Thankfully, the new hiking boots I bought for the big day were comfortable enough. Since we had taken two chairlifts UP the mountain, most of the hike was downhill. I hurt my knee throughout the day and it bothered me quite a bit for the next two weeks. Now (over 5 weeks later) it's fine.
I'm glad I did the hike... but I'm not really yearning to do it again anytime soon. I usually enjoy a 3-hour hike or so, not really 10 hours! Troppo! (Too much!)
39 ninth graders and a 10-hike... GO!
One of the guides taking a group photo of us (his photo is the one after):
The group!
Not sure if you can see it in the photo above but atop each mountain peak, there is a cross. Each cross is different and even made of different materials. We took the photo standing around the cross.
Below, we are marching to our lunch spot. Top of a mountain, 360-degree view!
(We may have been the group of stragglers and Gunther, in the middle, was pulling us all along the final steps!)
I had a bad cold all week and was really feeling it the day of the hike.
It was tough to keep the kids going while I wasn't feeling up to par myself.
I took a much needed nap after eating lunch. :P
Just. Stunning.
(Ok, maybe I would do this hike again. Ha!)
Almost to the refugio! (There are refuges along hikes, where you can get a bike to eat, sit and rest, and even spend the night at some.) We enjoyed a rest and some snacks before the final decent to get to the bus.
We did it! We were all exhausted by the end of the day. Some students soaked their feet into the cold water of a stream while waiting for the bus. They were already worried (and complaining) about the "Night Hike" scheduled for the next evening. I felt the same! Haha. In the end, it was worth it and we all bonded along the way.
You did it! What an accomplishment!
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