Indian Summer - 3. Indian Heaven

As the three of us started up the trail, I mentally pinched myself to make sure this was real. We were hiking into a wilderness area, historically important to the American Indians. Getting to this point had been an exercise in diplomacy and manipulation for me, and I was rightfully proud of the accomplishment.

Benny and Tocho had invited me to join them on this expedition, but I needed my parents' permission. Mom tended to be overprotective, and as much as she'd come to like Tocho, I knew a trip like this would not be in her comfort zone. My father would be the key to the operation. I waited until he was working in his wood shop. He was always in a good mood there.

"Dad, I have an opportunity to go hiking with Tocho and his brother," I'd said. "They want me to go with them on an overnight camping trip in the wilderness."

"Tell me more."

"You've met Tocho. Benny is his older brother. He's seventeen, and he's on the wrestling team."

Wrestling would have an impact, I knew. Dad had been a wrestler in high school, and he and I went to most of the local meets. Often, Mom went with us.

Dad set his project to one side. "Yes, we've seen him wrestle. From what I hear, he's a responsible young man. When is this expedition going to happen?"

"The middle of next week. Their father will drop us off at a trailhead and pick us up the next day at another trailhead."

Dad looked thoughtful. "Let me talk to your mother."

That conversation took place the next evening. I was downstairs in my room, and while I didn't deliberately listen, I heard one significant comment from my father.

"You can't keep him in a box forever, dear. He needs to explore the world around him. These are responsible kids, and it's an excellent opportunity for him."

The next day Mom took up the subject.

"Your father says you want to go on a camping trip with Tocho and his brother. I've spoken with their mother. You can go with them, but please be careful. What will you need for food and supplies?"

I'd borrowed a pack from my father. I had my own sleeping bag. Mom had coordinated with their mother as to what food I should provide. Clothing came from my closet. Basic eating utensils came from the kitchen. All of that was on my back as I trudged up the trail behind my friends.

************

The first two-mile stretch was an uphill climb through the woods, steep in some places. When we topped out, I stopped, stunned by what I saw. Endless green meadows, bordered by heather, huckleberry, and fir trees extended in all directions. As we followed the trail through the meadows, we passed several small lakes. I'd never seen a place as beautiful as this.

"It's called Indian Heaven," Tocho told me. "Seriously. And that's what it is. Our people have come here for centuries to pick huckleberries and to socialize. Unfortunately it's too early for ripe huckleberries. We gotta come back in late summer. That's the best time anyway. Besides the huckleberries, the fall color is super."

Leaving the main trail, we followed a secondary trail to ten-acre Wapiki lake in the amphitheater-like basin of an old crater. Lemei Rock, part of the old crater wall and the highest point in the wilderness, rose seven hundred feet above the lake.

"Wanna take a quick dip?" Benny suggested.

It was quick, because the water was very cold. We rolled out our sleeping bags and lay warming ourselves in the sun.

"I think we have company," Benny observed.

About fifty feet away, a muscular teenager was taking off his pack with the practiced ease of someone who backpacked regularly.

"Hey, Mateo," I called out. "I didn't expect to see you up here."

Mateo was one of my classmates and a member of the wrestling team. I knew him well because he and I studied together a lot. His brother, Pedro, the same age as Benny, was a lifeguard at the state park swimming area. Their ancestry was both American Indian and Hispanic.

Mateo was taking off his clothes. "Hey, Pahana, I'm going for a swim. Then I'll come over and talk."

Mateo didn't spend any more time in the water than we had.

"Sit on my sleeping bag," Benny suggested. "Why didn't Pedro come with you?"

"He'd planned to, but he had to work, so I came anyway. Dad said I could come alone if I'd camp near someone."

"Well, if you wanna join us, you're welcome to."

"Thanks, I'll do that."

"We're gonna take a hike now up to the base of Lemei Rock. Do you wanna join us?"

"That'd be great. Let me put my shorts and shoes on and I'll be right back."

Shirtless in the warm summer sun, we followed a trail for about a mile. Benny and Tocho hiked together, and Mateo and I followed at a distance.

"I hear you're a tribal member now, Pahana," Mateo said to me. His grin told me he wasn't serious.

"Not quite. But since you know my new name, you probably know why I have it."

"Yeah, I do. Benny told Pedro you had our connection with the Great Spirit and he and Tocho had adopted you into their family. It wasn't hard to figure out how they learned that. I think it's great. Both being screwed and adopted. Was that your first time?"

