Alas, today was the last day of our expedition. I was not surprised that all of us were glad that it was over. However we still had to conquer the Gargoyles before we can return home. Today's hike was pretty much downhill because we were just walking back the trail from Day 1 which was uphill. Although walking downhill seems pretty easy, it ain't. Its always so hard to try and stop yourself because of your momentum and the weight of your pack as you walk forward. In addition, you always have to consider walking on the right rocks because in any moment, the rock may suddenly slide and you would fall down and hurt yourself.
Today, there was a whole team of injured people who would walk straight to the end point instead of going to the mountain Gargoyles. They would go straight to the hospital because one person was cutting open an avocado when the blade sliced into her hands. It was a very deep wound and it had not stopped bleeding. Good thing today was the last day so she could go straight to the hospital as soon as possible. If it was on the first or second day, it would have been big trouble. Other people going along with the bleeding finger person had either hurt their ankles or could not walk properly. I was scared because they made it seem like Gargoyles was pretty hard and since these people are injured, they cannot endure more pain as they went up the mountain.
The only thing in our way before we arrive home was the Gargoyles. As we made it up the steep slope, we were only halfway to the Gargoyles. However the counselor had given us a choice to go on to the top or to chicken out and walk to the end point. Many of us decided to go on because we were halfway and it would be a waste to just walk home like that. I must say, it was a big challenge because we were hiking at 90 degrees. There were always small rocks that would fall down as you put your step. And, there was no actual foot hold to put your feet on. I was surprised that I did not slip and fall to my death. I was even more surprised that the whole team did not slip at all. As we made it to the top, there was no view to be seen because it was so foggy, either because we were in a cloud or it was just fog. Tough for us, I guess. I found it even harder to hike down the mountain because you always feel like you want to run down it because the slope is so steep. I was always sliding down the mountain and as always, rocks of different sizes would roll downwards as my feet touched it.
After our hike up the Gargoyles and the most challenging thing out of the way. We did not relax because we just wanted to arrive at the end point as soon as possible. We took no breaks whatsoever and kept walking on and on. Memories of our hike on the first hill kept coming back to us as we passed by the same spot. At that moment, we knew that we were closeby and increased our pace. Finally, we arrived home but apparently we were not done yet. They had to check our emergency food before we were considered done!After that, I was glad to have an all you can eat sushi buffet. We ate so much sushi and mango pudding as well. I felt that all the enduring and pain was totally worth it for this awesome meal.
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