: Barry Mattison
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INTRODUCTION:
College student Josh just finished his undergrad program in Geology at Williamstown College in Mass. and has been planning to hike the Vermont portions on the Appalachian Trail, a hiking trail that extends from Georgia to Maine, called the Long Trail. On the first night on the trail he meets Rick, another student from the same college. They decide to stay together as hiking buddies, a common practice for many reason including safety and companionship. But as they hike along they find out that they have more in common than the fact that they are both gay. There is no instant attraction, no sudden love story. No, this is another story.
The characters in "Hiking Buddies" are all fictional and any semblance to real persons--living or deceased--is purely coincidental.
DISCLAIMER (VERY IMPORTANT-PLEASE READ):
This fictional story and others written and published by this author are written for the gay reader in particular and describe scenes of male nudity and sexual acts between two or more guys that some readers may find inappropriate and/or unsuitable for their reading. Please do not read any further if you find such reading offensive or if it may become property of anyone under the age of 21. "Friends or What?" is copyrighted by Barry Mattison under the Registered Trademark Foxstories® and published as StoriesByBm© with exclusive permission to publish given to the Nifty Alliance Archive only. Anyone wishing to use any stories published under either copyright may go to the web site listed above and read the information posted there for legal limitations. Copying, distribution or re-publication of this writing in any other web site, private or otherwise, without written permission of the author is a violation of local, national and international copyright laws and will be pursued to the fullest extent allowable by applicable laws governing that country.
HIKING BUDDIES
Chapter 1
I'd been planning this hike for almost two years, hiking weekends when I could, spending several days at a time in the woods practicing survival skills I learned from my father when he would take me hiking into the woods during deer season, rabbit season, practically any season that allowed him to carry a rod or a gun. I wasn't into killing anything unless I needed something for survival food compared to his relentless slaughter of anything that moved, but in the process I learned many of the skills he used to gather game, survive in the cold, and walk out of the woods alive when others might have not.
My final plan was to hike the Long Trail, part of the Appalachian Trail, of Vermont. The Long Trail is a hiking trail located in Vermont, running the length of the state. It is the oldest long-distance trail in the United States, constructed between 1910 and 1930 by the Green Mountain Club. It runs for a length of about 272 miles (438 km) across the state of Vermont. It starts at the Massachusetts border (near Williamstown, Massachusetts), and runs north to the Canadian border (near North Troy, Vermont). The most beautiful parts of the trail runs along the main ridge of the Green Mountains, coinciding with the Appalachian Trail for 100 miles in southern Vermont. Additionally, over 70 miles of side trails complete the Long Trail System.
Presently I was enrolled at Williams College in Williamstown, MA studying Geology and thought that this trip would give me practical insight into the real world of my future field of study. Of course I wasn't the first, nor the last student to come up with the idea. In fact, there were several other students planning the same hike as mine, only they were starting from different points than I was and hiking shorter side trails in places. I had planned to hike the entire length of the trail during the summer vacation following graduation and before starting my Masters program. I'd planned for so long for this trip that I could recite from memory almost every shelter, mountain peak, outlook, pack item and town along the route. It also helped to have a photographic mind. So with graduation behind me, money stashed away in several places in case I met some unscrupulous fellow hikers, I set off at the VT-MA border line of the trail on a misty Friday morning.
As I started the hike it became apparent that all my preparation had been useful as the trail was not a forgiving one. Worn by the thousands of feet before me, it winds up and down, around the tops of ridges, down into valley's, then abruptly back up again. I had learned to pace myself and on the first day had settled into a routine of hike and rest, drinking plenty of fluids to prevent dehydration. As the day progressed I drew near to my first shelter and found it empty. Most of the shelters had been upgraded to three-sided wood shelters that provided excellent protection from the weather. Some shelters were fully enclosed for protection from colder elements. All I needed to do was unroll my foam ground roll and lay out my sleeping bag. I roamed around the woods for a few minutes gathering enough dry wood to make a small fire in the pit provided and started one to cook up some soup from stock and wild vegetables I had found while gathering the wood. I'd spent so much time alone in the woods that I was quite comfortable with just following this routine, then lying on my bedroll in my jock strap, letting the smoke drift into the shelter to keep the mosquito's away while I read, providing there was enough light, then crawling in and getting seven or eight hours of good sleep before starting another day of the same routine.
