family camping trip_(1)

We settled into the sleeping bags, both of us on our stomachs, I had a book I was going to read but she just laid her head on the pillow watching me. I rolled to my back and held the book so the pages would catch the weak light from the battery lamp. My sister Helen flipped to her side away from me as if to sleep. We were on a family camping trip; mom, dad, me and my sister and our golden lab Screwball, AKA ‘Screw’. At that moment Screw was lying on my feet at the bottom of my bag. I tried to kick him off to move to Helen’s bed but he wouldn’t budge, my feet were pinned to the ground by the 70-pound dog. I was 18 at the time and my sister was quickly approaching 16 but since we only had two tents, I was forced to take Helen into one with me, our parents required their privacy. This had been the sleeping arrangements for years and they gave no thought to the fact I was pretty much an adult. I was going to have to spend four nights with my baby sister in the same space, I would have to be damn careful if I jacked off.

We were in the mountains of Western Oregon. We planned on hiking some of the many mountain trails, kayaking and fishing on the Umpqua River. Our stay would be four days and nights. Dad had his camera with three various sized lenses hanging from lanyards around his neck, he looked like a Japanese tourist. I wore a heavy fucking backpack with power snacks and drinks while mom and Helen got to enjoy the day unencumbered by anything but Screw’s tennis balls which they threw as we hiked. After setting up camp and settling in the first night, we could concentrate on the days coming. That was the night Screw told me ‘screw you, this is my bed’.

The next day, the first full day, was spent hiking, we might have covered 15 miles of hills and valleys following a couple of the popular trails and met several other hiking groups along the way. By the time we returned to the camp my legs were straining, I was tired from lack of sleep, I was ready for some down time. It wasn’t full dark when we got back to the campsite where mom and Helen cooked a campfire dinner then dad retrieved some beer from a cooler in the back of the truck. Neither my sister nor I refused when he offered us a bottle, Mom tried to object “Goddamn it Roy, they aren’t old enough.”

“Ah piss Margie, it’s been a long hot day, we could all use one.” I wasn’t a stranger to beer but I wasn’t sure if my sister had tasted any before. When she tipped the bottle and sucked down two quick swallows, I knew, she wasn’t virgin to beer either. The Milky Way was brilliant in the night sky when we went to the tents. I had to stay out until my sister changed into her sleep wear then she invited me in. I wasn’t so damn modest so I stripped to T and shorts then slipped my PJ pants on while my sister tried not to watch. She didn’t try very hard, she kept glancing at me as I changed. Screw immediately took his place in the middle of my bag and refused to move. As Helen laughed at my efforts to move Screw, the fucking dog groaned contentedly and rolled to his back. He wasn’t about to give up his space easily. I laid on the bag and tried to pull it over me but got only half covered, my ass was sticking out in the night air which was getting colder. I flopped and flipped and tugged but couldn’t get any more cover than what Screw allowed. My sister was lying comfortably on her stomach watching me with undisguised amusement while I got frustrated with the sleeping arrangements.

I gave up trying to get completely covered and lay quiet with my left side getting cold, my toes were numb. Helen had gone to sleep, she looked so peaceful, so warm. Our bags were not mountain climbing bags; narrow, down stuffed coffins, but larger; large enough for two if the two didn’t mind some body contact during the night. Fuck it, I was cold, the dog owned my bed so I crawled across the small space between the bags then lifted the top of Helen’s and carefully laid beside her. She rolled to her side away from me so I had room to lie on my side behind her and pull the cover over, we were back to back. Ah, that felt good, I was super tired and the warmth of the bed lured me into a fast, deep sleep.

Hands pushing on my back woke me up. I opened my eyes and looked out the small net window over my head, it was not full daylight, but quickly dawning. The hands on my back pushed again, with more urgency, I rolled over to face Helen. “What the hell are you doing in my bed?” was the first thing she said.

“I was cold.”

“You were cold so you think that’s a good reason to sleep with me!?”

“Shh, you’ll wake mom and dad.”

She toned down the volume “Get out, god, I have to go pee and you’re in the way.” Screw came alert, rose from his (my) sleeping bag and stuck his big nose in my face, he was ready for the day too. Crap. I threw back the top cover and stood, Helen quickly followed then slipped out to go pee somewhere while I changed back into my clothes. Screw followed my sister.

The day passed with more hiking and a short, fun, run over some Class II rapids in our inflatable kayaks. That evening after dinner and another cold beer my sister and I returned to the tent. Screw didn’t hesitate to stake his claim to my bag, directly in the middle. Some fucking weird law of physics about dogs lets them gain weight when they lie down.