The Good the Bad and the Ugly

The Good

I saw a bear! And it was close, maybe 5 metres away.

This was my number one box to tick for this hike. It seemed unlikely early. I talk too much and when I don't talk, J bangs her sticks together to ensure that the bears hear us first and move on.

The bear was a little fella, about the size of a Labrador. I heard it running though the bush and turned to see it climb a tree, fall down then scamper into the undergrowth.

My response was not what it should have been. I have a history of poor decision making when I get excited. Once I was camping with friends at Tipperary Station on the Daly River (it's full of crocs). We were fishing near a Ford. Macca, also new to the Territory, lands his first Barra but it jumps off the hook and flops to the water. I dived in after his fish. Not the best response.

When I saw the small bear, I should have looked out for it's mum. But excitement took hold and I went for my camera instead (to no avail).

Still, I saw a bear. Box ticked. Now for a rattlesnake.

The Bad and the Ugly

Our site is not supposed to be another FB page of amazing lives. We want to share the good and the bad. An adventure well had is not just Instagram and flattering filters. So, to last night. The worst night so far.

[Warning: shit is about to get explicit. Now would be a good time to quit this blog if you don't want to hear a, frankly, messy tale]

We were exhausted after a 22 mile day, which included two solid climbs and a good deal of sun. It wasn't the toughest day, but it was the worst I'd felt at camp.

After soup, dinner and hot chocolate, I began to feel nauseated. Bad sign. I'd already suffered diorea that evening. We went to bed, but I kept the zipper close to hand, ready for a quick exit. The portents were accurate. After about an hour I was up and out of the tent bent over a log; soup, dinner and hot chocolate became detritus across the campsite. 500 beautiful, vital calories gone.from my body in a very unflattering manner.

After the tough day and the violent expulsion of necessary energy, I was exhausted. So too J, who'd passed out asleep while I stayed awake, waiting for the next round to come. And it did. Again and again, all night long, everything I'd consumed that day coming out all ends...you get the picture. At the lowest point, I was so drained that I had to crawl out of bed. I couldn't stand without falling, so I crawled across the campsite, thongs on hands, to my log. This time it was diorea. When I'd finished, I stood up and immediately fell forward to the ground, pants at the knees. I might have passed out, can't be sure. I lay there, on the ground, pants still at my knees, until I could muster the energy to crawl to the toilet paper and wipe up. I can only imagine what the bears in the woods, watching me, we're thinking.

The next morning I 'woke up', having had zero sleep, dehydrated and no form of energy in my stomach at all. While J decamped, I slowly dressed and began convincing myself I could do the 8 miles to town, food and a bed. With J's help, I got there.

Dehydrated and without an appetite or any guarantee anything I ate would stay eaten, I drank coke and ate dry crackers while J tucked into pancakes and bacon. We have a 'zero' day tomorrow (a day off), hopefully I'll bounce back before we hit the trail again.

How did this happen? My list of suspects are these: the dodgy looking berry J picked and fed to me (yes, Into The Wild played in my head for much of the night), dodgy water (we didn't filter our water in Washington), poor hygiene (mine or someone I came in to contact with) or dehydration/exhaustion. Things to improve on.