Monday at 6:30am. I finished the hike in the dark, stumbling out using my cell phone as emergency flashlight. My headlamp went out due to faulty battery. Funny how that works. You test it at home and it's as bright as a car headlight... By the time I reached the guest house I'd done about 25km, which is more than I usually do as a backpack. I was exhausted, lost, anxious, unable to even see the campground, and in tears, limping due to blister on left pinkie toe and my screaming right knee with its meniscus tear. Yeah, big fun. Too tired to eat or take a shower, I walked to some kids in a group of tents, and 2 guys walked me over to #5 with their flashlights. Overhead was a spectacular view of the Milky Way, but I was too exhausted to care. Bless Ben, one of the guys from #10. He loaned me his flashlight for the evening. I set up camp, got into my sleeping bag, depressed, sweaty and dehydrated, with what felt like a throbbing 2-inch blister on one side, and my swollen knee shooting pain in all directions. But that's the magic of 10 hours sleep. I woke to the spectacular rainforest bird chorus, took a hot shower, changed clothes, returned the flashlight to campsite 10, then walked up to O'Reillys at 7:30 for their $35 breakfast buffet. Hadn't eaten since noon the previous day, so I tried everything they offered.
What an anniversary!
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