David Finch, 22 years old stands five foot eleven with a medium athletic build and neatly combed short cropped light brown hair.
Best friend Brian Lipton, age 23, is slightly over six feet tall with medium length black and wavy hair exhibiting ruggedly handsome facial features. He also touts a very muscular and solid looking physique.
Both men sit across from each other at a small round table relaxing in an airport coffee shop enjoying a snack while awaiting their flight.
David notices the electronic information board on the wall which presently displays world news headlines. Studying the scrolling digital messages he makes mental note of the following topics: “No end to war in sight; religious conflict continues in Middle East – Starvation on the rise in Africa – World sees population of orphans increase – Terrorist attacks still feared; security measures continue – Crime rate up 22% nationwide...”Disgusted by the horrific state of affairs he shakes his head and snaps a thumb gestures towards the screen.
“It never ends! You’d think by now we’d be tired of all this contravention. We should start looking for solutions to our problems instead of creating new ones.”
Brian doesn’t answer. Tight lipped he glances at the board letting David blow off steam.
David continues to ponder mankind’s plight. His mind reels, he becomes more agitated. He’s about to continue when Brian, knowing his friend and his strong beliefs and desires for world peace, stops him before he explodes.
“Calm down Davy. You do this to yourself every time you see the news. Feel sorry for the world if you must, but don’t cause yourself so much grief about something you have no control over.”
“No control over... yeah maybe that’s where I made my mistake. Maybe I should have joined the Peace Core instead of Engineering. At least there I could havetriedto make a difference.”
“Who says you can’t or won’t make a difference in the Engineering field? Maybe you’ll design something that’ll bring the whole world together.”
David eyeballs Brian with a serious look of doubt. “It's just that I feel so helpless. I'm a bright guy; I should be able to do something... I just can’t figure out what that ‘something’ is.” He stares once again at the message board and continues to contemplate the world’s present condition.
Brian sits back and quietly mulls over his own thoughts for a moment. Suddenly he stands smartly pushing his chair back with his legs and gulps down the last swallow of coffee. Then in an attempt to change the subject and David’s mood says, “Well you can't do anything right now buddy... so what do say we get this party started?”
David stares blankly at his friend for a second and then shakes his head in an attempt to drive out the dismal thoughts. In an instant he sits erect, finishes his coffee and stands. “You're right. This is supposed to be a vacation. What are we waiting for?
“That’s what I’m talking about,” Brian exclaims and claps David on the back.
Together they make their way talking and laughing through the crowded airport in search of their departure gate.
An hour later they’re onboard a commercial wide-bodied aircraft heading down the tarmac towards the runway.
Sitting next to his best friend, David thinks about his recent interview with the National Space Agency Research Center in Mountain View California. He sent his resume in about a month before he graduated from Pennsylvania Institute of Space Science in Pittsburgh. They contacted him two weeks later and scheduled an interview with him two days after his graduation. He flew to California and met with four different department heads. Feeling that the interview went well he was told that he would hear from them within three weeks. That interview was three days ago but he still plays it over in his head wondering if there was anything he could have said or done differently to improve his chances for getting the job.
He really likes the idea of working for the N.S.A.R.C. and loves the thought of living in California for a while. Being from Florida he enjoys the calm of the ocean as well as the diving opportunities it presents. He also loves the climate and even though he enjoys traveling and seeing other places, as far as residing for any period of time in a particular location, he would prefer something comparable to where he grew up. The thought of living in sunny California has always intrigued him, and even though the diving will be considerably different due to the temperature of the water, the limited visibility and the amount of gear needed to stay warm, he welcomes the idea of the challenge and experience.
David’s thoughts change as the plane takes to the air. He now reflects on his long and close friendship with Brian. The two of them grew up down the street from each other in Tampa, Florida and developed a bond early on in their childhood. They are both outgoing and their favorite recreational activities are back packing and SCUBA diving. Both are experienced and P.A.D.I. certified SCUBA divers. Together they were certified while in high school. Florida and the surrounding islands provide excellent diving opportunities. As teenagers whenever they had free time, which were most weekends, their dads would take them to the various hot spots in search of the perfect underwater scenic adventure.
