Date: Fri, 26 May 2006 13:00:20 EDT
From: SANIBELBOYS@aol.com
Subject: North Country Part 2

This story is (C)Copyright 2006, by  TM. All World Wide Rights Reserved.
This story may not be sold or made part  of any collection without prior
written
permission.

North Country  Chapter  Two

About an hour of hiking and my feet were feeling the effects of the new
boots. I  noticed some old tree stumps up ahead and trudged onward; stopping once
I'd  gotten to the old stumps. I quickly took off the boots and noticed that
I'd  already started getting small blisters on the heels of my feet. I dug
through my  pack and got out another pair of socks, which I was told by somebody
would help  considerably. I should have worn the two pair from the start, but I
must not  have been  thinking.

It was still a beautiful day and the trees seemed as thick as bees on honey.
That's about all I could see from my position, other than the hiking trail
and  the road. The road wasn't anything to write home about, let me tell ya.
These  folk up here must navigate pot holes as big and as deep as a bathtub.

Come to think of it, I hadn't seen a vehicle the entire time, since I last
saw  the vintage town. No difference really, as I was here for the  solitude.

Hitting the trail again, I came across two hikers, heading in the opposite
direction. We all chatted for a few minutes, and it was nice to know that I
wasn't the only person hiking in what some might call "God's country".  The
trail seemed to do a lot of winding as it went up and down the hills, but that
gave me a good chance to work my legs more. Nobody ever said that hiking was
always done in a straight line,  right?

The air finally began to warm up just enough where it was really comfortable
to  be outdoors. From the top of the hill I was standing on, my eyes easily
followed  the trail downward and I knew that it would intersect with the road
somewhere  not to far ahead. It seemed strange at first, walking on a trail;
surrounded by  high massive hardwood trees, yet being able to see the trail ahead
without much  of a problem. I'm guessing that during the tourist season that
these trails are  full of tourists and nature lovers.

Down the hill I went and sure enough the road was once again in sight. I
stopped  and listened; and my sense of hearing was right, there was indeed a
vehicle  coming my way. I stood along side the road and looked in the direction
from  which the sound was coming from.

Here comes, the two rusty pickup trucks from town. I was amazed that the men
even slowed down as they seemed not to notice me; or did they? For a moment I
 thought they were going to stop. I instantly recognized the men in the first
 truck as being in the supply store this morning. In the second truck, as
well  the men were recognizable; and sure enough the kid was still in the back,
huddled up, but wasn't under the blanket. I could have sworn that he was bare
butt naked. The one thing I did notice, for sure, was the fact that the kid
had  a streak of dried blood on his face, along with a huge shiner of a black
eye. I  felt sympathy for him nonetheless as they motored passed me; with all
of their  eyes fixed on my still figure.
I spotted  a great place to stop for lunch. It was clearing with lots of
sunshine, a small  brook and it looked like many others had stopped here before
me. After shucking  my backpack I immediately took off the boots and my feet
were forever thankful.  I ate a can of tuna with some crackers for lunch and a
bottle of not so cold  soda. I really liked this spot, just for the beauty
surrounding it, but knew  that I had to press on. But, before starting my trek, I
took the opportunity to  dip my feet into the icy cold water of the brook. I
think up here they call it a  stream, but it's still a  brook.

After pushing myself to get motivated, I started to put my socks back on when
a  fellow hiker appeared, seemingly out of nowhere. "Hey there," he said,
ever so  jovial. "Names Carl, and you  are?"

"Bill, Bill Bennett," I replied  courteously.

We talked for a while, and I was glad that we did. This guy, Carl, is an
experienced hiker and camper. He'd been hiking for over two months, following
the ridge line. Besides, today at least, my feet were thankful for the extra
time NOT spent inside the  boots.

Carl seemed to be a nice man, not that I'm an expert on 'nice'. He had always
 been an avid outdoors man and could think of nothing in the world better
than  being out doors. He was headed in the same direction as I was, and offered
to  hike with me; at least until we came to the northwest trail that I wanted
to  hike on. He was planning on remaining on the trail which would eventually
take  him to the Canadian border. Sure seems more ambitious than me, that much
I  knew.

