Susan Scared Silly

Say that three times quickly why don't you?

We just returned from another visit to a place that is inappropriately named "Red Death." The theory is that the mountain bikers who frequent the area have fallen from their machines and skinned their knees or worse on the rocks below the hill, hence the name. Nobody I know has actually died, but mountain bikers are a self congratulatory type of beast, and I guess they exaggerate their exploits on the trails.

I been camping there in an old pasture that has been gradually turning into a forest for the last 30 or 40 years. I must have been there dozens of times since I was a young'un. This time out I was joined by Sassinak, Lividviv, Hubris, Tasha and Susan, among others. Susan was particularly enthralled with the place, so I took the liberty of dragging her over hill and over dale on several of the fine hiking trails in the area. I have to admit that it's a pleasure to find someone who likes to get out in the fresh air and haul ass on the trails.

The best part of the trip was the hike yesterday. I guided my friends into an underground stream. It's a filthy, damp, claustrophobic haul that has to be seen to be believed. The rocks are all wet, and there's no way you can get inside without getting covered in the mossy slime that oozes from the walls. There are several passages in the cave that can only be reached by crawling on your belly like a snake going feet first into a hole where you don't know what's below you. If you've never been there, it is little daunting. Needless to say, Susan was scared silly by the experience, but after all was said and done, she was as exhilarated as everyone else to lay eyes on the underground stream. She was shaking like a leaf and grinning like an idiot at the end of it. Well done Susan!

I haven't been into the stream much since the 1980s, and I casually remarked that the rocks appeared to have shifted a little over time. I suspect I should have kept my observations to myself while we were slithering down to the bottom of the cave. Everyone was a little shaken by my outburst, but we all made it in and out without any serious mishaps, except for Sassinak's whacked shin. She has a bruise to admire for a few days. Well done Sassinak too! She wears her bruises like a badge of honour instead of complaining about them.