"First time being screwed or first time being adopted? But to answer either question, yes."

Mateo grinned. "Always a smart ass. You can add me to your list of Indian brothers."

"Thanks a lot. After being an only child my whole life, it's great to have brothers. The more the merrier."

Mateo continued eagerly. "If there's anything I can do to teach you more about our culture, I'll be happy to help."

"I appreciate that. The more I learn, the better."

"That includes having sex, by the way. Tocho says you're fun to do it with."

Now I knew why Mateo sounded so eager. I knew Tocho had sex with other guys, and he'd mentioned that I probably would too, but the idea had seemed abstract. I hadn't visualized it happening, but now I did. Who better to do it with than someone I knew as well as Mateo?

But I was hesitant. "Well, I suppose we could do that."

His eagerness was still there. "Maybe we could do it out here."

I smiled to myself. What better place? "Okay, we'll look for an opportunity."

An unofficial trail led to the base of Lemei Rock. Looking up, we could see the summit about three hundred feet above us. A short scramble would put us on top of the peak.

"Let's do it," Benny decided.

The climb was steep and a little tricky in places because of loose rock. However the results were worth the effort. From the summit, we could see for miles in every direction. Five major snow-covered, volcanic peaks rose in the distance. All of the wilderness lay below us, an unbelievable vision of lakes, meadows, and a few lesser peaks.

"Too bad we can't camp up here," Tocho commented.

"It's hard enough getting up here without gear," I observed. "I don't think I'd wanna haul everything along, including water."

The descent was the hard part, and I breathed a sigh of relief when we were at the bottom. This was one part of the trip that Mom wouldn't be told about.

************

At the base of Lemei Rock, we sat on fallen boulders next to a grassy meadow, relaxing and enjoying the warm afternoon sun. We rested in silence, each enjoying the beauty of the green grass, huge gray boulders, and the blue of the small pond to one side of the meadow. Overhead, a raven called as if sharing the beauty with us.

Benny stood up. "Mateo, if you and Pahana wanna stay here for a while and enjoy this spot, Tocho and I will go back down and set up camp."

Mateo responded quickly. "That sounds like a great idea. What do you think, Pahana?"

It was a beautiful place. "I like it. We'll see you guys later."

Mateo and I watched in silence until the others disappeared around a bend in the trail.

"Let's get naked and lie in the sun for a while," Mateo suggested.

"Sounds good to me."

Side by side we warmed ourselves in the sun. Eyes closed, I waited to see what he would do. I didn't have to wait long.

Mateo's fingers gently stroked my stomach. "Do you realize how hot you are?"

I opened my eyes and smiled. "Apparently not."

"With your hard body, and that tan, and your blond hair and blue eyes, you'd give a dead guy a boner."

His hand moved down to lightly touch my growing pole. When I didn't object, he stroked it gently.

Mateo took the direct approach. "I wanna screw you so bad."

He stroked his own boner with his other hand. I took a close look. I'd seen him naked, and when he was soft he was normal sized. Hard was a different matter. The idea of sex with Mateo was becoming more appealing all the time.

"Did you bring some lube?"

He looked surprised, as if he couldn't believe it would be that easy.

"Yeah, I did."

The lube came out of his shorts pocket, and he started to grease his pole.

I teased him. "So, do you always carry lube when you go hiking?"

He grinned. "Opportunities to screw appear when you least expect them to."

"Well, I don't know. You may be lubing up that boner of yours for nothing."

"Please?"

I laughed at the pleading look in his eyes, and he knew I was pulling his chain.

"Fucker!"

He straddled me and pinned me to the ground. I laughed and pretended to struggle, but against a trained wrestler, I knew I didn't have a chance. Besides, I now wanted it as badly as he wanted to give it to me.

"Are you gonna make me do it the hard way?"

I was still laughing. "No. But take it easy on me. That pole is bigger than Tocho's."

He knelt between my legs and spent a minute or two getting me ready. Now that he knew I was willing, he wasn't in any hurry.

I held my breath as Mateo leaned over and entered me, and I squirmed with pleasure as he eased all the way in. With the smooth agility of a born athlete, he began to effortlessly move inside me. Using our spirit connection as feedback, he adjusted his movement to get the physical and emotional response from me that he wanted. Where my experiences with Tocho had a feeling of complete unity, this was more like it was interactive. Like two wrestlers engaged in competition, except both were going to win.