I was on the swim team at school and also biked about thirty miles a day when I wasn't hiking just to keep in shape. Consequently I had a zero percent fat level, narrow swimmer's waist, and looked hot as hell in a jock, my favorite underwear item. I'd been in several relationships before, but they never seemed to work out for one reason or another. Maybe I was too young, maybe it was a combination of both, but with the solitary lifestyle I was leading now, plus my desire to continue in school and get my PhD in Education it would be hard to stay in a solid relationship with any guy doing the same thing. We would just never even see each other and I wanted, I guess needed, more than that in a long term relationship.
I had just fallen asleep when I heard a noise behind me on the trail that I quickly recognized as another hiker. It was not uncommon to share a shelter with ten or more people all crammed together, so in some sense, hiking was also a study in sociology and human interaction. It was something more than that though...if you traveled together for a time it became your family. Many times close friendships develop on the trail that last until the end of the trail and even later in life. Anyway, as the steps came closer I heard the familiar call of the hiker calling out to announce their presence. Not everybody does this, but it's a nice habit to have so that new hikers, who might be carrying lethal protection, don't start using it before the newbie gets a chance to introduce him/herself.
"Ho there," I called back. "Just one here, come on in."
I thought immediately of the difference and freedom of why I love to hike. There's a sort of "code" amongst true hikers that almost all follow and newbies learn quickly. A lot of personal values and morals are involved resulting in a very low crime rate, a much higher rate of companionship and trust, and the unspoken feeling that it's a privilege to be free from the shackles of city life constraints and boundaries people set to conform versus the life of a hiker where there few such limits. Hence the there was little fear of being victimized by inviting a complete stranger into camp after dark where I would never do that in town.
"Thanks, it's a little late to be setting up but I got off the trail a bit in the dark and it took me a while to find it again," the voice said as it rounded the edge of the shelter.
"Yeah, that spot around the fire tower can be a little confusing. I've been lost there myself."
The new guy appeared to be maybe six feet tall, about my height, size and weight. He quickly laid out his roll and sleeping bag. Sitting on the edge of the shelter with his feet on the ground he started eating something from his pack. Obviously he was an experienced hiker as well.
"My name is Josh," I said. "What's yours?"
After a minute or two he spoke up and said, "Mine's Ricky, but everybody just calls me Rick."
"Well Rick, nice to meet you."
"You too Josh. Where you from?"
"I'm in between degrees at Williamstown College. Just graduated and going into the grad program with my Geology degree; going for a doctorate eventually to teach. Been Hiking for quite a few years and thought I'd take the summer to do the entire trail."
"Huh, I go to the same college but don't graduate until next year. Music is my field, and I plan to continue on into the grad program as well, so we'll probably see each other around campus."
"How far are you going on the trail?"
"I was only going about halfway because my parents wanted to see me sometime before school starts in the fall, but that's sort of an open thing for me. I really love it out here and would rather be here than in some city riding the bus or subway."
"Gotcha there, me too. How about hitching up as hiking buddies? It's always nice to have some company on the trail, especially when we are going to the same school and will be seeing each other around campus."
"Sounds fine to me. At least until the mid-point. I'll make a decision there about whether I'm going to continue on or not."
"Great. Buddies it is. Now I think I'll get some sleep. Daylight always creeps up on 'ya real fast out here."
"Sure does. G'nite Josh."
"Nite Rick."
I watched Rick as he carefully put away his things and placed his backpack under his bedroll at the head as a pillow. I also watched as he undressed to climb into his sleeping bag. Although it was getting almost dark, night vision had developed to where I could see enough to watch him only a few feet away. As he took his shirt off, his exposed torso revealed the well defined upper body of someone who spends time in the gym lifting weights and using machines. His arms were well developed but not bulky like someone into heavy weight lifting, his chest tapered down to a narrow waist about the same as mine. After folding his shirt he dropped his shorts to reveal a white jock, one of my favorites. Drool was dripping out of the side of my mouth and somewhere else. He leaned down past his lean legs to pick up his shorts, revealing the hairless crack between the two bands of white. I was almost ready to blow a load in my sleeping bag just looking at his perfect cheeks, firm, well-defined with nice handholds on both sides. Perfect at least for what I had in mind. Having folded his shorts and placed them on his shirt he turned slightly to lean down and crawl into bed. As he did he clearly revealed the package his jock was trying to contain in the front. Now I was within seconds of orgasm. This guy was as hot as they come and I was going to have an orgasm without even touching myself. I had to roll over and think of everything nasty under the sun to keep from doing so, not that I didn't want to, but I wanted to hold it and see what developed the next day...maybe even later that night.