Needless to say, Carl and I hit it off pretty good, or at least I thought so.
I  was more intent on listening to him, as he wove a story of his hiking and
of all  the different hikers he'd come in contact with.  I guess my story,
paled in  comparison to his.

Over the next several hours, we only came across four or five hikers, all of
whom were 'locals'. It was nice talking with them also, as everybody seemed
to  have at least one tidbit of a helpful suggestion for  me.

When it came time to stop for the day, Carl was a big help. I think that I
would  have done okay by myself, but it sure was nice getting one on one lessons
from a  'pro'.

We got a small but workable fire going for the night, as well as getting
things  ready to cook a hot meal. The first thing made was a small pot of
'campers'  coffee', which oddly enough tasted fantastic. I sat on my sleeping bag and
watched as Carl went about cooking up a dinner of beans and canned franks and
 tomatoes.

After dinner I took the aluminum cookware and plates down to the brook and
washed them really good. By the time I had returned Carl was getting his things
 that he needed to wash up and brush his teeth for the night. He wasn't shy
about  disrobing in front of a total stranger either. He got buck naked and
began using  some of the hot water to wash his face, then his armpits and after
squatting  down like a duck, he washed his private parts.  That's when a dose
of  reality set  in.

Carl began using his wash cloth to stroke his penis. Not that I was staring
or  nothing but I could see that the soap had foamed up nicely and the
combination  of the two seemed to have some euphoric effect on  Carl.

"You gay or something?" Carl quickly asked, noticing that I was watching him.


"No, of course not," I  replied

"You don't have a problem with me jacking my turkey neck do ya?" He asked
while  glaring down at his own rock hard penis. "Don't need to be all proper and
stuff  out here in the woods. If you feel like jerking off, don't let me stop
ya."

I wasn't repulse by Carl's activity but he could have at the very least gone
behind a tree or down by the brook. However, the sight of him masturbating
got  me into the mood; but I'd just have to wait until I was alone. It isn't
like me  and my brothers all hold up in the bathroom having a community circle
jerk when  we were hitting  puberty.

A few minutes later and Carl erupted and sent his sperm flying through the
air,  landing in the dirt. He quickly got into his sleeping bag, naked, and
seemed to  be watching me  now.

"You getting your clothes off ain't ya? Guys don't sleep good out here with
clothes on. Just make sure you keep your jeans handy in case we get woke up by
a  critter during the night. Wouldn't want to see a dude running through the
woods  naked would  we?"

He did have a valid point, as I'd never slept in my clothes. I quickly got
undressed; piling my clothes up next to the sleeping bag.

"You must be one of them yuppie kind of guys," Carl commented. "You don't
wear  those fancy shorts, I see. I like to go without any underwear, but I guess
guys  like you love to wear them colored banana hammocks. Those things used to
always  give me a rash between my legs, that's why I don't wear  nothing."

We chatted a bit more, watching the flames of the fire flicker and Carl told
another one of his hiking experiences; which put me a little on edge. He told
a  story, that he'd heard come from a couple other hikers about guys who
hiked up  here in Maine and were never seen again. The way he spun the story it
was as if  the hikers had be either eaten by Maine Black Bears or were held
captive by  'Bigfoot'. Either way, the guys were never seen or heard from again.
Such a  great story to hear on my first night of camping out, but I was so
tired that  the thought of some animal dragging me off didn't keep me from falling
into a  hard  sleep.

My normal erection was evident when I woke up. Carl was already hard at work.
 The fire was blazing and the coffee smelt divine. "Don't mind me," Carl said
 laughingly. "Every guy has the same problem, last I  remembered."

I crawled out of the sleeping bag, with my erection tenting my pale blue
skivvies. I didn't even try to cover up, but did manage to turn away and found a
tree which I watered. I don't even think my own brothers had even seen me
with a  morning hard-on.

I slipped my jeans on and joined Carl for the first coffee of the day, and a
beautiful day it was; so far. Breakfast consisted of a simple small box of
cereal with powdered milk; to which a camper only has to add water. All things
considered it really tasted pretty good, and I probably could have opened
another one; as my stomach was calling out for more.

