Off the Beaten Path

Chapter 2-2

Monday morning was bright and sunny. Not that Hugh and Orion knew it would be until they packed up and began hiking again. The sun had barely penetrated through the trees when they’d awakened.

As they moved into less densely forested areas on the mountain slopes, Hugh said, “Keep an eye open for caves or maybe an abandoned mine.” He knew Orion would have no idea what he meant, but he needed to hear the sound of a voice, even if was his own. He wasn’t lonesome, not by a long shot. But when the only sounds came from the birds, the stream they were following, and their own breathing, talking aloud made a nice counterpoint.

Hugh was aware, from hikes over the years, that there were old mines in the mountains. He’d come across more than one. There were caves, as well—some of them small indentations in a mountain wall, others much deeper.

He also knew there were dangers connected with abandoned mine shafts. The timbers might be rotten, the air bad, and flooding a possibility with a hard rain. In the case of both mines and caves, they might already be occupied by a bear or other animals—or snakes. He had no desire to run into a rattlesnake’s lair if he could help it.

There was also a chance they might find an old cabin which had once belonged to one of the trappers or miners who had frequented the area in years gone by. That would, as far as Hugh was concerned, be the best of all possible worlds. Somewhere to live, out of the elements, but not as rough as in a cave or mine.

Of course, if we do find a cabin, it’ll probably need a hell of a lot of work, but it would be worth it.

It took a while, and a great deal of going up and down the mountain slopes, but they finally found what appeared from the outside to be a decent cave. Unfortunately, when they checked it out, they found it was already occupied—by bats. Hugh had no desire to share quarters with them. Neither did he want to try to ‘persuade’ them to move.

“They have more rights to be here than we do,” he told Orion, who was looking up at them as if trying to decide if he could jump high enough to catch one.

They kept moving, spending Monday night by a stream in a deep gorge between two mountain peaks.

The next morning, after a breakfast of biscuits and gravy with sausage for Hugh, and turkey with vegetables for Orion, they began their search again, looking for a place to call their own for the time being.

If there were any abandoned mine shafts, they didn’t find them. They did stumble upon a cave which went well back into the mountain. The problem was, Hugh would have had to spend his time hunched over in order to move around. Not something he wanted to do on a daily basis.

As they traversed a curving valley, following another fast-moving, deep stream, Hugh thought their luck finally changed. When they rounded a bend, he saw a dark hole several feet up the face of the mountain, half covered by a decrepit gate. The problem, he discovered moments later, was the fact that whatever road had led up to what he could only presume had been a small mine had long since fallen prey to rain and snow.

Now if I was a large bird, or a werewolf with teleportation abilities…Hugh chuckled and continued walking. He’d gone a few yards, following the stream as it made another curve around a low, rocky cliff, when he stopped again.

“I think we have lift off, Orion.”

Ahead of them was what must have once been a miner’s cabin. It was ramshackle, to put it mildly, with gaping holes in two of the walls where the boards had fallen off. The single window had no glass in it, and the door hung on one hinge. Surprisingly, however, most of the roof was still there.

“What do you think, Orion? Is it worth our trying to fix it up?”

Hugh walked around the exterior first, looking for any signs people had been there before them. If they had, they had picked up after themselves and no one had scrawled graffiti on the walls. The same held true on the interior. There was dirt, dust, and detritus covering the floor, primarily dead leaves and animal droppings from what Hugh could tell at first glance. There were no footprints in the dust. A good sign as far as he was concerned. Probably because the mess is hardly an invitation to stay the night, or a month, or more, but with work I think I can make it habitable.

He stood, hands on his hips, looking around the area. The stream was a definite plus. He wondered if there were fish in it. On closer inspection, he saw what he thought might be trout, or perch. He was no expert on fish, so it was anyone’s guess as far as he was concerned. But they are fish, and edible, I’m sure.

The land around the cabin was overgrown with grass and weeds. The field went up to the tree line surrounding three sides of the cabin, and the stream on the fourth side. Across the stream were more trees and then the steep face of the mountain. He had a guide to edible vegetation in his backpack, which he’d bought for one of his hikes a year or so ago. Time to go through it to see if any of the weeds will be good for salad or vegetables.

One great thing about the cabin, as small as it was, was the stone fireplace on one wall, which had swing-out hook to hold a pot over the fire. If the chimney drew well enough not to send smoke into the room, the fireplace would be a big plus for keeping the cabin warm and for cooking.

“Of course I’ll have to fix the walls and roof, first,” he told Orion.

Some of the boards from the walls lay on the ground where they’d fallen, rusty nails still protruding from them. Standing a ways back, he surveyed the hole in the roof.

“Maybe, possibly…” He had a piece of heavy plastic, which he’d brought along for ground cover in case of rain, folded up in his backpack. “And I can use the tent to cover the walls if I run out of boards. This will be a hell of a job, but worth it, I think.”

He was antsy to get started and might have if the sun wasn’t lowering behind the mountains, casting long shadows in the valley.

“Let’s eat, sleep, and get a start on this first thing in the morning,” he told Orion as he set the tent up beside a cabin wall. “Not that you’ll be much help, but you can cheer me on from the sidelines.”