Daylight came faster than I expected. As I sat up in my sleeping bag I smelled smoke from the fire. Rick was already up and had started a small fire to make coffee, a hiker's 'must have'. My thoughts turned to the anticipation of the coffee while my jock turned to the thoughts of what I had missed by sleeping in late.
"Oh well," escaped my lips.
I wiped the sleepers out of my eyes and unzipped my bag. Sliding upwards the straps of my jock rolled up into strings...a normal problem since I liked to wear my jocks a little tight, which meant shopping in the boys department sometimes as my waist varied between a twenty nine and a thirty. I slipped my legs out first, rolled onto my knees, then stood up. Now, here I was, morning woody in a tight jock with strings for straps in the rear, and one of the strings was threatening my crack. You'd think that might draw some kind of attention from another guy who seemed to be into jocks, so I snuck another look once again...ah...nope...not even a glance. So spoil my day. I unrolled the straps out of my butt cheeks and adjusted my jock, doing the best I could with making my rock hard cock fit in the pouch, then headed out behind the shelter to take a piss. At least that would take care of the distracting problem in the jock pouch.
As I was pissing I bent down slightly and glanced through a crack in the shelter to see Rick standing near the fire, facing the shelter, with his right hand down the front of his hiking shorts. I thought naw, he couldn't be. Standing up quickly in surprise, I bent down slowly and looked again. Sure enough, he was playing with his pouch, rubbing it up and down. Although the crack wasn't that wide, I could barely see the bulge in his shorts begin to develop. I thought, I'll surprise him and see what happens. I finished pissing, readjusted my cock and jock, and quietly walked around the shelter as if nothing was happening. I made sure that just as I was rounding the corner I looked up to ask Rick something.
"Hey Rick, do you have a...oh, sorry man, didn't mean to interrupt anything."
"No problem, I'm always horny in the morning. How about you?"
"Same thing. To tell the truth I have this thing for jock straps and underwear. Just wearing the right thing at the right time can be such a turn on for me that I can come without even touching myself."
This morning he had on another jock strap.
"You're kidding. I have the same thing for underwear, but my preference is for a good, comfortable pair of jocks. Trouble is that my waist is so small that they're hard to find. I usually special order them to get what I want. Here, have a look at my stash."
He went and brought his backpack out of the shelter, opened the bottom pocket and pulled out another pouch filled with jock straps and and several pairs of cool bikini undies. His jock straps were different colors and had actual brand names on them from the men magazines I kept under my mattress at school.
"Here," he said, handing me a pair of blue jocks, "try these on."
I quickly pulled mine down and put them on my sleeping bag, then turned around facing Rick. I felt his eyes following my movements, especially my cock flopping back and forth, as I put one foot in, then the other and pulled them slowly up until they rested just on the edge of my hips. I looked down and adjusted my dick until it was bulging out, filling the jock just perfect, then looked up at Rick who was standing there smiling.
"Well, what do you think," he asked.
"These are the most comfortable I've ever tried on. They fit perfectly. Where did you get these?"
"That's what I mean. You have to order them from the catalogs. Otherwise they are just a jock strap for boys baseball. Look here and see what else I have."
He laid out several pairs of different types and styles on his bedroll...enough to impress me; I knew where I'd be getting my jocks from now on.
"These fit so nice do you mind if I wear them today?"
"Not at all. You'll see a big difference while you're hiking. That's a promise." He winked.
"Well, I guess we better get some miles behind us before it gets dark, what do 'ya say Rick. I'll get dressed and packed up in a few minutes and we can get on the trail. We can make up time by eating lunch a little at a time, take regular rest stops, then make the next shelter on time. I have a tent in case the shelter is full."