All during high school they had planned on attending college together when they graduated and so they spent a great deal of time researching and locating schools that had great academic programs in both of their courses of interest. They settled on the Pennsylvania Institute of Space Science.
Breaks in there academia would find them off together on one or the other of their favorite pastimes and sometimes both in the same trip. However, when undertaking dual activities in a single trip they would have to finish one escapade before starting the other since each required its own complete set of equipment.
David and Brian had plannedthistrip months ago. It was decided that after graduating college they would take some much needed time off before actually starting a career to unwind and have a little fun.
The plane levels and the seat belt signs are turned off. David leans back and continues to sit quietly anticipating the adventure and tranquility that awaits them as he reflects and reminisces about his life.
Brian muses over the conversation he had with David which concerned their remaining in Pittsburgh after graduation instead of returning home to Florida. Knowing they could end up anywhere in the country they decided that by applying for a job from their present location it would save time and money by preventing a possible double move in a short period of time. Brian is now second guessing that decision and feeling lonely already at the thought of David getting the position with the NSA and thinks,Since he already had his interview and it seems he will probably get the job, I may just go ahead and return to Florida and continue my job search from there. At least I’ll be close to the best dive spots again.
He continues stressing over this decision as a flight attendant leans over from the isle near him.
“Headphones?” she asks.
He smiles, “no thanks, I think I’ll just read.”
She looks to David who waves her off as he remains deep in thought. She proceeds up the isle and continues to solicit for the upcoming movie.
Brian makes good on his decision to read and unfastens the tray from the back of the seat in front of him and pivots it down above his lap. Rotating the hinged cover that hides the Passenger Media Player (PMP1) inside, he fastens it beneath the tray with the Velcro straps provided. He pulls out and slides his credit card through the slot on the device.
A category menu quickly appears: Video – Reading – Audio. Highlighting the categories using the touchpad he quickly scans the sub-menus. Under “Video” he finds: Movies – Games - Live Broadcast. He scrolls across to “Reading” and sees: Magazines – Books – Educational. Under “Reading”, the short list that follows is: Music – Books.
His first instinct is to select magazines but he changes his mind and chooses books. A list of titles appears on the left of the screen. On the right an invisible window displays a synopsis or description of the title as it’s highlighted. A few minutes pass and he finds a title and description that suits him. He selects it from the long list; the title page appears. Tapping on one of the touch screen buttons a couple of times he adjusts the font size of the text.
Satisfied with his choice he tilts his seat back to a comfortable reading position and proceeds to peruse his selection.
David snaps out of his trance and concentrates on the trip ahead. It’s the beginning of summer and they’re now on their way to Anchorage, Alaska where they’ll get supplies and hop a float plane to Lake Clark. Lake Clark National Park and Preserve is a composite of ecosystems which represent many of the regions of Alaska.
The Chigmit Mountains within the park host a spectacular array of jagged peaks and glaciers and are also home to two active volcanoes. The main lake, Lake Clark, is 40 miles long and combined with many other lakes and rivers offer excellent fishing, wildlife study, and photo opportunities.
Deep in thought David stares unconsciously at the blank screen that hangs on the wall at the front of the coach section of the aircraft as he mentally plans their trek.We’ll land at Port Alsworth, (a little bush community), and pay some of the natives to usher us across the lake to the west coast. Then we’ll hike southwest, following the lake for the most part toward Fish Village to Nondalton. Since this route is less than twenty five miles long, and we have two weeks, it should leave us plenty of time for relaxing and side excursions.
As he sits contemplating their trek he allows a momentary interruption of another thought. I hope there are a good number of cliffs along this route.One of David and Brian’s favorite past times while backpacking is hiking up the backside of mountains and rappelling down the face.