After eating, Carl and I grabbed our little quasi-military shovels and headed
 off into the bushes. I knew this day was coming, but once I realized I had
to  actually squat over a hole and do my business, right out under the sky, it
all  seemed so primitive. I guess that is just part of camping and hiking that
I'd  get used to if I wanted to have a great vacation. At least I had enough
sense to  bring along a roll of tissue, where Carl had to resort to using
leaves.  Yuck!

Carl even showed me how to better utilize the space inside my back pack. It
really made a lot of sense and would be of great value for the remainder of my
 hike. I'd never have even thought to tuck my wallet into a sock and keep it
in  the bottom of the back pack. At least now, I didn't have to worry about it
 falling out in the woods some place. The other nice thing that I, we, did
was to  use my cellphone to call my brother and let him know I was okay. Ryan
was glad  that I had called and said that everyone was concerned when I hadn't
called last  night. I'd forgotten that I promised to call every night and give
a progress  report. I gave Ryan the number for Carl's parents and he was to
call them and  relay the message that Carl was fine and in good health.

Carl suggested that I keep the cellphone off, unless I wanted to use it; thus
 saving the battery life. He told me to keep in mind that if I ever came
across  someone in a vehicle to ask them to allow the charging of the phone. Now
that  was something that I hadn't even considered; charging the battery in my
phone.  Carl might just turn out to be a hero afterall.

As we started off, we had enough coffee left in the pot to allow each of us
to  keep our tin cup in hand as we walked, thus able to keep just a bit warmer
until  the sun was heating up the earth. Another great idea from Carl, which
proved  invaluable.

My feet felt so much better this morning, as Carl had applied some salve to
each  foot before I put my socks on. Just another thing to remember next time,
if  there was a next time; salve for  feet.

We talked every step of the way, about anything and everything; which
included  Carl apologizing for masturbating in front of me last night. I told him
that  there was no need to  apologize.

At lunch, we just made it simple; eating crackers, sardines and a couple
chunks  of cheese. I knew that it was time to say goodbye to Carl as well. We'd
reached  the point where Carl would hike on and up, and I'd be taking the trails
which  led towards Brownsville and the western most edges of the lake. I
wanted to  spend many nights at or at least close by the lake. Cold water or not,
I'd  muster up enough willpower to get in and bath off the dust and grime one
way or  another.

Carl gave me his name and address and I in turn gave him mine. He said that
exchanging names is a great way to hook up later and perhaps arrange to hike
together.  I really did want to see him again, as he was so honest and open
about himself and his outlook on life, that it was refreshing to associate with
 someone of his background and  caliber.

He took  one last look at my map, made some 'experienced' observations and
suggestions  and it was back to being by myself again. With the forest becoming
thicker and  thicker, it was less than three minutes and Carl was out of
sight. I felt sad in  some ways, as his friendship in just the one day had
brightened my perspective  about so many things in  life.

This one the first time that I could ever remember that I didn't have a set
time  schedule to keep; and it was starting to feel even more relaxing. I hiked
up  until half past four and decided; that since I want to take one more day
to  break in the new boots, stopping now or soon would be a good thing.  Mind
you, regardless of the month; it starts to get dark early up here. I heard
the  sounds of a brook, or so I thought and left the trail to investigate. I was
 amazed that I had come across more than a brook. It was as if the forest had
 opened up and left me standing next to a rapidly flowing, narrow river of
sorts.  I quickly looked at the map, and didn't even see the river indicated.
Regardless, I decided right then and there that this was the place for the
night.

After several minutes of soaking in the beauty and serenity of the land, I
got  to work clearing out the area I was going to use for my camp fire.  It
wasn't difficult finding dried limbs and stuff for the fire either; and in no
time I had a raging fire, maybe even to large for my intended purpose. I got
some water in my small saucepan and set it next to the fire to warm.

