Date: Sun, 18 Feb 2007 00:09:38 -0500
From: carl_mason@comcast.net
Subject: INDOMITABLE SPIRIT - 1

INDOMITABLE SPIRIT - 1

Copyright 2007 by Carl Mason

All rights reserved.  Other than downloading one copy for strictly personal
enjoyment, no part of this story may be reproduced or transmitted in any
form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, except for reviews, without
the written permission of the author.  However based on real events and
places, "Indomitable Spirit" is strictly fictional.  Any resemblance to
actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is entirely
coincidental.  As in real life, however, the sexual themes unfold
gradually.  Comments on the story are appreciated and may be addressed to
the author at carl_mason@comcast.net

If you would like to read additional stories by this author, please turn to
the "Authors/Prolific Authors" link at the beginning of the Nifty Archive.

This story contains descriptions of sexual contact between males, both
adults and teenagers.  As such, it is homoerotic fiction designed for the
personal enjoyment of legal, hopefully mature, adults.  If you are not of
legal age to read such material, if those in power and/or those whom you
trust treat it as illegal, or if it would create unresolvable moral
dilemmas in your life, please leave.  Finally, remember that maturity
generally demands safe sex.


CHAPTER 1

(Dream of a Lifetime)

"YEAH!" the two fourteen-year-olds shouted as they leapt high into the air
to slap right hands.  Coming down, they grabbed onto the back of each
other's neck and whirled in a wild dance.  "High Sierra, here we come!"
yelled Mike Curtis, the blond and slightly more beefy of the pair.  "You
got that right!" whooped Larry Allison, his brown-haired buddy.  Gradually,
the boys ran out of steam and slowed to a halt, their foreheads sticking
together with the sweat pouring down their muscular bodies.

"Damn!" mumbled Larry.  "I've never worked so hard in my life as I did last
year - sports, studies, activities...everything!  Now it all seems worth
it."  Partially to mark their sons' particularly successful freshman year
at the Loma Prieta Academy - partially weary of having heard the same thing
for three years - their fathers had finally surrendered to the boys'
constant pleas for a backpacking trip in the high country.  Naturally, they
had warned them of the work needed to get ready, but the two athletic
fourteen-year-olds were far beyond worrying about obstacles!  They were on
their way!

Some two weeks later, the two families were relaxing at the home of friends
on the shores of Lake Tahoe at a bit more than 6,000 feet.  Knowing that
they would be going considerably higher, the men had determined that
everyone had to get used to the altitude.  After all, their valley home on
the San Francisco Peninsula was close to sea level!  Even their wives and
Larry's two younger sisters would be staying at a rustic lakeside lodge
located at 7,000 feet, and they knew from experience what that could take
out of you.  Actually, the short time spent on the eastern shore of Tahoe,
not too far north of the California-Nevada state line, was pretty pleasant.
The scenery was great.  There were all sorts of activities for the little
girls - and the family friends had little ones with whom they liked to
play.  The adults enjoyed the major casinos at State Line.  The dads took
the boys on several short hikes, including an all-day affair with light
packs into the mountainous country in back of Emerald Bay.  By the end of
the week, they were ready for those trails at eight, nine, and ten thousand
feet.  In fact, everyone was feeling great and raring to go!

The boys actually enjoyed the long trip from Tahoe to Lakeshore on
Huntington Lake in the High Sierra.  Their father only took I-50-West as
far as SR [State Route]49, the road that meanders through the Sierra
foothills through the historical "California Gold Rush" country of 1849.
There he turned south, following 49 and then SR41 towards Fresno in the
Central Valley.  Even from the road, there was a lot to see as they passed
through the old gold towns!  Well before Fresno, he turned west and cut
over to SR168 that headed back up into the High Country, deep in the Sierra
National Forest between Yosemite and Kings Canyon National Parks.  Not too
many hours after leaving Tahoe, they found themselves driving along the
sparkling lake.  Suddenly, Larry took a deep breath of the warm air flowing
into the car.  "Oh, man," he moaned, "smell those pines!  This is the
place!"

Indeed it was.  Located at the very end of SR168, the village of Lakeshore
stood at 7,000 feet on the shores of Huntington Lake, surrounded by three
Wilderness areas and looking directly towards much higher peaks.  Eagerly,
the boys stared at the boat launch and beach where young people were
already engaged in swimming, sailing, and fishing.  Quickly arriving at the
general store and the nearby restaurant, saloon, and lodge, they helped the
family get settled into a rustic cabin.  Their mothers and Larry's sisters
would enjoy a mountain vacation while they did some serious backpacking!
The adults said that dinner was very good, but, frankly, they were too
excited to taste a thing.  Eventually, they got permission to explore a
bit.  They even tried to go swimming, but they didn't get beyond putting
one foot into the lake water.  Lawdy...  Talk about water barely removed
from glacial ice!  (As a matter of fact, in mid July, the water was still
flowing from glaciers high in the back country.)  Nevertheless, it was fun
to jog along the shore of the lake, occasionally exchange greetings with
other teens, and watch the shadows slowly turn into night.

