“There is nothing like looking, if you want to find something. You certainly usually find something, if you look, but it is not always quite the something you were after.” —J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit or There and Back Again

The Trailhead—“No Shit!”

“Where you guys goin’? Your packs are humongous!” the old man said, taking his hat off and leaning against his rig. He wore a massive .45 Magnum revolver on his chest, its black steel glinting in the sunlight.  

“We’re headed to Thirsty Pony Reservoir,” Neil said with a friendly smile. The old-timer scratched his chin and repeated the words, like the name of an exotic country. 

“No shit! How far is that? Lotta bear between here and there,” he said with a drawl. “You’ve got a gun, right?”…

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