For some strange reason, perhaps thinking of what Carl had said the day
before,  I stripped naked for all of the creatures to witness. The sun still felt
good on  my bare skin, but the heat of the day was waning fast. I gingerly
walked to the  waters edge and began soaking my tired, aching feet.  I drifted
off,  briefly, as the rushing water acted like a massage on my  feet.

I returned to my camp and opened up the backpack and dug out one of those
ready  to eat meals. Not that I can't cook for myself; but I just wanted to enjoy
 myself without the hassles. I did remember to fill the little coffee pot and
get  it started as well.

I sat on my sleeping bag, thinking that I was forgetting something; but I
really  hadn't. But, then I realized that the initial pan of water was for
washing up. I  must say, that after nearly two days without a decent washing was
making my pits  a tad randy. I even had enough water left over to be able to
diligently retract  my foreskin and clean up just as good as if I was back home.
Heck, this  camping idea was going to turn out pretty darn  good.

Just before turning in for the night, I added several larger pieces of fuel
on  the fire, which hopefully would allow me to fall asleep while the air
surrounding me was still warmer than the ambient temperature outside of my
campsite. At least that's one thing I learned from  Carl.

I made sure my back pack was closed up good for the night and then went to
arrange my clothes, as Carl suggested that I do. I had already pulled out the
last two pair of clean socks and stuffed them into my boots, had my shirt
laying  on top of the boots, jeans on top of the shirt. I went to put my blue
undies on  top of the jeans, but they weren't there. I looked everywhere for them
but they  were gone. I even opened my backpack thinking that I may have
inadvertently  stuffed them away. Nope, they were gone! The only time that I wasn't
around the  camp was when I was soaking my feet. Surely, some animal didn't
come along and  steal my dirty undies? Those light blue ones are my  favorite.

I sluffed it off, deciding I'd look around more in the morning. I lay there
in  my sleeping bag, one eye open; thinking the critter would probably come
back and  try and steal more of my clothes. I didn't even consider  masturbating.

I did, eventually fall asleep; and slept really well I might add. I had
already  established a morning routine, so it was quick and easy to get started.  I
 never found my light blue briefs so I had to put on a clean pair; my second
favorite ones, which used to be bright red, but had faded with washings to a
rather girly shade of  pink.

I got back on the trail, and never came across another camp or hiker all
morning  long. I'd hiked hard early on, as my renewed energy and desire to see all
I  could see was driving me to do so. Heck, I'd even hiked up the biggest
hill yet,  and it was another breath taking view and I looked down, and forward
to the  decent. I knew, according to the map that I would, at sometime, come to
the same  pot holed road; which I had to cross in order to stay on the same
trail.

Sure enough, just before noon I came to the road. I was thrilled that I had
been  able to follow the simple map, even though it wasn't as detailed as the
one Carl  had. I was just about to cross the road when I heard the sound of
vehicles  coming. I stood alongside of the road, and sure enough heading away
from town  came the two pickup trucks again. They slowed down so much that I was
sure  they'd stop; but they didn't. As the second truck passed me, there was
the same  kid in back, still with a black eye and now I was absolutely positive
that he  was naked.

Just as the truck passed me, the man sitting in the passenger seat stuck his
arm  out the window and began waving something. I looked at him and the object
he was  waving and it finally registered in my head that he was waving my
pale blue  briefs. It was un-nerving to say the least. Certainly who ever these
men were,  didn't just happen across an animal with my briefs hanging out of
its mouth.

The picture of the men, the naked kid and my briefs stuck in my head the
entire  day.

I made a good lunch for myself, and in the evening I had to resolve myself to
 the fact that there wasn't any brook, river or lake anywhere around. I
suppose I  shouldn't 'plan' on having such a 'wilderness luxury' every  night.

I slept good, due to the fatigue factor plus not thinking about the men from
earlier. When I woke up and got the fire started, I went to put my clothes on
 and instantly saw that my jeans were missing. This crap had to be stopped.
I'm  out here alone, not bothering a single soul, and for whatever reason
people are  stealing my clothes. I hadn't seen anybody all day long, let alone
heard anyone  come into my camp site.