Mateo grinned down at me.

**This is better than studying math.**

I grinned back.

**Oh yeah!**

I was completely under Mateo's control as he guided me through a continuous, custom-made mix of pleasure and pain. My hands clawed at the grass as waves of excitement washed over me and precum pooled on my stomach. His technique improved dramatically the longer he was inside me.

For endless moments, Mateo held us both on the edge. I would have given anything to extend this addictive experience, but it couldn't last forever. With several deep thrusts, he pushed us both over. As he silently delivered his load deep inside me, I shot my own onto my chest.

"Who taught you how to do that?" I asked as we lay side by side recovering.

"Benny and I sort of developed it together. It's a takeoff on wrestling. He can do it even better. The pain element was influenced by my brother, Pedro - he likes to do it rough."

I wondered what rough meant, and I also wondered if Mateo had learned from his brother first-hand. I'd heard my parents talking about incest, and they didn't seem to think it was a good thing.

I smiled encouragingly. "Well, you can do it to me anytime you want to."

************

Mateo took the lead as we started back down the trail to the lake. Having now had sex with two guys, I was curious about some things.

"Hey, Mateo, what is sex like when you don't have the spirit connection?"

"Well, if you have sex with a guy, it's not nearly as much fun. I've done it a couple of times. You oughta try it sometime to find out."

Mateo clearly had experience I could learn from. His answer raised another question that I pondered for a while. We stopped to enjoy a view of Mt. Adams through an opening in the trees, so I took the opportunity to ask more questions.

"So, does the connection work if you have sex with a girl?"

"Nope. But having sex with a girl is a whole different experience, anyway. You oughta try that too. Their bodies are different, of course, they're more verbal, and they play mind games with you. I thought it was cool, but I'd rather do it with a guy regardless, and the spirit connection makes sex so much better."

Yeah, my study partner was experienced. "How did you happen to have sex with a girl?"

Mateo grinned broadly. "It helps to have a brother who's a lifeguard. All sorts of shit goes on at the beach, and he doesn't miss much of it. Do you remember a girl in our math class named Karen? She's a year older, but she'd flunked freshman math and was taking it over."

"Yeah, I remember her."

"Did you hear the guys talk about her being a punch board?"

"Yeah, but I didn't know what they meant."

"It means she does it with a lot of guys, especially younger guys doing it for the first time. And she always wants it raw."

"What does that mean?"

Mateo chuckled. "I shouldn't laugh, Pahana, but you need some education. Raw is without a condom. You do know what a condom is, don't you?"

I scowled. "Yeah, I know what a condom is. So when a guy screws her raw, what's gonna keep her from getting pregnant?"

Mateo smiled smugly. "Maybe nothing. Pedro says she's on the pill, which is probably true because she screws around a lot and never gets pregnant. Otherwise, screwing her once gives you a one in twenty chance of knocking her up. Pedro calls it Mexican roulette. You can improve your odds by pulling out, I guess, but..."

I interrupted. "Did you pull out?"

He grinned. "Nope. I went all the way. Knowing the risk you're taking makes it more exciting."

Mateo was experienced, for sure. A whole new world was opening up for me.

************

When we got back to the lake, Mateo moved his gear to our campsite and pooled his food with ours. I smiled when he spread out his sleeping bag next to mine. I suspected he wanted a replay.

We started a fire in a well-used, unofficial fire pit and sat around it on rocks eating our community dinner.

Mateo tossed his paper plate into the fire. "I brought a couple cans of Rainier. I'll be happy to share them."

Benny grinned. "Pahana, have you dug down to the bottom of your pack yet?"

"No, I only pulled the food out of the top."

"Take a look."

I found a six-pack of Coors. "You fucker! You made me carry this all the way up here? I wondered why my pack was so heavy."

All three were laughing at me.

Benny replied. "I bet next time you check your pack. But don't complain. You get to drink some of it. Is this your first time drinking beer?"

I grinned. "Yeah, it is."

Benny handed me an open can. "Enjoy."

I took a sip and made a face. "It's kind of bitter."

"You'll get used to it," Tocho assured me.

Mateo opened one of his cans and smiled. "I propose a toast. Here's to my friends who let me camp with them."

We tapped cans together and took a drink. Then we each made a toast. I was last.

"Here's to my new family. I love you all."

