John Steadman, A Forest Ranger

Author's Note: This is an entry in the Earth Day contest, 2007. All characters involved in any sexual activity in this story are over the age of 18. The characters are not real persons, nor are any of the events in this story real. Certainly there are celebrations of Earth Day, but this one is a figment of my imagination. This is fiction. And it is non-erotic unless you find references to sex erotic. Only Auburn University and the geographic descriptions refer to real places. My thanks to CopyCarver, who edited the story for me. This is my first entry in a writing contest of any kind. I would appreciate votes and constructive comments.

Preface

The Appalachian Trail is a continuous marked footpath that goes from Katahdin in Maine to Springer Mountain in Georgia, a distance of about 2160 miles. Over 130-miles in length, the Alabama Pinhoti Trail is the premier long path in Alabama. It connects with the Georgia Pinhoti Trail at the state boarder. The Georgia Pinhoti Trail crosses the Benton MacKaye Trail in several places. The MacKaye Trail is the link between the Pinhoti and the Appalachian Trail.

John Steadman is the Forest Ranger Supervisor for the district that includes Springer Mountain, the southern end of the Appalachian Trail.

Judy Watkins is an executive of the Alabama Hiking Trail Club, an organization that promotes and maintains trails throughout the state of Alabama. Her club is attempting to gain support for their plan to link the Alabama Pinhoti Trail to the Appalachian Trail via the Georgia segment of the Pinhoti.

Ch. 01 Judy

It was early April when Judy started her hike over the Pinhoti Trail to the base of the Appalachian Trail. Her mission was to examine the exact path to be suggested as the link to the trail that would become part of the Eastern Continental Trail. She knew of the plans to extend the northern end of the Appalachian Trail into Canada, and saw no reason why the southern end could not be extended as well. After all, the Appalachian Mountain Range extends into Alabama. She could not hope to influence the route within Georgia, but decided to hike the trail just to gain familiarity with it. She was an experienced hiker, having hiked trails the nation over since she was a young girl, when her family hiked the Gila Wilderness, stopping to see the Pueblo dwellings in Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument in the Gila National Forest near the headwaters of the Gila River.

That trip is the one that convinced her that she wanted to be involved in maintaining the hiking trails of Alabama. She was only eight years old then, but she kept her sights on that dream until at seventeen, she finished high school and enrolled in Auburn University and took courses in earth sciences, gaining her degree when she was twenty-one. Auburn University is where she first met John Steadman. Though they never went steady, they did date a few times and became fond of one another. On one occasion they had gone so far as to go to bed together. Her degree served her well in landing a paid position with the Alabama Hiking Club. She was hired as an executive vice-president, and though the compensation didn't match other jobs she was offered, she chose it because it was her dream, and the pay was adequate for living in moderate comfort.

She loved the outdoors, and had long been a supporter of Earth Day projects associated with preserving the trails of the nation. She hoped to reach the southernmost intersection of Georgia's Benton MacKaye Trail with the Appalachian Trail by Earth Day, the 22nd of April. Benton MacKaye was the link from the Pinhoti to the Appalachian Trail. It was not mandatory that she accomplish that, but she knew there was a celebration at Springer Mountain on that day, and it would be nice to join the activities.

She had started her hike four days earlier, at the trailhead of the Alabama Pinhoti trail, and was now crossing the state line into the Georgia segment. She had slept that night in a shelter at the end of the Alabama trail, and after a quick breakfast, had bathed in a nearby stream before starting out early in the morning. She was refreshed, and feeling euphoric as she thought about her mission. As she continued her journey through Georgia, she began to think of John Steadman, of all people. She knew he was the supervisor of the Forest Service division that included the trailhead of the AP, and wondered if he would be participating in the Earth Day celebration on the 22nd. Of course he would, she assured herself. He wouldn't miss it unless he was dead, she mused. He was that kind of guy. As she started up the grade ahead of her, her thoughts wandered back to her college days and the friendship she had developed with John. He had been a year ahead of her.

