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Nothing beat a long weekend out in the woods all alone after one hell of a month. One would think that Patrick O’Ryan would stick out like a sore thumb in the forest, what with his tall build, bright red hair, and purple eyes but actually the EMT felt quite at home surrounded by the trees. He wasn’t a survivalist but he knew how to camp and enjoyed it immensely. So when city life just got to be too much he hopped in his car, rocked out to a few musicals before pulling off into the state park, and started to hike until he reached a previously used, designated, camping area. Luckily for him school was still in session and the east coast temperature has been freaking out so much that other hikers were none existent… other campers even more so.

He had the clearing all to himself and had set himself up quite comfortably in his small puptent, hammock, campfire, and stump bench all at the tree edge where he could look out on the clearing and the sky above. Pat must have pleased someone because the weather was perfect and the weather guys said it was clear skies from here to the end of the week, AKA perfect summer like spring weather.

Twilight was descending and Pat needed to gather some more wood so he had enough to cook and just chill by the flames. Gathering his bag, he shouldered it, secured his tent, and started off into the woods. No point in searching near the site since other campers would have picked it clean by now.

It didn’t take Pat long to gather enough wood once he was beyond the normal areas. He went carefully, aware of the hidden dangers as well as the more blatant ones like the patch of poison oak he passed. Even an experienced hiker could get into trouble if he wasn't careful so once he had gathered enough for the night Pat turned around and returned the way he came, taking care each step.

Once back on the beaten path he picked up his pace and soon was within site of the clearing… and noticed the ATV and its rider. “Hey!” He hailed the rider as he strode the last yard out of the trees, waving once before gripping the strap of his bag once more. The only guys on any type of vehicles out here were rangers or poachers and no poacher would be stupid enough to be around the high traffic areas like the hiking trails. As he got closer Pat slipped his bag off of his shoulder revealing the large bundle of sticks tied securely to the pack. He set the bag and its contends down and contently stretched his arms. “Anything wrong? Or you just coming to check up on everything? Your welcome to some water if you want or stick around for some food.” He had a small cooler with frozen water bottles stashed in his tent for use with a full pack of spares in his car, along with extra everything since one never really knew what one was going to run into while out and about in the city let alone the woods.

“That's good. I would really hate to cut my weekend short.” Pat chuckled, a light and easy sound, as he pulled of the battered ballcap revealing the bright red hair that ran in his family. He knew that if the ranger said he had to go, Pat would have to pack up and scram. They wouldn't tell you to get out unless there was a damn good reason like a wildfire or some other issue, nothing Pat had heard of from the grapevine.

“Well the offer still stands if you change your mind. I plan on doing some marshmallows after dinner if you're still interested in a few hours.” He didn't think the ranger would really be interested in the freeze dried dinners Pat was looking forward to. Hell even Pat wasn't really looking forward to it but they weren't bad and it was simple to carry in and carry out, the biggest thing for any good camper. “Pat O’Ryan. Nice to meet you Richard. You’ll likely see me around more often now that it's warmer. I like coming up here on long weekends.” He shrugged and gave a half smile. Being away from most people was one of his ways from unwinding from particularly bad weeks, like how the last one was

“Well the offer stands if you're around for the rest of the weekend,” Pat’s smile was broad and welcoming even as he added, “Although I can’t promise I won’t eat all the marshmallows tonight so you might just be out of luck later on.” It was more or less a joke since even the redhead couldn’t eat the whole bag of ‘mallows one night but by the end of his trip they would be seriously depleted, if not gone so it wasn’t quite a fib. “Oh for years. My dad took me camping all the time up in the Catskills when ever he had the chance.”

It had been real ‘father, son’ bonding except that Pat always felt like his dad was testing him. Quizzing him about the best way to set up a camp or start a fire, what plants were dangerous and what were helpful. It got old real fast but it also made his dad happy so little Pat sucked it up and eventually came to enjoy the time spent in the woods. “Although I’ve only been using this state park for a few months now. Ever since I moved down her to DC last year. I skipped the winter months for anything more than a day trip because winter camping isn’t fun… it’s survival and that is not what I enjoy about camping.” Pat exaggerated a shiver and a grimace. The mere idea of camping in winter made him feel cold. People who did it voluntarily weren’t that bright in his opinion.

“How about you? How long have you been camping?” He volleyed the question back at Richard, tossing in a few of his own. “Have any suggestions for spots deeper in the park I should try for if a longer trip is needed?”

Pat shrugged and smiled a bit ruefully, “As a kid I never really learned the name of the state park we went to. As an adult…. I’ve camped in Yellowstone. By far the best place to stay. The scenery alone was worth it.” While camping with his dad wasn’t the best time for young Pat, by the time he got to college camping on his own gave him the breather from real life that he needed and for one spectacular summer he spend a wonderful four weeks out west going from campground to campground. If he hadn’t felt a bigger urge to help people who were hurt and in pain maybe he would have become a park ranger like Richard.

“And that is why I went and became an EMT rather than a ranger.” Pat laughed heartly. Richard gave the exact reason why the redhead became a completely different civil servant then the man in front of him. “Unlike you I can choose to enjoy the park in all types of weather. You're stuck with it during the worst times as well as the best.” His smile and jovial tone made it clear that his comments were not meant in a mean way, far from it. “Instead I get stuck seeing the worst of humanity…. Maybe your job is the better one.” He shrugged, his smile once more rueful as he remembered some of the things that drove him up to the park to camp like the accidents and the death. That didn’t even cover the world he was becoming familiar with, the war between chaos and order that he had been dragged into.

Shaking off the cloud of melancholy, that was not why he came to camp, the tall fellow tried to get back into the happy mood he had a few moments ago. “Can’t really blame you there. Why would you want to be inside when you got all this to entertain you.” He indicated the park around them with a wave of his hand. Curious he approached the ranger when Richard pulled out a map. Eyeballing the distance he murmured, “about a good day’s hike from the head of the trail. Not a bad spot to just enjoy for a few days. I’ll have to check it out the next time I get a long stretch of time off.”

“Oh man. If you ever get a chance…. Go!” Pat could almost wax lyrically about the natural beauties of the state park but it kept his mouth shut. The ranger likely would understand but it just wasn’t ‘manly’ to describe the colorful hot springs and breath taking falls in rich detail. Or the way the night sky was lit with more stars then one could count in a lifetime, so many more stars then one got to see this close to a city even on a good night. Pat wondered if what he missed most about the western state parks were the bright nights, lit only by moonlight and starlight. “You never know man, one day it might just blow and take most of the northern hemisphere with it.” It was a joke, and a bit exaggeration, but the fact that Yellowstone was a supervolcano was a pretty well known one so one never knew… not really.

“You might be right on that.” He chuckled and shook his head, shoving his hands in the pockets of his pants. “Naaaa I’m just a glorified taxi.” After a brief contemplation he added, “With a much messier back seat after a bad day.” His smile was a bit rueful but it was what it was and Pat liked being able to help people, even if it really sucked some days.

After studying Richard’s map a little closer, even taking a quick picture of the circled spot, finally nodded. “I’ll make note of it on my map and will have to get up there the next time I’ve got more than just a weekend off. Not being surrounded by the typical campers would be nice, I got lucky today.” He indicated the empty spot, free of anyone else but himself. “I’ll definitely leave word. Maybe you will be off that time and can join me in some marshmallows. MREs are all good but it's the fluffy meltyness of marshmallows that make camping worth it.”