"Sounds good to me. I'll get this stuff picked up and...man you look sexy in those...put the fire out while you get your stuff done. We're only about an hour...gosh you're hot...behind. We can make that up in no time. How do you keep in shape?"
"I'm on the swim team, I bike and I hike. I also try to have sex when I can...with or without another cute guy...like you. But mostly without because most guys just don't appreciate the finer things about a small piece of cotton fetish. I better stop or there'll be a giant wet spot on the front of my hiking shorts. Okay, ready hiking buddy Rick, let's hit the trail. We can walk 'n talk"
We signed the shelter book and headed north on the trail after making sure the area was clean and ready for the next users. Walking along the trail, following one behind the other, it was hard to talk. Many times we would have to climb down and through cracks in the rocks, then right back up and climb over fallen trees and slippery, moss covered rocks. Eventually though we managed to develop a system of helping each other through the rough spaces and slip in a word or two, then when we got to the next spot one of us would finish the sentence. After a while it almost became a natural way of talking.
"So I guess by now we've both figured out that we're gay," I said as I lifted Rick up and over the top of a large boulder.
"Well, to tell the truth," he replied as he supported my backpack while I climbed over a fallen tree trunk, "I really wasn't sure about myself until a few years ago."
"So," I said, as we finally had a chance to walk side by side for a short bit, "what took so long?"
"I was brought up in the Mormon Church and they really drill into your mind the harsh reality of the consequences of homosexuality. It's a real mind game when you know that you're gay inside but have to act straight on the outside because of the way they threaten you with all kinds of things...whoa! you okay?"
"Yeah, just slipped on that dang rock. Good thing you have quick reflexes. Thanks. You were right about this jock strap. Fits so comfortably you wouldn't even know you have one on. It's a turn-on just knowing that. Each time I walk my legs don't feel anything in the crotch like those Bike jocks give you."
"Told you you'd like them...OUCH! watch that branch! Anyway, my parents tried to have me fixed, meaning mentally, so that I would be straight...can you give me a hand up this ledge here?"
"Yeah," as I put both hands on his gorgeous butt and pushed him up the slight cliff. "Now I need a hand getting up the same way if you don't mind."
"Sure...here, reach up and hold tight...anyway, back to my parents. They tried to change me but eventually gave up. I tried to tell them I was born this way and it wasn't a choice...sorry, I slipped, you okay?...what was I saying? oh yeah, that you are born that way, it's not a choice. I even asked them if they had ever had the choice to be straight or gay...no answer but they didn't want to listen, so they kicked me out and said they never wanted to see me again and the church excommunicated me. Can't remember if I even lost any sleep over that terrible news or not."
"Wait a minute...they never want to see you again? Your own family? Jeez...that's pretty harsh after raising you to that point in your life...let's get going again...keep talking..."
We hiked on for a while longer in silence as I thought about what Rick had said. How could a whole family turn their back on their son just because he was gay. It didn't make any sense at all. And what was this religion that demanded that they do this. To me this wasn't any kind of teaching I had heard of in church growing up. I thought that God created us in His image and loved all of us. My heart was breaking for Rick and the more I thought about it, the worse it got. I just couldn't get my head wrapped around the whole illogical concept.
"So Rick, how did you reconcile all this rejection in your mind if you don't mind my asking?...oops...watch out for that rock in the middle of the brook, yeah the light green one, it's slippery...here, hold my hand when you cross this stream so you don't fall. I mean that must have been so traumatic for you."
"What was?"
"Being kicked out 'n all"
"It was. I had to leave, actually I was forced to leave home. At first I stayed with some friends, all Mormon, then I decided to go to college as far away from them as possible so here I am...do you mind if we take a break for a few minutes, we've been hiking for about three hours now over these mountains and I need a short rest and...whooooooaaaaa!
From down in a small ravine Rick's voice came drifting up...
"Uhmmmm, can you throw me a rope and pull me up? I think I've got stones all the way up my butt from that slide down the hill. Thanks, hang on tight, I'm almost there, just a few more feet. Man, watch that first step, it's a dilly. I think we need something to eat, I'm shaking a little. Maybe stop somewhere with a view and less of a slide?"
