Miles: 7.8 

Total Trail Miles: 462.6 

Ascent/Descent: 2388/407 ft 

Start Time: 13:26 

End Time: 16:45 

Temperature: 19°C (66°F)

Despite not having to get up early I routinely awoke before 6am but enjoyed lazing around in bed in my tent for a while. It has been a warm night so I had slept pretty well too. Eventually I got out of my tent and got my clothes in the wash. Then dressed in the classic rain gear laundry look, me, Beer Slide, Shortcut and Yeehaw went to get breakfast at the local cafe, Ghost was there so he ended up joining us as after last night he seemed keen to nero out of the Oasis with us. After breakfast and my laundry was done I showered so I could get into my clean clothes, then chilled in the hammocks for a while and called Marcus. I then got going my chores before lunch, sewing up a hole in my sock, cleaning things, sorting out my food and packing up. By 1.30 we decided it was probably time to leave. We only intended on doing 8 miles up to the first camping spot on top of the hill, but with heavy packs full of my biggest resupply yet and 3 litres of water for a dry camp those 8 miles seemed enough. I took it slow and easy not wanting the heavy bag combined with the uphill to set off my shins. It ended up being an enjoyable afternoon, the sun was out and it was warm but not too hot, there was the right amount of breeze on the hills and the views of lush green hills and mountains with the backdrop of blue skies and wispy clouds was beautiful. We passed a trail register which I signed and left a note "this one's for your dad" after him being on my mind soo much these last few days. Shortcut must have read it after as I took a break half way up the hill to lay down and watch the clouds for a bit and she joined me and shed a tear at the comment and asked a little about my dad. It has struck a chord with her due to a difficult situation that she has going on with her dad at the moment, we had a bit of a life chat - "on mountain therapy" and it felt good to properly connect and chat about the real stuff. Yeehaw passed by but didn't stop as he could see we were having a proper chat but we eventually cracked on when Laura (now called frog legs) passed. We arrived at the top by 4:45 and set up camp Alina some trees although they provide little wind break on top of the very windy hill. We had a slightly chilly dinner in the wind and quickly retreated into our tents for warmth after.