Castlewood Opening Paragraph

Christine locks her Jetta TDI and heads for the entrance to the trail. She steps through the gazebo and up the short two railroad ties onto the wide gravel wash. The first hill is the real climb. She could go the easy way over the switch backs, but the easy way takes longer and she wants this done so she can start her weekend. “Every Saturday morning between now and when I leave for Bolivia,” Christine thinks. “Tuesday and Thursday afternoons, I’ll come with Jules.” Hiking in the afternoons with Jules is good, but Saturdays are for Chris. The peace and quiet of a state park just 3 miles from her house in the county is a real blessing. A little over half the way up she hits the first log. It is all that remains of a large pinnoak that fell across the wash years ago. Two giant steps take her up and over and on towards the crest of the big hill. She can see the next log that marks the slight bend to the right before the ground levels out at the top of the cliff. From there the trail takes off along the ridgeline. Chris looks right and left. She has seen deer through the trees many a morning at this time, just before 6:00. A slight veer to the right at the top and the trail takes off to the left up the hiker’s leg. Bicycles follow the wider, flatter path on the right. This little hill is much shorter but just as steep an incline as the first. Then the dirt path through the woods turns to orange rock as the trail creeps closer to cliff edge. The first rock outcropping is just off to the left as Chris comes out of the woods. At first sight, Christine thinks she must be seeing things. It looks like there a woman sunbathing on the big, flat rocks that just out over the cliff edge. “What the hell? Sunbathing at this time of the morning?” Christine keeps plodding along as the trail brings her even closer. One step, two steps, on the third step, Christine stumbles out of the shadow of the trees and screams.