He shakes his head and the thought vanishes. I need to stay focusedhe thinks, and returns his concentration to the task at hand. Once at Nondalton, If we have time, we’ll make camp and scout the area for potential future excursions before catching a plane back to Anchorage, and then home. He nods a few times subconsciously in approval of his plan. Spending a bit more time fine tuning the trip in his head he finally reclines the seat and allows himself a mental break.
He relaxes and falls into a meditative state and daydreams about the beauty of Alaska’s great expanse. One of the reasons he likes to regularly come to Lake Clark, in addition to the great hiking and abundant wildlife, is that most of this park is uncharted and un-traveled. He reflects on how he and Brian both like a lot of solitude while backpacking, and that they both also like the fact that most of their chosen routes have never been walked by any other human.
Many hours later the plane makes a long slow right banked turn as it begins its descent and final approach to the Anchorage airport. Brian awakes as the cabin lights are turned on and the “Fasten your seatbelt” sign sounds.
“We here already?” he asks groggily as he yawns and stretches.
David peers out the window as the plane is banking and enjoys the beauty of the city nestled in the valley below the Chugach Mountains on the edge of the Kink arm of Cook Inlet off the Gulf of Alaska. He always enjoys taking in this view from the air. As he sits reflecting on his previous visit he tries to relieve the pressure in his ears by pinching his nose and blowing. (This is a SCUBA divers technique.) After a few attempts he finally succeeds and is glad that the headache he is suffering from starts to dissipate.
“Doesn’t seem to have changed much since the last time we were here,” David says to Brian.
“It hasn’t beenthatlong since we were here last.”
“Yeah but it seems there is always some addition to the city every time we come.”
Brian rubs his eyes and then his shoulders in an attempt to stretch and wake completely.
David gazes out the window a moment longer taking in as much of the view as possible before the plane straightens outs and blocks his view completely.
Even though it’s evening, due to this being mid June and daylight being approximately 19 hours long, it’s still light outside.
“I so love summer here!” Brian exclaims, referring to the fact that it stays light so long. “I’m sure glad we decided to come now.”
“Yeah, it’ll definitely make for better photo
opportunities,” David replies.
“Not to mention more exploring time per day.”
Upon parking and with gangways in place the doors open with a burst of rushing air. This is their signal. Unencumbered by onboard luggage they hop quickly out of their seats and proceed to file directly off the aircraft trying to avoid the crowd of people that gather in the isles in a hurried attempt to remove their carry on luggage from the over head compartments.
Proceeding directly to baggage claim they retrieve their backpacks. As they stroll across the medium size concourse towards the exit, Brian spots three women with backpacking gear of their own standing at the entrance to a corridor that leads to other gates. Intrigued, his gaze falls on the brunette in the group. Her height is between that of the other two and she is very pretty with an oval shaped face and well proportioned. Her hair is of shoulder length and worn loose. She’s wearing cute jean overalls with a colorful floral long sleeved shirt.
It looks as if they have just arrived from another airline, but since they are just standing around it’s hard to tell if they are coming or going.
Brian considers approaching the young women when he notices that his friend, oblivious to the ladies, is already heading out the door. He thinks better of it and hustles to catch up to him.
Outside it’s a beautiful sunny day with few fluffy white cumulus clouds floating overhead in the bright light-blue sky. David stands on the sidewalk and enjoys the view of the city in the distance. As he hails a cab and awaits its arrival he turns to Brian. “We still on for a day in town before we head out?”
“Absolutely! Well... if we’re not too hung over after tonight that is.”
David snorts contemptuously. “You can spend the day in bed if you wish, not me.”
Just then a new model four door taxi pulls up. The driver hops out and hurries to the back of the car.
“Evening gents. How was your flight?” he asks as he pops the trunk.
David was about to complain about the length of the flight when Brian blurts out, “Wonderful, the flights seem to be getting shorter each time we come here.”
