Read Online In the Heart of the Canyon by Elisabeth Hyde - Free Book Online
Authors: Elisabeth Hyde
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could jump off. JT’s method of dealing with copilots was to be as nice to them as possible but to let their chatter go in one ear and out the other.
Now he told Mitchell, “I don’t know if we’ll make it that far.Remember what I said yesterday. Gotta be flexible, gotta play it by ear. Right now we’re just going to focus on breaking camp. Take your tents down, get your gear packed, put on your sunscreen, whatever.”
“I have a question,” said Jill.
“Yes, ma’am?”
She placed her hands on her hips. “Do you guides
ever
get a chance to just enjoy the trip?”
There were appreciative nods and murmurs all around.
“Because you work so hard!” Jill exclaimed.
JT didn’t like compliments, and he didn’t like being in the spotlight. “Abo and Dixie did most of the work this morning,” he told them. “I sat and yakked on the phone. Go on. Pack up your things. Let’s run this river.”
Jill had Mark apply sunscreen to her back.
“Bet these river guides get a lot of skin cancer,” he said. He had a slappy, unpleasant way of doing it, and she struggled to keep her balance.
“One of the hazards of the occupation, I guess,” she murmured.
“And I bet they don’t have very good health plans, either,” Mark went on. “If any.”
“Sam,” called Jill. “Leave the dog’s tail alone!” She smelled insect repellent and looked up to see Mitchell spraying his arms with Off. According to JT, there weren’t mosquitoes down here. What was the man doing?
Mitchell finished spraying his hat, then joined Jill and Mark. “Of all the things!” he said with a chuckle.
Jill politely asked him what he meant.
“A dog! First day out! If you wrote a story about it, nobody would believe it. I hate to sound inhumane,” he confided, “but am I the only one who wouldn’t find it totally cruel and unusual to just leave the dog here?”
Jill was taken aback by this.
“I mean, the dog must have some pretty good survival skills,” he went on. “We could just leave a bunch of food. Somebody else will becamping here tonight. They’ll feed it, just like we did. Why should we complicate our trip?”
Jill wondered if she really wanted to tell Mitchell, on the second day of the trip, that yes indeed, he did sound inhumane. All things considered, she preferred harmony to confrontation.
“Are you just concerned about Lena’s allergies? Because we’re outside,” she pointed out. “There’s lots of fresh air here, not like a closed-up room. I can make sure the boys stay away from Lena,” she added.
“You don’t have to do that,” Mitchell said, although it was clear from his tone that he did in fact see that as a possibility. “It’s just that after forking out six thousand bucks, I don’t want to have to leave the river on the second day.”
I forked out twelve thousand, Jill thought, and it wasn’t to spend two weeks with someone like you.
Just then JT hollered for everyone to choose a boat. The dog would ride in his boat this morning, he told them. Dixie’s boat would be dog-free, for those who wanted. Slowly everyone made their way toward the boats, with the exception of Mark, who hung back.
“Did you bring anything?” he whispered to Jill.
“Like what?”
“Like, you know, bran or prunes or something.”
“No, Mark,” said Jill. “If you wanted me to bring bran or prunes, you should have told me.”
“I was just asking,” said Mark.
11
Day Two
Miles 16–20
H igh on JT’s list of “Top Ten Ways to Make Friends” was to camp directly above a rapid, so as to start the next day with a good wake-up splash. In keeping with this, no sooner had the three boats pulled off shore that morning than they all found themselves gliding into the tongue of House Rock Rapid, where the current ran green and silky-smooth over submerged boulders before exploding in a mass of white foam below.
“Good morning
campers!”
JT shouted as the first icy wave drenched them. “Hold on to that
Now he told Mitchell, “I don’t know if we’ll make it that far.Remember what I said yesterday. Gotta be flexible, gotta play it by ear. Right now we’re just going to focus on breaking camp. Take your tents down, get your gear packed, put on your sunscreen, whatever.”
“I have a question,” said Jill.
“Yes, ma’am?”
She placed her hands on her hips. “Do you guides
ever
get a chance to just enjoy the trip?”
There were appreciative nods and murmurs all around.
“Because you work so hard!” Jill exclaimed.
JT didn’t like compliments, and he didn’t like being in the spotlight. “Abo and Dixie did most of the work this morning,” he told them. “I sat and yakked on the phone. Go on. Pack up your things. Let’s run this river.”
Jill had Mark apply sunscreen to her back.
“Bet these river guides get a lot of skin cancer,” he said. He had a slappy, unpleasant way of doing it, and she struggled to keep her balance.
“One of the hazards of the occupation, I guess,” she murmured.
“And I bet they don’t have very good health plans, either,” Mark went on. “If any.”
“Sam,” called Jill. “Leave the dog’s tail alone!” She smelled insect repellent and looked up to see Mitchell spraying his arms with Off. According to JT, there weren’t mosquitoes down here. What was the man doing?
Mitchell finished spraying his hat, then joined Jill and Mark. “Of all the things!” he said with a chuckle.
Jill politely asked him what he meant.
“A dog! First day out! If you wrote a story about it, nobody would believe it. I hate to sound inhumane,” he confided, “but am I the only one who wouldn’t find it totally cruel and unusual to just leave the dog here?”
Jill was taken aback by this.
“I mean, the dog must have some pretty good survival skills,” he went on. “We could just leave a bunch of food. Somebody else will becamping here tonight. They’ll feed it, just like we did. Why should we complicate our trip?”
Jill wondered if she really wanted to tell Mitchell, on the second day of the trip, that yes indeed, he did sound inhumane. All things considered, she preferred harmony to confrontation.
“Are you just concerned about Lena’s allergies? Because we’re outside,” she pointed out. “There’s lots of fresh air here, not like a closed-up room. I can make sure the boys stay away from Lena,” she added.
“You don’t have to do that,” Mitchell said, although it was clear from his tone that he did in fact see that as a possibility. “It’s just that after forking out six thousand bucks, I don’t want to have to leave the river on the second day.”
I forked out twelve thousand, Jill thought, and it wasn’t to spend two weeks with someone like you.
Just then JT hollered for everyone to choose a boat. The dog would ride in his boat this morning, he told them. Dixie’s boat would be dog-free, for those who wanted. Slowly everyone made their way toward the boats, with the exception of Mark, who hung back.
“Did you bring anything?” he whispered to Jill.
“Like what?”
“Like, you know, bran or prunes or something.”
“No, Mark,” said Jill. “If you wanted me to bring bran or prunes, you should have told me.”
“I was just asking,” said Mark.
11
Day Two
Miles 16–20
H igh on JT’s list of “Top Ten Ways to Make Friends” was to camp directly above a rapid, so as to start the next day with a good wake-up splash. In keeping with this, no sooner had the three boats pulled off shore that morning than they all found themselves gliding into the tongue of House Rock Rapid, where the current ran green and silky-smooth over submerged boulders before exploding in a mass of white foam below.
“Good morning
campers!”
JT shouted as the first icy wave drenched them. “Hold on to that
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