We didn't get up too early, but not too late. It had rained, but it wasn't raining when we got up. Still, it looked like nasty weather could come at any moment, so we ate breakfast, packed up and started down.
It took about 3 hours to get to Arnica Lake with minimal rests. We then took a nice long break at Arnica preparing ourselves for the long brutal walk DOWN to the car - at least we knew the trail was good. It still had not rained, so we were in good spirits, but the previous 7 days left us with little energy.
At our Arnica Lake break, we talked about REAL food, DRY clothes and at Kye Bay a HOT SHOWER and a REAL bed. We all missed our families too, but really, stopping the pain was a priority.
We made it to the car in something under 7 hours from camp. At this point we felt like hell, and probably looked that way too. I had to drive, and I could hardly stay awake on the road. After a few close calls, survival woke me up and I was able to focus better. Roger and Mark just wanted me to get to our traditional end of hike lunch spot in Cumberland.
We got big lunches, call the girls at Kye Bay, and before we knew it were dumping our packs into our houses saying hello to family and figuring out how quickly a shower could be had.
We were exhausted, but it was a successful trip and we were all very happy!
A celebration dinner followed and we got a good nights rest.