David shakes his head in disbelief at Brian’s comment. “It wasn’t any shorter than the last time we came. It’s just that you slept through the whole flight!”
“I didn’t sleep through all of it.”
“Ninety percent of it!”
The cabby chuckles at their raillery and takes David’s backpack from him as Brain dumps his deep into the trunk. David’s pack is inserted and the two packs shifted flat to allow closure of the trunks lid.
The cabby sees that Brian has already opened the back door so he hustles to his place behind the wheel. With a quick, effortless and precise movement the cabby is in his seat, belt buckled, door shut, engine started and is staring back over his shoulder with a wide grin on his face as Brian and David are still entering the back seat.
“Where to gentlemen,” he asks as David pulls the door shut.
“You know of any hotels with vacancies?” David inquires.
“I know of a few. Would you prefer near the water or inland?”
“The water’s fine.”
“Yes sir,” he chirps. Facing forward he drops the gearshift in drive and darts off away from the airport.
“Did you spot those female backpackers?” Brian asks David.
“No... Why?”
“They were pretty cute, that’s why! I tried to get your attention to see if you wanted to talk to them, but when I looked back you were already out the door.”
“Why did you want to talk to them? We’re not here to pick up chicks. This is supposed to be our farewell vacation. This’ll be the last time we see each other for awhile. We were going to spend it alone.”
Brian raises an eyebrow and stares at David for a minute.
David realizes how that last comment sounded and just shakes his head. “You know what I mean.”
Brian grins, “I know and I was only suggesting possibly some female companionship this evening. Besides, they’re backpackers also. We could find out where they hike around here and compare notes.”
The taxi pulls up to a hotel near the beach. The digital sign blinks ‘Vacancies’. Moving quickly the cabby exits the vehicle, opens the back door on his side of the car and raises the trunk almost before his passengers know they’ve stopped. Brian slides out through the opened door as David reaches for the door handle on his side of the car. At that very moment his door flies open. The cabby stands smartly holding the door grinning. David steps out and pays him. Brian removes the luggage and is just closing the trunk as the driver returns to the back of the vehicle.
“You sirs have a good stay in Alaska. And good hiking!” he calls as he re-enters the car. A moment later he’s off.
David and Brian hoist their packs over their shoulders and head inside.
Inside the room the two drop their packs against a wall. They don’t unpack anything since they will only be in town one day before heading out on their excursion.
Brain takes a few steps towards one of the double beds and then dives and spins in the air landing with his hands behind his head. A soft thud is heard without any squeaking or bouncing.Ah, nice and firm just the way I like it! He thinks. “Tomorrow morning we should stock up on supplies and check on the hop to the lake.” Brian remarks.
“Ok. But why don’t we verify availability first? Then pick up the supplies and bring them back here. After that we can spend the rest of the day around town.”
Brian nods, “Sounds good.”
David heads to the bathroom and turns on the water in the sink. He splashes his face a few times and utilizes the complimentary aftershave lotion to freshen up before going out to dinner.
“Davy, where do you want to eat?” Brian calls from the room.
“I don’t really care.”
“How bout Chinese?”
He ponders this momentarily as he dries his face. “Nah, not Chinese.”
“Thought you didn’t care?”
He steps out of the bathroom, looks at Brian and shrugs. “Didn’t think I did, Chinese just doesn’t seem that appealing at the moment. How about Italian?”
Brian perks up, “pizza?”
“Noooo not pizza! Real Italian.”
After freshening up, but remaining in the clothes they arrived in, they leave the hotel and walk around the city in search of a nice Italian restaurant. A few blocks down they find one and spend an hour eating and discussing their future plans and career goals.
Supper finished they step out of the restaurant onto the sidewalk full and satisfied. It’s still fairly light out. David un-wraps an after-dinner mint and pops it in his mouth. He stands near the curb looking for the nearest cab as Brian walks up. Silently they stand for a minute; David waiting to finish his mint before speaking and Brian surveying the area before offering any suggestions for the rest of the evening.
