For the second day in a row I woke up wet, the water bladder had leaked in the night all over rate tent floor and my stuff was wet again. To make matters worse I found out in that night that my pad was shot and needed to be repaired. I was starting the day off in the best of moods already, irritated and grumpy. There was a big climb and I ate almost everything I had that morning to fuel up for the twins. Twiggs and I set out with Earthling and Flailing down the the trail. As we climbed up the sheer rocky trail we passed day hiker after day hiker form the hut, the very hut that had turned us away.

Passing the day hikers the I’ve stopped having conversations and tried to make it as quick as possible. Over the trail I learned quickly that I couldn’t diet caught anywhere from a half an hour to an hour or so with them. I usually fire the first shot asking them how whey are and when they ask about me, I reply with outstanding, living your dream. I’ve grown a bit tired of the same questions that last for quite some time, while I stand there on the trail with my music going. It’s almost impossible sometimes to pass them without having to stop.

When I reached the top of the mountain, I was surprised to see a 360 degree view form the top. I could see everything I had done and where I was going for the top of the mountain. My day was looking up, the view was putting me in a better mood from the crap morning. Enjoying the view we took our time before heading back down. The short climb down ran above the trees just long enough to give us one last look before we fell back into tree line. The flat terrain was welcomed for the hour or so before hitting the boulder field. Once again views as far as the eye could see were all around us.

Not taking time to stop on the rocks we pushed hard to the view ahead. There was supposed to be a cliff view before Zealand falls and it was quite impressive. Meeting some day hikers we took photos and goofed off at the cliffs. Taking our time to enjoy the little things we headed down to the hut by the falls for some food and company. When we are hiking we like to hike, when I’m at the huts or in camp I like to talk with other people. It’s hard to get and stay in a rhythm if you’re constantly starting and stopping.

Playing in the falls, we stayed as long as we could. Alas the trail must be hiked and we had no food, we had to make the gap to go into town. The next few miles skirted the very ridge for the cliff that we could see. I could look back up and see where I was on the cliffs as I walked the old train tracks. Crossing over the river we had a great idea, swimming.  Never passing up a swimming hole we stripped down the four of us and hit the water. Standing on te biggest rock in all my glory, I was soon passed on the trail by Turtle. Waving at him and shaking my hips I said hello as he unfortunately looked at me. We both had a laughs he quickly turned away and noticed the rest of us.

Our short swim didn’t last long with the icy cold water and the need to get to the shuttle pickup point. The last five miles went quick over the wooden planks and swamp. Coming to the meeting spot Flailing and Earthling hitched to the other possible location to wait. Over the next hour we all waited for our shuttle, to no avail, darkness came and we were still waiting. After almost two hours I decided to hitch to where they were. Getting to the AMC location I found that the shuttle driver had become lost and we weren’t stuck in the wind. They arrived and grabbed us all, for the first time in days the five of us slept well at the hostel.