When she was a freshman and he a sophomore, they met at a social at one of the fraternity gatherings of his Phi Gamma Delta chapter. She remembered how he kept glancing at her throughout the early part of the party, and she recalled feeling a little self-conscience. Did he see something wrong about the way she was dressed, or what? She wasn't there with a date. She was a pledge to her sorority, and attendance was virtually mandatory for pledges if they expected to be initiated into their chosen chapter. A couple of the guys in the fraternity tried hitting on the cute freshman, but she was successful in discouraging them from any further advances. Except for one obnoxious guy who continued to pester her. She was desperately trying to distance herself from the guy when John walked over to her, took her hand, bent slightly and kissed her full on the mouth.

"Hi, honey. I'm sorry I've been busy with the details of the party, but I'm free now. Let's go find a sofa to plop on, okay?" He stared at his fraternity brother, giving the impression that he was Judy's date, and that the guy was intruding. He pulled Judy toward a sofa and helped her find a seat.

"Thank you... whoever you are," Judy offered. "That creepy guy was really hitting on me, and I couldn't get rid of him."

"No problem, er... what's your name. I know he's a hard guy to like. I'm John, by the way. John Steadman."

"Judy Watkins. I'm a Phi Beta Epsilon pledge."

"Well, welcome to our little party. Have you been to many since the semester began?"

"No. This is my first, and I'm scared to death. I'm not much for partying. I was brought up in a very strict home."

"You're uncomfortable being here, then?'

"Very. But thank you for rescuing me from that creep."

"If you are that uncomfortable, could I suggest that we leave the party and go somewhere less threatening? There's a little coffee shop just off campus..."

"Oh, yes. Please. But I don't want to get in trouble with the sorority sisters. They may not induct me if they're mad at me."

"Don't worry about that. I know every one of their officers, and I can get you in no matter what. So would you like some coffee?"

That had been their beginning. They had not noticed before but they shared a class or two, both electives. As the year progressed, they became friends, often returning to the coffee shop where their friendship was born.

She was cresting the rise now and decided to take a short breather at the first overlook. As she gazed out over the landscape she mused, "Georgia looks just like Alabama."

After a sip or two of water from her canteen, she continued along the trail, following the ridgeline in a northeasterly direction. She took out her notebook and made entries about the trail and the wildlife she had seen from her vantage points along the way. She described the scenery as well, and took several photographs with her digital camera. There were two objectives to her effort. The first was a report to the hiking club, and the other was a submission to the authorities developing the plans for lengthening the Eastern Continental Trail, of which the AP was the major portion.

She picked up her pace as the ridge flattened out, and her thoughts returned to her relationship with John. Their friendship had blossomed during their time together in college, and had continued to this day. Platonic, for the most part, she mused. John was a handsome man with chiseled features that she thought attractive. She knew he was over six feet tall, maybe by a couple of inches. She didn't know his weight, but guessed it to be around 210 pounds. Oddly, she knew the size of his cock. Not that she had a lot of exposure to it. There had been that one time. One time she had lost an aunt to cancer, and John had tried to comfort her in the grief she felt. Neither of them had a sexual relationship with anyone, because as John had put it, "Time enough for that after we get our education."

Judy smiled. John was like that. When he was pursuing something he was single-minded. But he was equally devoted to his friends, especially so, it seemed, to her. When he discovered her grief over her aunt's death he was there for her, helping where he was able. He had invited her to his apartment off campus to try to take her mind off her concerns. In the apartment that Saturday evening, he had held her close, running his hand through her hair, soothing her. She remembered the time well. She had accidentally dropped her hand onto his lap, and could feel his flaccid cock through the material of his trousers. Strangely, she considered the size of his appendage, never having even thought of him as a sex partner before that very moment. With her other hand she reached behind his head and pulled his head down to meet her lips. "Kiss me, John. Please."