The sun went down, leaving us with the light of the half-moon overhead. We sat around the fire talking and laughing, and finishing up two beers each. The night was warm, unusually so for the high country. Coyotes yipped and howled nearby. A scream from a small animal indicated a coyote had found a meal. I was glad we weren't on its diet.

I walked to the edge of the lake and for several minutes watched the bats and night birds by the light of the moon. Wisps of fog moved through the trees. I followed a path to a smaller lake where waterfowl were bedded down for the night. The beauty of the wilderness amazed me. I felt like I never wanted to leave.

A cool breeze drifted down from the higher country. I shivered, and turned towards the light and warmth of the fire.

Benny was already asleep. Tocho's sleeping bag was empty. On the other side of the fire, there was movement on Mateo's sleeping bag.

Illuminated by the flickering light of the campfire, Mateo's muscular back glistened with perspiration. His hips moved effortlessly and rhythmically as he methodically thrust his shaft into Tocho. Tocho clutched at Mateo's back and squirmed with pleasure.

I'd never seen others having sex. I watched in fascination for a minute or two before carefully moving my sleeping bag a short distance away.

Crawling into my sleeping bag, I watched for a while longer as Tocho and Mateo shared a now-familiar experience. I knew I would have more sexual adventures with both of them, and now I wondered about having adventures with others as well.

During the night, I woke up and had to relieve myself. Crawling reluctantly out of my warm sleeping bag, I walked about thirty feet from the campsite. In the distance, a shadow moved from the woods into the moonlight. So, the Ghost Cat was here too. This far from home, it couldn't have been the same cat, but it watched me for a couple of minutes before vanishing silently. I stood there contemplating spirit guides. What was I seeing when the Ghost Cat appeared? A real animal? A vision? A figment of my imagination? I would have to ask Benny.

Returning to the warmth of my sleeping bag, I lay awake enjoying the night sounds and smells. Then I drifted off to sleep, thinking about how fortunate I was to have Indian brothers who would share themselves and places like this with me.

************

I woke up in the morning to the sounds of mallards flying up from the lake. In the cool morning air, a mist was rising. I wished we could stay another day or two. I knew Tocho and I would come back many times. It was truly a special place.

As I started to get up, I felt an object beside me. I picked it up and discovered an authentic American Indian tomahawk. The stone blade was fastened to the handle with leather straps. Attached to the handle was a strip of beadwork. Black beads on a white background formed a mountain lion footprint that was repeated seven times.

"Hey, guys, do you know anything about this?"

They all walked over and looked, and denied knowing anything about it. I handed the tomahawk to Benny, who inspected it carefully.

"This is a ceremonial tomahawk, a gift from the Ghost Cat. Did you see him last night?"

"Yes. I got up in the night to take a leak and saw him in the moonlight. He hung around for a while before disappearing."

Benny and Tocho exchanged a silent message.

"You must keep this and treasure it. You will see this beadwork pattern again."

"But how did it get into my sleeping bag?"

Benny smiled at me. "I can't tell you now, but you will know soon."

He spoke in a manner that didn't invite any more questions.

After a breakfast of oatmeal and sausages, we packed up and headed down the trail. Mateo was going out the same way, so we hiked together. That hike took us past another American Indian landmark.

"This is referred to as the Indian Racetrack," Mateo told me. "The Indians raced their horses on this straight level stretch of ground. A lot of gambling took place, and a lot of property changed hands, including wives."

"So women were only property," I observed.

"That's true," Benny replied. "But remember, every culture has a history that is not always something to be proud of, at least by today's standards."

Tocho's father and Pedro were both waiting at the trailhead.

"I'm sorry you couldn't come up with Mateo," Benny said to Pedro. "He camped with us."

"I wasn't really happy about having him go alone, but he's as competent in the woods as anyone I know. I'm glad he found you though, both for safety and companionship."

************

Mom greeted me with a question. "How was the camping trip?"

"It was awesome! Mateo showed up and joined us. I wanna go there again sometime."

"Mateo was up there alone?"

"Yes, he was. People backpack alone all the time. It's quite safe if you stay on the trails."

"I would prefer you don't go that far alone. You need to have these experiences, but I'm glad you have responsible friends to have them with."

I smiled. Mom and I had come a long way in a short time. It sounded like I was being given latitude to use my own judgment. And apparently she had thrown away the box she'd been keeping me in.