Not too bad a night's sleep all things considered, mainly because I was in a deep sleep until about 1.00am. Then I woke up and hid under the blanket with my phone, watching the BBC text updates on the England v Norway quarter-final.
Steve was doing exactly the same thing on his bunk.
Unfortunately, the game went to extra time, but thankfully Jude Bellingham scored his second of the match and we held on to win 2-1.
That meant it was now 1.50am, but I eventually managed to fall back into a deep sleep until around 5.30am.
Tash wasn't particularly happy with me.
Apparently every time I moved, the whole bed moved, and she was on the top bunk. She said she wanted to throw things at me and that it was her worst night's sleep of the whole trek.
Ah well. I can't help it if I can't get comfortable!
We were awake bright and early for breakfast at 6.30am, got everything packed and then caught the 7.15am bus. We wound through the hills and lower meadows for about 50 minutes before reaching the end of the line.
Most of us snoozed along the way. The driver was a bit of a character and was really helpful, getting out and helping everyone with their bags.
We got ourselves sorted and then set off.
The first hour was downhill, which made a nice change and was a good warm-up for the day. Then it merged into the uphill slog.
And this seemed to go on forever.
We stopped after about an hour for a drink and some snacks and Manu pointed out where we were heading.
It looked daunting.
And it was.
Quite quickly I ended up at the back and, unusually, even Kathy had gone ahead of me. What I hadn't realised was just how badly Victor was struggling. He was miles behind me, which is incredibly unusual for him.
He clearly hasn't been his normal self today. He seemed to have absolutely no energy, and later he slept in his bed in the dorm for two hours before dinner and then went straight to bed after eating.
Hopefully he'll be okay tomorrow.
Back to the walking...
The second hour seemed to drag and drag. At one point I was a bit worried because there were a couple of route options, but thankfully I'd chosen correctly and Kathy and I eventually made it to the café.
We'd ordered our food the day before, so I had salami and bread, which was great. Although with the heat and the amount of water I'd been drinking, I wasn't particularly hungry.
Still ate the lot though!
The views overlooking the valley were amazing. There was this hidden city sitting down in a huge U-shaped valley and it looked fantastic from where we were.
After lunch we got ourselves ready to move on and thankfully there was only another 15 minutes of uphill before we reached the top.
Then...
Two hours of downhill.
Much more my sort of thing!
We trudged along as normal and, as always, the group gradually split up as everyone found their own pace and rhythm. I was near the back, just ahead of Ang and Tong.
We passed loads of people on mountain bikes, all of them pushing their bikes uphill.
I have to admit I'm not entirely sure of the point of it. Going downhill at any sort of speed would surely be impossible on this terrain.
But it's up to them, I suppose!
After about an hour we reached the shop we'd been told about. Bought a Coke, sat down and rested for a while before cracking on for the final 45 minutes.
Again, all downhill, and it was actually lovely to be in a world of my own for a while and think about all sorts of things. I even tried making some notes on my phone while walking without falling over.
I managed it.
More mountain bikers were coming uphill, along with plenty of other hikers, and before too long we could see our accommodation for the night, miles away down in the valley.
It actually didn't take us too long to get there.
We checked in and found ourselves in another eight-bed dorm, but this one was excellent.
The beds, room, showers and toilets were all brilliant. It was the complete opposite of some of the places we've stayed in.
If only the other dorms had been this quality, the trek would have been absolutely amazing.
It already is, obviously, but this sort of "luxury" would have been the icing on the cake.
Tash and I couldn't be bothered to queue for a shower straight away, so we grabbed a couple of beers and relaxed in the hammocks, taking in the surroundings.
Steve came down and we played Cornhole – the bean-bag throwing game – and he beat me.
Good fun.
Had another drink, then eventually went and showered and got ourselves sorted.
Back downstairs, I bought a round for those who were around and we sat chatting and relaxing in the shade of the trees. It was a lovely hour or so, just chilling out and gradually finding out more about everyone's lives away from the trek.
At 6.45pm we went in for dinner.
Another drink.
Four pints for me tonight.
I don't mind though!
Dinner was excellent – probably the best yet – and once again we all chatted and enjoyed the evening.
Except Victor, as I've mentioned already. Such a shame he's not feeling himself.
After dinner some people went off to bed, but it was only 8.00pm and far too early for some of us.
Steve and I renewed our Cornhole rivalry.
To absolutely no avail.
He thrashed me.
Meanwhile Manu, Tash and Ching had gone off for a wander to the pink church.
When they came back, we played the two girls against me and Steve at Cornhole, with Manu sitting there watching us all with amusement.
We won the first game, but the last one was 10-9 to us.
Very exciting.
Very competitive.
And completely ridiculous when you think about it. It's amazing how even the simplest game can bring out everyone's competitive side!
Eventually we called it a day and went to bed around 9.30pm.
I stayed up for a while doing my diary and listening to music before finally turning in at around 10.30pm.
End of Day Summary
What a great day.
The ascents were really hard work today. That long climb in particular felt like it went on forever and I was struggling towards the back, but I got there.
And that's becoming the thing I'm taking from this trek.
I might be slow. I might be right at the back sometimes. I might look like I'm about to collapse when everyone else seems to be strolling along happily...
But I get there.
And once you're standing there looking down into these enormous valleys and across the mountains, you realise it's completely worth every sweaty, painful step.
The downhill sections are definitely more my thing, and being able to just wander along at my own pace for a couple of hours today was actually really enjoyable.
The other big thing is the group. We're now properly comfortable with each other, and the evenings are becoming as enjoyable as the walking. The Cornhole rivalry is getting slightly ridiculous, but it's brilliant fun.
Hopefully Victor is okay tomorrow because he's definitely not himself today.
And we've now got just a couple of days left.
We're getting there. 🏔️
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