Appalachian Trail

The blond, clean-cut one said his name was Hans, that he was from Amsterdam, and that he was studying to be a doctor. He was the heavier and taller of the two, but was solid rather than fat. The darker-haired one, with a profusion of curly body hair and a heavy five-o’clock shadow was named Alain; he said he was just studying to study. I thought their English was exceptionally good for foreigners. I also thought they were both so sexy looking that I had trouble keeping my eyes off them.

They and Ken took to each other immediately. They told me they were resting from coming off the Skyline Drive portion of the parkway and were looking for someplace to change into warmer clothes as it was getting chilly.

“Hikers usually follow the warmer weather by hiking down from Maine in the fall,” Ken said.

“We know that now,” Hans said, with a laugh. He was the more jovial and outgoing of the two. He also seemed to be the “take charge” one and the one ready to make an instant decision and get on with it.

“We’re from a house just up the trail there,” Ken said. “And we’re turning back from here anyway. If you want, you could stop at our house and change your clothes there. Maybe take a break from the hike.”