« Flying Weather | Main | A Little Fuel »

Day Hike

I'm back from the repeater trip yesterday, and things went well. At the last minute Fred and Dave asked Dale if he thought he could fly the plane out himself. That was fine with Dale, so after he ran home to get some shoes (flying in jungle boots doesn't quite work) we lifted off at 8 AM. The weather was great, and by 8:30 AM the plane was pushed off the side of the runway in Visui, and we were on our way. One of the guys there asked if we wanted a companion, and Dale said he'd pass. Since Dale made multiple trip up there in June and July, and even one a week earlier, that was fine with me. I, on the other hand, hadn't been up there for over two years, so I was sure I couldn't find the trail on the lower sections of the hike. In the end, we did back-track after our first ten minutes of walking, because Dale wasn't convinced we had gone the right way. Turns out we had taken the right trail after all, and we were off, back up the same section.

I really didn't need that extra walking, and we didn't start out very slowly either. I have not done a very good job of keeping myself in shape the past three months, so when Dale asked if I would go with him, I was a little unsure about my ability to keep up with him. I knew I could make it, but I wanted to do more than just survive on a hike like that. So, I just plugged away, and didn't panic if he got around the corner and out of site. In the end we topped out together. The hike seemed a bit shorter than the first time I did it, which was fine with me. I suppose we had been hiking for about three and a half hours.

Our work at the top was uneventful. Dale changed a solar charge controller, and I took measurements of the roof. We need to replace some of the roofing material, as well as add an extension to the east side, and the measurements will help us with the planning. Nothing unusual to report about the top, but the sweat bees that covered us. They weren't at all aggressive, but just annoying, as they flew all around and landed on us--yes, we were extremely sweaty.

After less than two hours, we were on our way down. And, five liters of water later, we were back at the plane. Yes, that's how much I carried, and how much I drank. I was tired enough that I fell twice near the bottom, when I slipped on mud. Normally I can catch myself, but yesterday I was pooped. We gave our extra cookies and crackers, as well as empty water bottles, to a few of the kids who were hanging out near the plane. And then we were off, bouncing down the grass strip, one of the bounces throwing us into the air for our flight home.