He had complied, softly at first, then a bit more passionately. She responded by squeezing his cock, feeling it grow. Their tongues battled for supremacy, as if their lives depended upon that one kiss. She remembered moving her hand from his lap, taking one of his hands in hers and lifting it to her breast. John took the hint. As he caressed her breast she unzipped his fly and dug within to find and extract his growing cock. Urgently, she broke the kiss and bent down to take John's cock in her mouth. As she began to suck he held her head with both hands to keep her from going too fast. In no time they had moved to his bedroom, stripped and were engaged fully in the one and only sexual experience with each other. So, yes. Judy knew the size of John's cock. A bit over nine inches. She knew because he reached deeper inside her than the guy she had measured at exactly nine inches a few months back.

She remembered John's reaction to the experience when they had satiated their thirst for union.

"Judy, I'm sorry. That should never have happened."

"But I needed it, John. I wanted it."

"I know, and so did I. But this is it. We can't do this anymore. It's just not right."

"Why is it not right?"

"We're just friends. I don't want to ruin that just because we lost control this one time."

And so they returned to a platonic relationship.

Judy was descending into a saddle in the ridgeline now, and it was getting about time for another meal. She selected a grassy spot just off the trail, leaned back against the trunk of a tree, and ate her lunch. The warm sun felt wonderful, she thought. Early spring is good.

Ch. 02 John

John grew up in Ellijay, a small town in north Georgia. His dad worked for the Forest Service, and he was John's hero. When he finished high school, John applied for a scholarship to the college he thought offered the best curriculum for a career like his dad's. His grade point average was certainly good enough to be considered for the scholarship, but he worried about it anyway. It had been needless worry. He didn't get the partial scholarship he applied for, though. He got a full academic scholarship, a rarity at the college he applied to. He had always loved the outdoors, and as often as he could, he went with his dad and talked with almost all of the forest rangers. They all encouraged him to seek a career in the service.

In his sophomore year, at one of the parties sponsored by his fraternity, Phi, Gamma Delta, he saw a beautiful young lady who was attending from a sister sorority. Her demeanor captivated him, and as he continued to watch her off and on, he thought she was uncomfortable about something. Then he saw why. One of his fraternity brothers, who had a reputation for abusing girls, was hitting on the lady he was watching. He went over to her, took her in his arms as if she was his date, kissed her on the lips and said," Hi, honey. I'm sorry I've been busy with the details of the party, but I'm free now. Let's go find a sofa to plop on, okay?" He glared at his frat brother, giving the impression that the guy needed to back off. As his conversation with the freshman went on, he discovered that she was rather shy, being brought up in a strict family environment, and didn't like to party. So he took her away from the party to a coffee shop off campus, and their friendship grew from there.

John had not been ready to engage in a relationship while he was in college. His thought were that there was time enough for that after he got his education. And except for that one time when he and Judy had sex, he was true to his convictions. When he graduated cum laude with a degree in Earth Sciences, he applied to the Forest Service for employment. Actually, he didn't have to seek them out. They recruited him while he was a senior, just a few months before graduation.

He could hardly wait to get started, and was a bit disappointed when they told him he would be in training for a few months before he would get a permanent assignment. But he took it in stride, and excelled at every training session. He was almost ready for an assignment. Just one more thing to do to finish his ranger training. They told him he needed to learn how to handle a firearm. Learn how? He had been raised with a firearm in his hands from the age of twelve. He was an excellent shooter, both on the firing range and in the field. He had never failed to gain his hunting limit since his fourteenth birthday. And on the firing range he never had a shot outside the black. So he breezed through the firearms qualification and was asked to stay and teach the course. Although he was flattered that they felt he was eminently qualified it was not his ambition, so he turned it down and asked for a field assignment. He knew his dad was up for retirement. He asked for that job, and got it. It was the supervisory position for the district that included the southern trailhead of the AT.

Many of the rangers in that district resented him because they had seniority. But they soon learned that John was a much better manager than any of the other rangers in the district, and they came around to be very loyal to the young supervisor. He had just started his third year on the job, and already had accolades for the way he managed his district.