Sitting with an arm around the other's shoulders on a spit of land that
jutted out into the water, they talked about the school year and their
fourteenth birthdays just past, and what they expected to see on the
morrow.  In truth, they always had much to share with each other, for they
had been best friends since elementary school.  Years of games and birthday
parties, Little League and joint family vacations, had led to their
entering the Loma Prieta Academy's middle school in the seventh grade.
Coming upon adolescence early, they found that as they entered high school
in the ninth grade, their increasing size and coordination allowed them a
great deal of success in sports, especially in gymnastics and soccer.
Coupled with their good looks and sunny personalities, they were popular
kids among both the adults and their peers.  Though they didn't make a
great deal of it with their parents, both boys felt that having made the
junior varsity soccer team (and starring in several of the matches) was
probably the highpoint of their schooling thus far.  (Actually, their dads
also thought it was pretty great, although they felt it was only right that
the coach had promoted them to the varsity at the end of the season.)  At
this point, two well-built, extremely attractive young men faced the future
with justifiable confidence.

Neither having brought a jacket, they were soon shivering in the chill wind
coming off the lake as night fell.  Finally realizing that they were just
plain cold, that stood and headed towards the family cabin at the lodge
where they had been given one of the bedrooms for the night.  Stripping and
crawling naked into the one bed, it was quickly apparent that they weren't
quite ready for sleep.  As a matter of fact, when Larry "accidentally"
pressed one freezing foot against his buddy's (substantial) equipment, all
hell broke loose!  A yell from his dad in an adjoining room quieted them
down, but for a good half hour they wrestled and generally goofed off like
the friends they were.  As a matter of fact, it went a bit further than
that.  For the first time in perhaps a year, Mike found himself strongly
aroused by his chum's hard rod that pressed insistently into his abdomen.
Gasps and soft moans welcomed his hand as he fingered Larry's low- hanging
balls and caressed his rock-hard prong.  (As early teenagers, they had
engaged in some sexual exploration, eventually going so far as to suck each
other off.  While this activity had faded over the past couple of years,
neither was exactly known within the school as "girl crazy".)  Finally,
they gave each other a rough hug, put it away, and turned over to fall into
a shallow sleep.

(Into the High Country)

It's probably a good thing that they were a bit sleepy the next morning for
the ride over 9000'+ Kaiser Pass to Florence Lake at 8,000'.  Fully awake,
they might have sensibly turned back!  The road, under the jurisdiction of
the U.S. Government, began as a well- graded two lane road...as far as the
Sierra Summit Ski Resort.  At that point, however, it turned into 13 miles
of potholed, twisting one lane road with "turn outs".  As the Government
points out, you need to know the dimensions of your vehicle or, if you
will, how far you can pull over without falling off the edge, hitting a
rock, or scraping the cliff!  Even observing the 10-15 mph maximum speed
suggested at Lakeshore, for instance, they quickly came up behind a heavily
laden RSV.  (It couldn't have been making more than 3-4 mph on the stiff
grade!)  Like any experienced motorist, the driver pulled over as far as he
could and motioned for Mr.  Curtis to go around him!  With white faces open
mouths, and wide eyes, the boys watched Mike's dad smoothly pull around the
vehicle.  After they had exhaled, Larry stuttered that he had looked over
the edge as they had passed the Recreational Vehicle.  They could have
written a school report in longhand, he said, before they would have hit
bottom after tumbling end over end on the way down!  (Author's Note: Thank
you, U.S. Government!)  Finally, they reached the summit and began to drop
down the other side of the mountains into the glorious San Joaquin River
drainage basin.  Soon 13,000 foot peaks were coming into view, as well as a
host of lakes.

Actually, Florence Lake, Huntington Lake, and several others are part of
Southern California Edison's reservoir and hydroelectric system.  Since
they were built in the 1920s, they have been a starting point for all kinds
of glorious outdoor adventures.  The company road is not part of the
Wilderness areas that surround it; hence, it allows access well into the
high country.  Gearing down, Mr.  Curtis managed the road with obvious
experience.  About seven miles before Florence Lake, they passed a ranger
station and continued on the main road to its end at Florence Lake.
"Whew," Mike whistled as his dad finally switched the engine off in the
long-term parking area above the small Florence Lake general store.  "I'm
not driving that monster road again unless I'm inside an Abrams tank!"
"Don't forget," his dad warned with a grin, "we have to make it back to
Lakeshore.  Are you planning to stay up here forever?"  "MAY-BE!" his son
groaned.  "Good going, Mr.  Curtis," Larry snickered.  "That one pothole
you fell into only cracked a couple of vertebrae - so I guess I'll make
it!"  "Ho, ho!" Mike's dad chortled as Larry's hit his boy over the head
with a folded topo map.  "Fourteen and he's already ready to get behind the
wheel and take on the world!"

It didn't take the men long to arrange for Wilderness and campfire permits.
On the road down from Kaiser Pass, they had decided to take the ferry from
the general store to the end of the lake, as well as the return trip.
(Having the requisite hour and a half, they could have hiked it, but they
had already been underway for nearly two hours, and they thirsted to get on
the main trail.)  Once they had purchased their tickets, they only had to
wait about twenty minutes.  Before they knew it, they and their heavy
backpacks were on the boat, heading for the eastern end where the South
Fork of the San Joaquin spills into Florence Lake.  The crest of the Sierra
Nevada lay ahead of them - and an adventure that they would never forget.


(To Be Continued)