"That sounds great," as I caught him from tripping on another stone. "These darn rocks and logs can be tricky, huh? Do you want me to check for any cuts on your backside. Not a good place for infections on a long hike you know."
"Um...Maybe tonight. I'm sure I'll live 'till then. Thanks. Hey, looks like a small outcropping up ahead."
"Great. We can rest there and eat something. You know something, I just realized that we haven't met anyone on the trail today. It just struck me as a little unusual."
"Some days are like that and other days it's like Grand Central Station. Did you bring a digital camera?"
"Yeah, always carry it with me. How about a few pictures of us together against the valley background? The camera has a timer and I can set it on this rock over here and run into the picture in time."
"Sounds great, but let's do a different picture. Strip down to our jocks first and we'll take a picture facing each other with our hands on each others' hips, looking at the camera, then one looking over the valley, then face the camera and hip to hip with our hands held behind each other. They'll be hot pictures. Then we'll put in another chip for the 'normal' pictures."
"I love it Josh. You have a sexy thinking mind there. Hiking the Long Trail Au Natural, the series."
"The pictures were easy to take until the one where we were facing each other. I happened to look into Rick's starry blue eyes surrounded by long black eyelashes and thought I fell immediately in love. But it was just a dream...that was until he caught me near the edge of the granite rock rim about to fall off."
"What happened Josh? You almost went over the edge."
I wanted to tell him in the worst way that I think I really thought I fell instantly in love with him, but thought better of saying something so stupid.
"Ah, just slipped I guess, maybe the heat or something. Might be the fact that the heat is coming from within and my disk has had a mind of it's own since meeting up with you"
We both looked down at my sailcloth hiking pants and the blue jock that was visible through the light colored shorts. There was a large, dark wet spot where pre-cum had been leaking from the tip of my cock. Talk about hot. Oh man I wanted to take him right then and there, right on that rock, up a tree, hanging off the edge, anywhere. I didn't know if I could wait until later. But I knew that for safety's sake, getting to the next shelter was the priority. Bone jumping would have to wait, again!
"Well Josh, I hate to disappoint you but we both know that we need to get to the next shelter before dark. But after that, we have the whole night to explore each other. I would be lying to you if I told you I didn't feel anything at the same time you did. I'm willing to explore things a little further and see what happens, even though I'm a virgin"
"Oh gosh...as I slipped weakly to my knees at the thought. Help me off my knees here and let's go. How far did I say that shelter was?"
We didn't say much after that other than continue to help each other off the rocks, the ground and down off the bending trees, touching each other whenever possible and smiling back. We finally arrived at the next shelter, tired, but happy about achieving our goal for that day. Automatically we both set about setting up camp. So far there were no people at the shelter, but as always, that could change at any moment. We pulled out the tent and set it up just in case. After that we rustled up some grub from our packs and sat down on the makeshift couch someone had made from a few flat boards a some lawn chair . As we sat there Rick stood up, moved over, and sat down as quietly as he could right close to me.
"Mind if I sit here and finish my dinner hiking buddy?"
"Not at all sexy. In fact, you could sit in my lap and finish your dinner and I wouldn't mind."
"I'm going to get a small fire going in the pit to keep the mosquito's away from the shelter and then walk down to the pond and see if there's any fish in it. Maybe I can catch something for breakfast. Wanna' come?"
"Sounds good to me. It looks like good weather tonight and we're not that high up today so I'll bring a blanket and we can at least lie down and be lazy fishermen. I'll grab my extension pole and a few hooks, the blanket, and we'll head on down."
Rick rummaged around in his tall pack while I did the same in mine for fishing supplies. In a few minutes we were ready to go.
"What do you think about the bugs? I think I'll wear jeans and a long sleeve...maybe bring my can of natural repellent," Rick said to nobody in particular.
"What's natural repellent?" I asked him, never having heard of such stuff. Usually it was a spray can of sticky, smelly stuff you had to practically spray in your throat to get any use out of it.
"Huh?"
"You were talking about wearing long pants and bringing some kind of natural bug repellent. What is it?"
"Oh, it's something new...actually it's something i came up with. Stumbled upon it by accident while working in the lab. No smell, just a few drops do the job and it is a lotion, so it sinks into the skin and works as a skin creme as well."