Now he was concerned with the logistics of the upcoming Earth Day celebration. Sure, the Forest Service wasn't sponsoring the event, one of the hiking clubs was doing that. But still, supporting the activity would require a lot of his time, as well as that of his rangers. He had recently heard from Judy, his friend from college, and knew she was hiking into the celebration area, hoping to arrive in time for the celebration.

He was very pleased to hear from her for some unexplainable reason. Since he last saw her all he had from her were Christmas cards and two or three short notes. He just couldn't put his finger on it. He hoped that she would make it to the celebration. It would give them a chance to renew their lagging friendship, and catch up on what she was doing as the executive officer of the Alabama Hiking Club. Of course, he knew about that club's interest in connecting into the AT. She had told him that in one of the short notes she had sent a few months back, and again in this most recent communication.

But now it was time to put personal thoughts aside and concentrate on the tasks at hand. He still had to have the fire watch towers manned as always, poacher patrols were mandatory, and he had to recruit volunteers to join the special project in support of the Earth Day event. He would have to reach into his reserve rangers to accomplish that. The reserve rangers were recently retired Forest Rangers in the area who could be called upon on a contract basis. He had the funds, so that was not a concern. Some of the reserve had only held office positions when they were employed by the Service, and he would have to place them in non-critical jobs. That left him with only about twelve reserves, if they were all able to sign on. Barely enough to do the work envisioned in support of the celebration. Fortunately, all twelve of the reserve rangers were able to sign on for the week of the celebration. Preparations were going well, and John was pleased that his job was a bit easier with the expanded staff.

Chapter 03Trail Accident

Judy had finished her lunch and started up out of the saddle to the ridgeline before her. Her trek became easier as she topped the crest and the trail leveled out. She noticed that the afternoon sun was obscured by cloud cover, and she looked back to see if the sun would soon be out again soon. The clouds signaled that a storm was brewing. She picked up her pace, hoping to reach the next shelter before the storm overtook her. By her reckoning, it was only eight miles along the trail, and she should make that in three hours easily. The storm stalked her as she scurried along the trail, and soon it was obvious to her that it would overtake her in the next two hours.

"Well," she thought, "at least I have a poncho." She picked up the pace even more, trying to get as close to the shelter as she could before the storm reached her. Just as she had covered herself with it the front edge of the storm dumped rain on the trail, and she saw lightening strikes in the distance.

"Fuck! Just what I need right now," She spoke to herself. "I'd better get off this ridge before I get the next bolt of lightening."

She looked for a way to get off the trail, but finding nothing within eyesight. Referring to her map, she saw that an access trail was only about a mile farther along the route. The rain got heavier as she progressed, slowing her somewhat, but she finally found the footpath down off the ridge. She followed it as rapidly as she dared, fearing that the rain had made the footpath slippery.

That turned out to be a lesser worry. About 100 yards off the ridge a bolt of lightening struck a tree next to the footpath she was traversing, and severed a large limb from the truck. It fell across the path forcing her to the ground, pinning her there. She had seen it coming and tried to evade the limb, but she proved to be too slow in moving away. In the process, she twisted her left ankle, and pain shot up her leg. She tried for several minutes to force the limb off of her, but it was too heavy.

She pondered her options, never losing her sense of logic and determination. She settled on trying to reach someone, anyone, with her cell phone, to dispatch help. She dialed 911, hoping she was close enough to a cell tower to connect.

An operator answered her call. "This is 911. How can I help you?"

"I'm Judy Watkins. I'm trapped under a huge tree limb that fell on me when lightening struck the tree. I need a crew to assist me in moving the limb."

"Where are you, Judy?"

"I'm about 100 yards off the ridgeline, east of the Georgia Pinhoti Trail at mile marker 197."

"Are you injured, ma'am?"

"I think my left ankle may be broken, or at least sprained."

"Are you alone?"

"Yes. I am hiking the trail bound northeast to the AT trailhead."

"One moment, ma'am. I'm going to try to dispatch a rescue team from the Forest Service to your location. Our local rescue personnel are not trained in mountain rescue."