We knew this was going to be the hardest day of the trip. We had read it was 8.5km, but full of ups and downs along with some exciting navigational challenges. Once we gained some altitude above Camp #3 we could look across the valley and see The Behinde and the route we were going to be taking up and around it. The closer we got, the nastier it looked. However, this is where good research pays off, and we had read the travel log of a group of 3 guys who took this route in 2005. They identified several of the navigational problems they had, so we were better prepared to avoid their mistakes and confusion.
Still, coming down off the ridge and going up the Behinde was a challenge. Snow, ice, runoff and strong sun make it even more exciting than expected. The area on the map where you see the 45 was really interesting in that you arrive at a point where you really see NO Class 3 way to proceed. Still, we were expecting this so we didn't panic and found our way onto the ridge that took us up and around the Behinde towards the Hinde. Actually, this was one of the more enjoyable parts of the entire trip.
There were few technical difficulties once we got on the ridge, and the views were spectacular. Still, we were getting tired and were racing the sun to the Hinde base camp.
Once we started the decent (oh that hurt my knees) towards the Hinde base camp we were amazed to see a large number of tents not only at the camp, but on the snow all around it. Thus, we knew we would arrive exhausted, and not have a good camp spot. Bummer. As it turns out, I found a place that wasn't nearly as bad as it first appeared. Mark hacked a place for his tent, and Roger and I set up on top of a big round rock that was mostly flat.
We discovered that the big group was from the Victoria mountain club doing a centennial trip with members from all over the world. I was too tired to walk over to talk so I set up the camp while Roger went to get water and talk to them. I think Mark stayed with me setting up his tent, but really, I was VERY tired and wasn't thinking too well.
We ate dinner without much conversation, as none of us wanted to think about climbing the Hinde the following day. We discovered later than none of us thought we'd have the energy to make it to the top, but we knew we wanted to sleep so we ate, got into bed and didn't talk much before falling into a deep sleep.
