Chapter 20: Departed
I knew before I got there he was gone. The cave opening looked the same, he had tried his best to hide that he was living in there, was smart about it and never left evidence of his coming and goings. I thought I might as well take a look, I had driven this far, hiked these miles, might as well go that last few steps.
The cave seemed so different, it was the same cave but changed, it was truly back to a wild environment. The air smelled dank, musty. The smell of habitation had been replaced with the smell of desertion. I walked over to where Walker had kept his personal things, just a bare ledge there now. His sleeping area was apparent only if you noticed that a spot had been removed of pebbles and rocks. I had to admire the job he did, left no mark or sign behind, cavers would be proud.
Crawling out of the entrance into the sunlight, there nailed on the back of a tree a few feet away was a small plastic bag. It was positioned so that you had to be standing in front of the cave or crawling out of it, the tree being only a few feet from the rock face.
Curious, I removed the bag and opened it to find a hand written note.
“To whoever finds this:
This cave was my home for the winter of 2008. It is a good cave, and I lied about it to someone I should not have. The cave is big, if you wait till the summer drought the small spring moving through it becomes a trickle. This opens up a tiny crawl way. Crawl this for about 50 feet and it opens into an amazing room, maybe 200 by 200 with a 40 foot ceiling, heavily decorated with formations. The cave keeps going after that but I was here alone and did not explore it further.
If you are the person I lied to about it I am sorry and am doing my best to make amends. I did not know you well enough at the time to trust you with the secrets of my home. Perhaps we will meet again and you can tell me. I have caught a horse and am heading out. Wish me luck.”
I tucked the message in my pocket and looked back at the cave. The entrance to it was about 3 feet high, maybe 6 feet wide. There were plenty of fallen rocks around, mostly limestone but some sandstone as well. I spent the rest of the day closing off the entrance. I am not sure why I did it, it seemed fitting though. Perhaps someday I will need this place as my own home, perhaps Walker will come back and live here. Perhaps it seemed wrong to let skunks or coyotes take over what had been my friends home.
Driving back I realized I should have joined him. Erik is dead, Robert has holed himself up in his basement, I have no job. I also have nothing to hold me here, no debt, no family, I can be as free as Walker if that is what chose. I tally up my assets, house, car, truck, motorcycles. Selling all of that should give me about twenty thousand, I have another twenty in severance. Forty thousand dollars without a house payment to make, gas to buy, a car to maintain, without any bills at all except food, I think I should be able to live a long time off of that.
The question is how to do it. I could backpack, bicycle, drive the truck or float. If I take the truck then I am a slave to gas and maintenance of a vehicle. But I can go anywhere pretty quickly, have a capper on the back so I have a place to sleep, easier to get supplies. It’s a good choice cause with the truck I can also bring a canoe and a bicycle. The truck is the best of all worlds. But the truck is old, the frame shot, nothing really works on it and it is due to be relicensed in 6 months. I don’t know if you can get a vehicle relicensed if you don’t have an address. The bicycle is a road bike, that’s out, I don’t want to be stuck on busy roads. Backpacking or floating, the choice is obvious.
When I get home I review some maps and make a few mental calculations. In theory there is a waterway that connects a giant loop of the Midwest to the Eastern sea board. From St Louis I can go down the Mississippi till New Orleans, then cut east across and around the inter coastal way. This system of canals and passages leads all the way to New York city. Then the going will get tricky, up the Hudson to the St Lawrence, up the St Lawrence to the great lakes. Across the great lakes to Chicago, through the locks and in Chicago to put me on the Illinois river. Down the Illinois to St Louis.
For some reason I find myself smiling. I am finally free in every way that I ever wanted to be. No more job, no more bills to worry about, nothing but a clear future. It will feel so good to put this town behind me, to forget about the past, to give up on society and live as I see fit, to live as close to the land as Walden or Crazy Horse. For years I had felt depressed clinging to a job I hated, wasting my time sitting around a bar, being haunted by the memories of my ex-wife. I wonder how many hours I have wasted looking for love when in reality all I wanted was out. Now I had clear direction, nowhere.
Afterward.
A month after I had made my plans to canoe away and things are finally settled. My parents took over payments of my house and plan to use it as a rental till I return. The contents of the house went to craigslist. A lifetime supply of junk brought in nearly five thousand dollars, more than I could have hoped for. I have carefully selected my gear and splurged on a few items that will add some comfort along the way, such as a nicer tent, an old army cot and a better paddle.
The plan is easy, get on the water and go, buy supplies when I need them, fish when I can. The Mississippi is a whole new world and I am looking to be reborn.
The End.
Authors Note: Thanks for reading, any feedback, good, bad or indifferent I would love to hear it, I can be reached at
[email protected] Note from the author
This is a work of fiction based on events that happened in my life. In order to simply the story names were changed and events rearranged. If you enjoyed the book please leave some feedback. If you did not enjoy the book let me know what was wrong.
[email protected] Thank you for reading books on BookFrom.Net Share this book with friends