Through an Author's Eyes - Part 17

 Good morning, Faithful Friday Fiction Fans,

It's snowing. And the ground is covered. Daffodils are blooming, the forsythia is blooming, and it's snowing. I didn't want more snow. I mean I love snow during winter months, but it seems like we've had quite a bit of it this year and all in 2022. We didn't get any snow in November or December. And now we get it in January, February, and March.

Okay, let's forget about the weather now, shall we? What else has been going on this week?

Not a lot. I've had music to practice for two instrumental ensembles, and writing camp is going on, and I've been writing. I've already gotten 5,900 words written this week. And yes, I'm still working on the same story. I must say that it is really fun writing Don Wood and having it come together like this. I'm just hoping and praying it won't get off track and make me have to rewrite parts. Jim and Anna didn't. I had to do a little with Lake, but not too much. Phil was a mess. This book is different than all the others. I'll tell you one little thing. The MC doesn't like mysteries and has no interest in turning detective and solving any. That can be a problem when you are the MC of a mystery book. :)

Well, that's a quick update. Not sure what is going on today. We were supposed to have some friends over for lunch, but we'll see if they still want to come with the snow.

Through an Author's Eyes

Part 17

 

    Leaving the girls on the trail, the boys split up and started exploring.
    “Annette,” Jaina asked, “have you ever run into something like this in your hiking?”
    “No.” Annette stuffed her hands into the pockets of her sweatshirt. The breeze had freshened and it felt a tad chillier. “Nothing quite like this, but Dad and I have had to wade across streams that weren’t supposed to be there, and climb over rock slides before.”
    “Are you any good at swimming?” Bethany asked.
    “In that? I don’t think so,” and Annette laughed. “It’s too murky and nasty. And,” she lowered her voice, “who knows what lurks in the darkness beneath the waves.”
    Jaina and Savanna shivered. The boys were returning and each one shook their head.
    “There’s not even a downed tree we could try to cross on,” Reuben said.
    “And we couldn’t see the end of the lake, so we can’t exactly go around it,” Gabe added.
    All eyes turned to Levi as he was the oldest. He was looking up at the sky, back up the trail they had come and frowning. “Well, where’s the map, Elijah?”
    This was pulled from Elijah’s pocket and several heads bent over it. Annette really wanted to see the map too, but felt uncomfortable crowding in.
    “I don’t think we have any other option but to retrace our steps and go back the way we came,” Levi said at last. “But we’re going to have to go as quickly as possible because I don’t like the clouds that have been moving in.”
    “Do you think it’ll rain?” Jaina asked, slipping her hand into his.
    “Possibly. Everyone has raincoats, right?”
    Annette nodded with the rest of them. This was turning into more of an adventure than she had thought. Perhaps she would need those energy bars she had made with her mom’s recipe. Turning around, the group, growing tired at the very thought of climbing the mountain one more time, began the task of retracing their steps. The wind had picked up, and they had to walk with heads bent for it came rushing down the side of the mountain with gusto. Soon a light rain began falling and everyone dug out their rain gear and put it on. For Annette, this was just another hike in the rain though she was discovering that these mountains were quite cold in the rain even in early summer.
    For some time the group hiked in silence, their lovely hike in the mountains had changed to an adventure that no one was really prepared for.
    “Um, guys,” Bethany called above the wind, “aren’t we supposed to be going up the mountain? And shouldn’t we be above the trees by now?”
    “Uh oh,” Vic groaned.
    Lifting her head, Annette turned her back to the wind and looked about them. They were still in the trees which offered some shelter. Right then she couldn’t imagine being up on top of the mountain if the wind even in the trees was this ruthless. Thankful that the rain wasn’t hard, she pushed back her waterproof hood a little and waited to see what would happen.
    “How can we be off the trail?” Judah demanded.
    “I don’t know.” And Elijah, who was in the lead, shook his head. “The only thing I can think of is that another trail merges with the one we were on and in the rain I didn’t notice. But the question remains, what are we to do now?”
    “Levi?”
    With a long sigh, Levi looked around. “Do you think we can find the right trail again? Or would it be better to just keep going and hope we reached a place where we can call for assistance?”
    “Oh, don’t let’s call now!” Annette bit her lip as soon as the words were out.
    “We can’t call here,” Gabe replied. “No reception.”
    Everyone had huddled together into a bunch, trying to stay warm as they debated what was best to do. A few suggested they try to find the other trail, some thought they should go on. At last, not being able to stand it any longer, Annette said, “Can I see the map, please?”
    Elijah pulled it out and handed it over. It would have been difficult to keep the rain off it, but thankfully the rain had ceased to fall though the wind was still blowing. “Where were we?” Elijah pointed to some places on the map. “So, if we lost the trail, we could be somewhere around here.” Her finger traced a circle on the map. “I don’t see any signs of trails on this part. Is this an old map?”
    Elijah hesitated. “It’s probably a year old or something like that. I don’t know if there’s a date on it or not. I got it from the box at the trailhead.”
    Quickly Annette’s eyes scanned the paper. Flipping it over she noticed the date. “This was printed five years ago. There could be many other trails by now. At least if it’s anything like other places I’ve hiked. Not everyone stays on the regular trails you know, even if they are supposed to.”
    “So, what does that mean?” Levi asked, looking with more respect at this cousin who knew so much about hiking.
    “It means that we might be on a trail that leads back to the parking lot, or we could be on a trail that goes in a big circle, or,” she added, “we could be on a trail that goes somewhere else.”
    “Do you think we should go back?”
    Before Annette could give her opinion, Savanna spoke up. “Um, I hate to mention this now, but I think it’s starting to snow.”
    “What! Snow?”
    Every head was tilted up and eyes scanned the air searching for the tiny white flakes which Savanna thought she had seen. Sure enough, there they were. Tiny, bitty, not much of snow, but there.
    “That settles it. We are not going back. I don’t want to be on top of the mountain if this weather gets any worse.” Levi put an arm around Jaina, his face serious. “We need to get to lower ground before the snow becomes steady and starts sticking.” 

 

Do you get snow in March?

Have you ever gotten lost while hiking?

Would you like to hike in the snow?