"Sounds great. I guess by your discovery that you're into chemistry?"
"It's my minor. I love science."
"Chemistry huh...I knew there was something wrong with you, but I like you in spite of it."
"I feel so much better for your confidence in me rock head. I like you too. Let's get going before the next ice age."
"Right behind you, just as soon as I put on a pair of parachute pants and long sleeve shirt."
Five minutes down the path and we were at the edge of a fairly large pond. Already there was a slight mist rising from the water on the opposite shore as the sun touched the tops of the tallest of the pine trees. We walked up the scraggy shoreline a little bit looking for a smooth, beach-like place to fish from and spread out the blanket. Finally we found a nice place, a little rocky in places, but the best we could find.
"Let's set out our poles first and then find a spot big enough for the blanket," I said to Rick as he was digging around under rocks and logs for some bait. "I'll help you with that."
"I've already got it. Let's bait up and set the rods. Then we can lay down and relax."
"Sounds fine."
It only took a few minutes to get the rods baited up, cast out with a bobber on each and set up in the sand with a cut "Y" stick as a holder to set the rod in. I went and sat down on the blanket, straightening the equipment out on the blanket so that Rick would have enough room to sprawl out beside me. As I turned to sit I noticed Rick standing between the blanket and the water's edge.
"What's up Rick? Come on and sit down with me. I don't bite you know."
"Just stay there. I have a surprise for you. I'll show you what I do for extra work to pay my way through school."
"If you say so."
I sat down, eyes glued on Rick, wondering what he was up do. His lithe body was outlined by the sun's ray's bouncing off the opposite shore. Slowly he began to gyrate his hips, then his body as he began to unbutton his shirt. My full attention was now on his every move as he picked up speed and began to move his body in a gentle, swaying rhythm. I was mesmerized by every subtle move he made...the shirt slowly sliding off his chest, revealing a strong, V-shaped chest that was topped off by perfectly formed pecs and nipples with little brown tips just right for sucking on. As he danced his dance of love my eyes followed his hands as they wrapped around his mid torso and massaged his muscular chest and six-pack. The sounds of the evening coming from the woods and bouncing off the shores and water created the music for his dance. Each muscle moved and danced the dance with him as he slowly slid his hands down to his narrow waist, never stopping for a second or breaking the dance as he outlined each muscle leading to the center where they pointed to the feathered treasure trail of blond hair leading down behind the top of his loose fitting jeans.
My eyes followed the gyration of his lean hips as they began to highlight his large basket in the same way it was highlighted by the reflected light off the water as he turned sideways against the evening light. My parachute pants had a large wet spot, again, in the front as pre-cum leaked uncontrollably from my straining cock, held tightly by Ricks own jock strap. The thought of that, plus the sensuality of the moving object almost within my grasp was making me delirious with sexual thoughts. He knew exactly when to strike. Looking into my eyes, seeing the uncontrollable urges I was struggling with, he increased the speed and sensuality of the dance, reaching out, then pushing back. My heart was beating rapidly, my breaths shallow and my brain light-headed when he put each thumb into the top of his loose jeans and with a gyrating yank, pulled them off in one quick move, revealing a pure white jock strap filled in the front with a huge bulge. As he continued his dance he slowly turned, revealing perfect cheeks held together by two white straps. Continuing around in a circular, gyrating dance he slowly opened his muscular cheeks, revealing his tight, pink hole. My mind was reeling with the insane thought of jumping him right there, but he continued his dance, moving back around to the front where the top half of his large dick was pulsing above the top of his jock strap, leaking juices down the front, leaving a trail of glistening wetness that begged me to crawl forward and lick it up.
I couldn't hold on much longer, but I was paralyzed. My mouth opened from instinct and my hands went to my crotch, but Rick wasn't through teasing me yet with that jock strap as he readjusted his package so his junk was all inside again, revealing the most tantalizing bulge in a jock strap I'd ever seen. He certainly knew what he was doing as he slowly inched his way towards me.
x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x
Continued in Chapter 2.
Let me know if you like this story and many thanks to StoriesByBm© member Kenny, Camp Director and fellow hiker (not related to this story) for planting the seed in my head for this story.
Thanks again Kenny! Barry