I hastily dug out my cellphone and called my brother and told him about the
creepy things happening. He told me, straight out, to hike back to town and
come  home. He said to me that, he didn't like the way this trip was turning out
and  he was afraid something would fall upon me.

I made sure my camp fire was extinguished and headed out. I wasn't going to
let  a bunch of wacko's ruin my vacation. At least they didn't steal my boots.
And  further more, when I did return to town, I'd report them to the
authorities;  because I'd already been informed that unless it was a matter of life and
death  that the three man police department couldn't come all this way for
'trivial  stuff'.

I had a little trepidation about seeing those men again today. I didn't know
how  I would react if I had a chance to confront them; but rest assured I
would do  it. Their little jokes had gone on for two nights and enough was enough.


Lunch and dinner were great, just because I had really begun to hike harder
and  faster; burning up countless calories, and I really  feasted.

Thinking I'd outsmart anybody who tried to sneak into my new camp and steal
even  more clothes; I put them all inside my backpack and kept my boots and
socks  hidden beneath  it.

When the morning arrived, to my astonishment; everything was gone. Not even
my  boots were left behind. All I had was my sleeping bag and the few cooking
items  left beside the camp fire. I was able to huff and puff on a couple of
hot embers  to re-ignite the camp fire; taking the morning chill off along with
reheating  the left over coffee from last night.

I didn't even have my cellphone, to call for help or at least to call my
brother Ryan. I went from rage to depression, as I stood around the camp fire in
 my birthday suit. The only thing I could hope and pray for is that some
hikers  might see the smoke from my fire and come to investigate.  Fifty miles
from  no where and I was naked, cold and now hungry. This vacation was turning
out to  be a real  disaster.

It finally dawned on me that these men, or who ever was playing these pranks
on  me, just might come back and reveal themselves; returning all of my
things.  That's it! I just knew this whole thing was a joke.  For sure, Carl didn't
have anything to do with this, or did  he?

I decided that for now the best thing to do was to 'sit tight' and play out
this  little game of theirs. I was really getting hungry and there wasn't
anything  that I knew of in the woods, other than wild animals to eat.  Not to
mention the fact that I had to evacuate my bowels, without the toilet tissue.
Let me just say that a guy has gotta do what a guys gotta do. Leaves of a Maple
tree seemed to work as a decent replacement for my  Charmin.

I gathered up enough wood for the fire before nightfall, just in case the
perpetrators waited until dark to return. I snuggled into my sleeping bag, but
didn't fall asleep until the wee hours of the morning.

I hadn't even gotten my eyes wide open, but the shadows of five people
standing  all around me was the first thing I  noticed.

"These girly things belong to you?" asked one of the men. I turned my head,
as  my eyes came into focus and the man was holding on to my pink  briefs.

I didn't even have time to think of how to politely respond to the man; and
two  other men had hauled me into a vertical position; still zipped inside my
sleeping  bag.

One of the men had re-kindled the camp fire, as the two men holding me up
began  unzipping my sleeping bag. I still hadn't answered the man, but he
continued  waving my briefs on the end of his middle  finger.

"Well, look what we got!" exclaimed one of the men. "Looks like we got us
another one of those 'city slickers'. Hell his skin is almost white as fucking
snow, pure as a virgin too. I'm betting his is a real virgin if you're asking
me. I'll bet he ain't had no stank,  ever."

As the men pulled the sleeping bag away from my body, I felt so exposed, that
if  there was a hole big enough, I'd crawl into it. I extended my arm to
retrieve my  briefs, but the man instantly flung them into the camp fire, setting
them  ablaze. My hands quickly covered up my penis and testicles, out of
embarrassment  more than anything else. The shudder to realization came when all I
could think  of at that one moment was that I was about to  die.

Thankfully a time passed, while each of the men talked about me, or to me,
without really expecting me to answer their questions. I was quick to
comprehend, beyond their scruffy appearance and stench, that these men weren't
exactly what I would consider stupid, dumb or ignorant. For the most part, they
spoke intelligent, comprehensible sentences which led me to believe these guys
weren't from the hills of  'Deliverance'.