“Concierge mentioned a club across town. What do you think?” David asks.
Brian is staring at something down the block. “Looks like some action down there... Let’s check that out first, yeah?
David turns to see what Brian’s looking at. He sees a group of people trickling into some establishment. “After you,” he says, gesturing nonchalantly.
Together the two of them walk down the street until they reach a small gathering of people waiting to enter an attractive and friendly looking club. Joyous banter and lively music are heard coming from inside. They fall into the rear of the line and enter a few minutes later.
Inside the club they scan the scene. The dance floor is crowded and most of the tables appear occupied.
“Wanna just sit at the bar?” Brian shouts over the music.
“Sure,” David calls back.
They proceed to mosey toward two empty stools near the end of the bar. The bar tender appears to be doing a million things at once, yet is still aware of everything around him.
“What’ll it be?” he shouts.
“Draft light,” David orders.
“Same for me,” Brian says.
Brian turns to take in the action. Half sitting on the stool and half leaning against the bar he proceeds to glance around the dimly lit room observing the crowd when he sees the same three women he’d seen at the airport earlier. He watches them for a minute and notices that they are unaccompanied. Nudging David he gives a nod towards them smiling. “Those are the three I saw earlier... What do you think?” he says with a look suggesting they approach and introduce themselves.
David turns his head slightly and peers over his shoulder in an attempt to see who Brian is indicating. He chortles. “What do you got some kind of built in radar?”
The bar tender delivers their drinks. David pays.
Brian grins and shrugs. “Just lucky I guess.”
David smirks, and knowing Brian won’t let this go, picks up his drink and waves a hand gesturing for Brian to lead the way.
Brian already holding his drink begins moving in their direction. He surreptitiously scans the group looking for the beautiful brunette he saw earlier. He spies her sitting at the left side of the table sporting the same outfit she wore at the airport. He suavely maneuvers around an obtrusive table as he nears in order to arrive beside her.
David follows about two steps behind as they approach the young women. Their table is circular with four chairs equally spaced around it. The chair closest to David as he advances is empty. Across the table he glimpses the faces of all three gals as he draws closer.
He observes that Brian is already heading towards the brunette. That leaves the shorter oriental gal and the taller blonde bombshell for him. Being six foot tall himself and prone to blondes, he begins making mental observations about this one. He can see that she is very attractive and large busted, and that she is of medium athletic build. She has long hair that is tied into a pony tail. As he briefly studies her face he senses a look of innocence about her. She is wearing black slacks and a thin white lacey sweater.Very nice, he thinks to himself as he approaches.
The women watch and score the approach of these two handsomely rugged men while sipping their drinks. The Asian woman whispers something to blond, they giggle.
“Good evening ladies, I’m Brian Lipton and my friend here is David Finch,” he says with a hand on David’s shoulder. “I saw you at the airport today as we arrived. I noticed your gear. Are you backpacking around here?”
“We’re going to, yes. We also just arrived today. I’m Beth,” says the brunette. “And this is Susan and Kim,” she adds as she indicates and introduces each of her friends.
“Wonderful! We’re here for the same reason. We’re heading out day after tomorrow,” Brian comments.
“Really... what area are you going to hike?” Susan asks.
“The southwest side of Lake Clark,” David answers. “What about you ladies?”
Feeling abashed the gals glance quickly between each other. “We don’t actually know yet,” they giggle.
“Please excuse us,” Susan apologizes. “Would you like to sit down?” She gazes intently at David as she asks the question.
“Absolutely!” Brian accepts enthusiastically. He quickly snags an unoccupied chair from a nearby table, spins it effortlessly with one hand and slides it backwards next to Beth. Then as gentlemanly as possible he straddles the chair and leans in against its back. He begins fraternizing with the young ladies as if he’s known them his whole life.
