Claire Gulliver #04 - Cruisin' for a Bruisin' (14 page)

The hikers were strewn along the boulder-edged path enjoying a well-deserved break. They had been hiking for a while and the last half hour had been uphill. Claire had taken off two of the multiple layers under her windbreaker, one sweater she stuffed in her backpack and the other, the heavier one she had tied around her waist. She wasn’t panting, but she definitely felt a little winded. She fished out her bottle of water and took a long drink. Lucy was next to her and looked as fresh as she was when they started.

“Whew, you don’t even look as if you need a break.”

Lucy smiled. “Maybe not, but I love the chance to sit and look around. You never know what you’ll see.”

That was true. After they startled some deer and what someone said looked like a bobcat, and in spite of her reassurance to her mother that they weren’t likely to find bear, she had been warily eyeing the forest. If they did come across bear, she’d rather see him before he saw her.

But their guide assured them they would be safe and he had a rifle slung across his back which he said was mostly to reassure them, but held powerful enough tranquilizer darts to stop a dozen bears. Actually, he was full of information which he passed on to them at the beginning of the hike, while they were still occasionally meeting other hikers on the trail.

“Don’t be wandering off,” he told them. “A few years ago a young man from one of the cruise ships, who fancied himself an experienced outdoorsman, took off into the mountains on a hike. When it came time for the ship to sail, it left without him. His family stayed to help search for him, but even with tracking dogs the search teams had no luck. He just disappeared. The following summer he was found, at least his remains were found.” He shook his head, a sober expression on his face. “Alaska has its own Bermuda Triangle. It starts in Juneau and goes north and west. We actually lose the equivalent of one person per month here. Sometimes a plane goes down, never to be found; sometimes a boat disappears and many times someone just walks away. ‘Gone Missing’ is what they say.” He shook his head. “Alaska is beautiful, but it’s a wild land; don’t ever believe it isn’t extremely dangerous.”

He meant to impress them with the importance of taking prudent precautions before entering the wilderness. He made his point. Take water, food, maps of the trails, tell someone where you’re going, or better yet, take others with you. If you get separated or lost, stay where you are, blow the whistle he gave each of them and wait for someone to find you.

It had been a sobering start to their trek through the wilderness. And as they had moved further into a remote area where they no longer met up with other hikers, they were careful to stay within sight of the others in their party.

“I’m so glad we signed up for this hike. You can just imagine we’re following a game trail and there are no people anywhere around,” Lucy murmured as she lay back against the rock, her eyes dreamy, listening to the music of nature, silence.

The others seemed to be of the same mind, content to sit quietly and absorb the air, the smells, the sounds of Alaska. After a while there was a general stirring as people made ready to continue their hike. This time the guide set a slower pace as they strolled through the forest heading for the waterfall he promised to deliver for the next break. Now the path was very dim, really only a game trail, certainly not like the trail prepared by the Forestry Service which they started on. When they were in the shade they could feel the bite of the cold, the promise of the winter soon to come, but in the clearings and the meadows the sun made itself felt. It was easy to understand how the Alaskans grew such splendid vegetables and flowers in their short growing period, the sun apparently tried to make up for its short appearance with intensity.

They heard the waterfall before they saw it, even if initially they didn’t know what they were hearing. The soft roar, first only background noise, kept getting louder as they approached and when they emerged from the trail on the outcropping of granite, there it was. A deep gorge with steep granite sides was in front of them. To the right of where they stood the water fell from above; cascading, foaming, crashing against rocks and slamming into the wall of the gorge on the way down. The spray caught the sun beams, flashing rainbows in all directions, while the water roared its way to the bottom of the gorge.

The guide gathered them around and shouted so they could hear him. They would spend some time here and then head back to the van. If anyone wanted to go down the gorge a bit there was a trail, he pointed over the side of the gorge, but reminded them every step down would mean a triple effort coming up. He instructed everyone to assemble in a half hour at a spot they had passed a little way back.

Claire loved the falls and spent most of her time trying to capture the rainbows on her digital camera. Lucy wandered off with a couple of the other hikers to check out the source of the water. A couple of people investigated the trail down the side of the cliff, but it wasn’t surprising to see them decide against going down the deep gorge. It would be a very steep ascent.

Eventually Claire joined the others assembling at the meeting spot. She fished her water bottle and an energy bar out of her backpack and settled herself in for a snack while she was waiting.

“How you doing?”

She stretched out her legs, wiggled her toes in the sturdy walking shoes she brought at Lucy’s insistence and smiled. “Great. I might have some soreness in my calves tomorrow, but right now my blood is tingling through my body.”

Lucy nodded. “I don’t know what I like best about hiking, what it makes my body feel like, or how it affects my soul. You know when you live in cities and are surrounded by people you just need a little solitude and a commune with nature once in a while.”

Claire agreed, thinking she should make more of an effort to join Lucy’s hiking group from time to time. Then she gathered up her trash, stuffed it with the water bottle in her pack and got to her feet, ready for the final stage of the hike.

This last stage was actually the more difficult. She realized her concern about aching calves was nothing compared to her new concern about the muscles in her shins and at the tops of her knees, which were feeling the strain of the downhill trek. She decided she would rub some ointment on them before she went to bed and maybe tomorrow would be a good day to try out the Jacuzzi.

She was glad when they reached the wider trail near the end. Now the hikers spread out, walking two and three abreast, talking quietly amongst themselves.

“Well, we’re at day five, have you found romance yet?” Lucy inquired with an arched eyebrow.