The fifth man came up to me and tied a rope around my neck. The other end of
the  rope was used to bind my two wrist together, behind my back and
subsequently my  wrists were pushed upward and bound firmly, almost, between my
shoulder blades.  Now helpless, I became even more aware of my  predicament.

They all laughed at my exposed body, and one of them commented something to
the  effect that "we haven't had one this nice looking in  years."

They began pissing on the campfire, one by one, until the fire was reduces to
 only a couple of smoldering coals. I was pushed over to the edge of the camp
 fire and before I knew it, one of them was holding my penis in his hand
saying,  "PISS!"
There wasn't time to feel emotional, as from the moment I woke up I  had to
piss anyway. The man made a comment about having to retract my foreskin,  which
apparently these men were not all that exposed to, but I managed to drain  my
bladder as the man moved my penis around; splashing the embers, extinguishing
 them  forever.

They picked up the sleeping bag and the one guy tossed it over his shoulder
and  they began pushing me back along the trail. Without my boots, every little
piece  of earth seemed ever so sensitive.  We hadn't gone too far, before we
all  left the trail and made our way through a dense part of the forest. None
of the  men were speaking to me, or each other. Their steps in the forest were
silent,  almost non-existent to the human  ear.

All I could do was to look down, monitoring each and every footstep I made.
The  bottoms of my feet were quickly becoming sore, not to mention gathering a
fair  share of tiny cuts and scrapes. I don't know how far we hiked through
the woods,  but I knew it was quite a distance, before we came into a small
clearing. In the  clearing was an already ablaze campfire, with two other men
standing around  it.

The smell of food cooking was at least some benefit, knowing that my stomach
had  been growling for the last few hours. But, what caught my attention the
most was  what lay just beyond the clearing. The forest seemed to have been
carved out in  two parallel lines, running north and south.  There between the
two lines  of trees, were railroad tracks. I could only think of one thing.
"Don't cross  over the  tracks."

My wrists were untied, but the rope remained around my neck. I was led over
to  the campfire and was told to sit down. One of the men had a firm grip on
the  rope, so I knew that any attempt at running off was futile. I could try and
 fight my way out of this mess but that to, might just be one of my more
stupid  ideas.

The men ate first and then I was given a metal plate loaded down with food. I
 ate the meal with the ravenous fury of a snake. It was an exceptionally good
 meal, considering the circumstances and location. Even the mug of coffee
seemed  to exude the flavor and texture of a well blend of bean. Just another
example  that these men weren't 'hill  creatures'.

Now the seven men and I trudged on. Our destination still unknown to me, as
was  the reason for all of this tomfoolery.  It was quite easy to ascertain
that  the majority of the afternoon hike was all uphill. Very few chances to look
 anywhere but down at my feet, precluded me from trying to get a clue as to
our  location.

After maybe, two hours of torturous hiking, my feet were suffering more than
my  neck and wrists. The muffled noises of humans became evident as we moved
up the  mountainside. Louder and more distinct, the voices seemed almost
directly ahead  of us; yet I couldn't see from where they  came.

Like in a movie, the forest opened up and there, standing around several camp
 fires where three or four men. They all stopped talking when they noticed us
 appear out of the forest, their eyes fixed on me as if I was some sort of
prize.

The setting of the clearing led me to believe that this, at one time, used to
be  an old logging camp. The weather beaten cabins with their faded tin
roofs, the  quaint little porches on each of them; were imagines which would stay
with me  till the end of  time.

The rope was removed from my body and I spent countless, nervous, minutes
rubbing my wrists and neck; as the group of men remained silent, but not still.
They all, to a man, came over to me and walked around me as if they were
stalking me or something. Then one of the men said, "I'll go and let the 'mayor'
know that you're back. I watched, as he strode over to, and into the middle
cabin; knocking first before entering.

Moments later the 'mayor' appeared on the porch, with the familiar figure of
the  naked, beaten teenager kneeling on his hands and knees.

if you would like  to read more of this story and other stories by the
SanibelBoys go  to
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SanibelBoys
Just be sure that your  profile shows your 'adult' age ,no exceptions,
thanks,
marcus, trey and  billy