“Yes, thank you.” David answers simply with a smile and then politely sits in the empty chair next to Susan.
“So, you gals aren’t sure exactly where you’re going yet?” Brian asks to the group in general, all the while staring deeply into Beth’s eyes.
Kim sits quietly with her arms folded and shifts her gaze between Susan and Beth carefully watching the behavior of her friends. Hearing Brian’s question she answers quickly and very matter of fact like, “As we said, not yet.”
Picking up on the hostility of Kim’s comment David cordially addresses her. “How is it that you all decided to come to Alaska?”
Kim stares at David momentarily and sees that he appears genuinely sincere and interested in more than just Susan. She softens her tone. “We were told that there’s a lot of good backpacking country out of Anchorage and decided to just come and see where we end up.”
Kim is the shortest of the three. She has shoulder length black hair and is sporting a multi colored beanie rolled up short on top of her head. She has a cute round face but with a look and demeanor that says “don’t mess with me”. She’s wearing tan colored hiking shorts, boots, long red and white stripped socks and a red short sleeved T-shirt. She is very solid looking with strong muscular legs. It seems apparent to David by her lack of any Asian accent that she was probably born and raised in the United States.
“We figured we would check with the parks department, visitor’s center, or possibly one of the local sporting goods stores for information and recommendations on potential destinations,” Beth adds.
“That’s good. You really don’t want to wander around in this country without a good solid plan. You’ll also want to make sure you let someone know of your intended route and timeline in case you are not back on schedule.” Brian advises.
“We’re aware of that,” Susan sneers jokingly. “We’re new to the area, not to backpacking.”
David notices that drinks are running dry. He swallows the last of his, stands and turns to Susan. “Can I get you another drink?”
“Yes please, margarita.”
He queries the rest of the group.
“Sure, I’ll have a rum and coke, thanks,” Kim answers flatly.
He turns to Beth whose glass is still half full. She puts a quick hand over her glass. “No, thank you I’m good,” she says.
Brian lifts his glass slightly indicating he could use another draft. David makes a mental note of the drink order and strolls to the bar dodging chairs and people who are getting up to dance.
At the bar squeezed between small groups of people, David hears the bartender call from the end of the bar. “What’ll you have?”
Realizing that the question is meant for him David meets his gaze. “One Margarita, a rum and coke, and two drafts. I’m at that table there.” He points to his group. The bartender glances to where he indicated and nods. With no other interaction the bartender returns to his duties and David to his table. He is just sitting down as Brian is saying...
“Well since this is your first time here and you’re all unfamiliar with the area, you could join up with us if you’d like. We can act as your tour guides.”
Stunned by Brian’s offer David quickly glances at the women’s faces examining their expressions and then shoots a discreet questioning look to Brian.
Kim is about speak up when Brian understanding David’s look and wanting to prevent any rejection from Kim, fills him in on what has transpired while he was ordering drinks.
“Davy, Beth was just telling me that they’re from Colorado and that they’ve been backpacking for about seven years together. They have mountain and even cold weather experience, just not the familiarity of this area. So I thought they might like to accompany us on our trip. We could fill them in on the various areas that we have hiked in Alaska while providing a safe and guided tour for their first experience here.”
Unseen by the women, David grimaces briefly at Brian’s selfish offer and thinks,After our conversation earlier he still went ahead and asked them to join us, and without even checking with me first. He notices that they’re all looking at him and feeling the need to say something merely asks, “Where else have you all hiked?
“Mostly Colorado, but we have been to Arizona, New Mexico and Utah a few times,” Susan answers cheerfully and smiles at David.
“Well if you have experience with the Colorado wildlife then you shouldn’t have any problems here. The terrain and temperatures will be similar to what you’re used to. And the only potential animal threats are the bears, and you’re used to bears right?”
“We’ve seen a few sure,” Beth says.
“You’veseena few? Have you ever actually come across any?”
“Not real close. Most bears in Colorado come out at night and are fairly timid and sh