“Me find it? I thought you were in charge of that?”

“Well, I managed to secure three eligible candidates at our own dinner table. I think I more than delivered.”

Claire couldn’t contain her spurt of laughter. “You? You secured the table mates? Good try, but I think fate was responsible for that, or maybe your friend, the maitre d’.”

“Whatever. Do any of them interest you? And what about your mother? Is she interested in either the charming Ian or the sweet Sean?”

“Actually, she hasn’t said, but I’m sure she’s been enjoying their company, especially on the dance floor. It’s nice to have a variety of partners willing and available so we don’t have to vie for the attention of the hosts in order to dance. But as far as I’m concerned, they’re all either too old or too full of themselves.”

“You mean Dickie or Richard as we know him? He’s something, isn’t he? Oh well, Mrs. Bernbaum is charmed by him and he treats her well, so that’s all that counts. I guess I’ll have to look around for a different sort for you. Maybe Antonio knows someone who would do.”

“Well, speaking of Antonio, Lucy, what’s up with you two?”

Lucy laughed. “Those Italians are so charming, aren’t they?”

“How would I know?”

“Well, you were in Italy not long ago. You should know how they are. He’s no more interested in a serious relationship than I am. But he loves to flirt and I’m fortunate enough to have attracted his attention. He’s says on the very first evening he knew he wanted to get to know me. And believe me, with all the unattached women on this cruise, I’m flattered.”

Claire watched her friend closely. Seeing how pleased she appeared, she only issued one caution. “Well, just don’t lose your heart. It’s only a shipboard romance, certainly not worth a broken heart.”

“Don’t worry about me, Claire. I’m not intending to ever lose my heart again. I’ve been there, done that, more than once. I know what I want, and it does not include a serious relationship. I just shudder when I hear Mrs. Bernbaum talking about her one true love. I don’t believe it.”

They fell silent, each occupied with the thought of true love. Claire didn’t know if she believed in true love or not. Her mother apparently did, but then the little cynical part of her wondered whether it was her mother’s love for her deceased husband or her fear of the unknown which prevented her from finding, or even looking for another love. Mrs. Bernbaum was convinced her Nate was her soul mate even though she had been married once before and once after Nate. And truthfully, her last husband sounded like a true winner. Even so, he was cheated out of her full love by Mrs. Bernbaum’s preoccupation with Nate. It sounded like
Gone with the Wind,
with Scarlett O’Hara ignoring the sexy Rhett because of her infatuation with the wimpy Ashley. What a terrible waste that was, Claire thought.

And there was Jack. There was definitely something about the combination of her and Jack which was attention getting. She thought how much more fun the cruise would be with him on board, but then she reminded herself sternly, he wasn’t. However, she realized that maybe one of the reasons she wasn’t looking for a romantic interest on board was she was always comparing other men to Jack and they fell a little short. Not that he was a paragon. No, in fact, sometimes he was very annoying. But he did make her blood tingle, he did make her laugh and when they were in danger, somehow being with him made her feel safe.

Enough of these useless thoughts about Jack, she told herself as they reached the van. But, she said a silent prayer that he was safe wherever he was.

Everyone was subdued on the ride back to the dock, tired from their hike, and in awe of the country they had seen. Back at the dock, Lucy glanced at her watch and said, “What say we have a beer at the Red Dog Saloon?” She nodded toward the picturesque saloon sitting down the road where it forked to follow the waterfront.

Claire agreed, secretly pleased to have the chance to see the historic saloon. “I just have to get on board with enough time to clean up and change before dinner. Even though tonight is a casual night, I don’t think they mean this casual.”

The saloon could have come straight from an old western movie. Its double swinging doors faced the street corner. Its brash honky-tonk music spilled out on the sidewalk. It was jammed with cruise ship passengers, who apparently all had the same idea. Undaunted, they squeezed themselves into the crowd and looked around for a place to sit.

“There, see? That’s Heidi and Bob. We had breakfast with them one morning and they played on our Trivia team. Come on, she’s waving us over. We can share their table.”

Bob stood up and secured an unused chair from another table to add to the three they had. Claire and Lucy gratefully joined them and Claire introduced Lucy.

“What do you think? Isn’t this something? It’s probably just like it was in the heydays of the Gold Rush.” Bob sipped from the large glass of beer in front of him.

Heidi was drinking iced tea and picking at the plate in front of her. “Just to tide us over until dinner,” was her explanation of the half eaten portion of smoked salmon, diced onions and crackers. “We took a helicopter ride over the glacier. It was amazing, wasn’t it Bob?”

When the harried waitress arrived they ordered the same beer as Bob was drinking and then looked around at the interior of the saloon. It was dark, smoky, grimy and full of character.

“Not only has it been here since the Gold Rush Days, but they still have all the dust to prove it,” Lucy commented. No one appeared to mind the grunge, people were eating and drinking, while they stared at the stuffed animals and the bric-a-brac stuck to the walls. And the beer was good and cold, what more could you ask?

For a while Kim concentrated on the traffic moving through the town while Anita seemed content to look at the scenery, but then they were past the congestion and heading north.

“Is the Shrine very far?”

“I think it’s about an hour, but allowing for finding our way it might take a little while longer. I think this is our turn-off coming up.” She put on her blinker and got into the left lane.

“It says Douglas Island. Is that where it is?” Anita sat up looking around as Kim crossed over the bridge and then, instead of turning left as everyone else was doing, she turned right going north on a road winding around the edge of the island.