Through an Author's Eyes - Part 18

Good morning!

The sun is coming up in a cloudless sky! We haven't had sunshine since a little on Monday morning. It's so nice. It's been chilly and cloudy and rainy here this week. I'm ready for sunshine and warmth again. It's supposed to be in the low to mid 60s today which will be nice. Monday's high is supposed to be 79º! 

I think I mentioned last Friday that I had signed up for the Spring 100 challenge which is a challenge to walk 100 miles in the spring. So far I've walked 3.5 miles this week. Had it not been raining some of the days I probably would have walked more, but it's a good start. We'll see if I can get some walking in today. Seven of my nieces and nephews will be coming over mid afternoon and will be spending the night. They love going on walks, but we'll see what's going on. Anyway, if you have not signed up for the Spring 100 challenge and you want to, today is the last day to do it! Go HERE to sign up or learn more about it. 

This week's writing has been a bit slower. The story is still going forward, but not as rapidly. Right now I'm around 26k words into the book. Only 4k to reach 30k and then anything after that is good. Not sure I'll reach the 40k my sister wants me to, but we'll see. :)

Here's the next part of the story you have been enjoying so much.

 

Through an Author's Eyes

Part 18

 

    Heads nodded and gloves were pulled out of packs and put on. Annette wanted to put on her extra sweatshirt, but didn’t want to take the time nor did she want to take off her rain jacket at the moment. Perhaps when they stopped for a break she would for now she would just focus on moving forward. Her feet were tired, wet and cold, but she knew they didn’t have time to put on dry socks yet. Hopefully this trail would lead to the parking lot and the van.
    The pace wasn’t fast, but it was steady as Elijah led the way along the trail.
    By and by the trail narrowed leaving only room to walk single file. Annette began to wonder if this was even a real trail after all or if they had somehow stumbled into a deer path or at least a path made by the animals of the mountain forest. The flakes of snow were beginning to grow a little larger and easier to see, and still the trail wound its way though the trees, sometimes going uphill, and others going down, twisting and turning until no one was quite sure which direction they were headed.
    “Can’t we take a break soon?” Bethany asked. “I don’t think I can go much farther without something to eat and drink.”
    “Let’s stop now,” Elijah suggested. “There doesn’t seem to be any change in the trail after it narrowed. No sign of a split off or anything.”
    Eagerly the girls pulled their packs off and sank down, unzipping the pockets and pulling out granola bars and energy drinks. As they ate, Annette looked around her. Tall trees, dripping with water surrounded them while brush filled the lower regions of the woods. Suddenly her eyes caught sight of something. “Look! What’s that?”
    “What?” several voices asked at once.
    She pointed off into the woods. “Over there. Is that a building?”
    “Where?”
    “I don’t see anything.”
    “Oh, I do. It looks–” Gabe hesitated. “It looks old. Eli, can you see it better if you go farther on the trail? It looks like the path turns and goes closer.”
    Rising from his seat on a fallen branch, Elijah set off once more only to return moments later with news. “It’s an old log house of some kind. There’s no door, but from what I could see it looks sturdy. Want to check it out?”
    Levi and Judah exchanged glances and looked up toward the sky.
    “We need some kind of shelter, Levi,” Jaina said softly, trying to stop a shiver. “Even if it’s just for a little while as we eat and rest.”
    “Okay. Let’s check it out.” Picking up Jaina’s pack, he slung it over his shoulder and offered her a hand up. “I guess it’s worth trying.”
    Annette gathered her pack and water bottle, and stood up. Her feet were cold and damp in spite of wearing her waterproof hiking boots. Trudging down the trail, she saw Elijah, Vic, and Reuben already making their way through the unmarked brush to the cabin. Soon she was waiting with Jaina, Levi, Savanna and Bethany.
    “It looks sturdy,” Judah called back at last. “The roof is solid and doesn’t appear to be leaking. Once we brush some of the leaves and things out I think it’ll do.”
    It took some time for the guys to sweep out the leaves until Reuben found a pine tree and cut one of the lower branches to use as a broom. At last the hikers were all inside, and Annette looked around with interest. It was a log cabin by all appearances, the cracks between some logs were missing the chinking and cold air drifted in. The far wall was empty, no windows and no fireplace. Perhaps at one time skins had been stretched across it and a bed had been set against the wall. To the right was a wall with a small window like opening. No glass blocked the air now as it rushed in off the mountain, and Annette wondered if an oiled paper had once let in light but kept out the cold. To her left was the fireplace. Crude and rough, but built of stone, it looked as though it would remain long after the rest of the cabin had fallen down. The front of the cabin held only the open doorway.
    “If we have some tarps, we can sit on them,” Bethany said, eyeing the still dirty floor.
    “We have at least a couple of tarps,” Judah answered crouching down beside his backpack to find one.
    “The window needs covered up to keep out the cold,” Annette said. “Can we put a tarp over it?”
    Elijah and Levi crossed the room to examine the window. It wasn’t large. “If we had nails or something to put in the wall we might get something to stay,” Levi said at last after several attempts to make a tarp stay.
    “Oh, here.” Quickly digging in her backpack, Annette pulled out a small plastic container and opening it produced nails. “How many do you need? Can you find a rock or something to hammer them in with? I don’t carry a hammer with me.”
    “Why on earth do you carry nails with you?” Levi demanded, taking the nails from her and and raising an eyebrow.
    Annette shrugged. “Habit, I guess. Dad and I were hiking once and ended up needing nails. After that we both carried a few with us. I almost didn’t bring them this time as we’ve never had a use for them except when we didn’t have them.” 

 

Would you rather have a week of sunshine or clouds?

Have you joined the Spring 100?

Would you like to take shelter in an old cabin?