Location: Little Harbor, Jost van Dyke
Wooooo, baby, was this one a rough one! First things first, Today was Hike day, baby. WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO YEAHHHHHHH BABYYYYYY LET’S GOOOOOOOOO.
Now that that is out of my system, The hike did suck just as much as it did last year. The premise for the hike is to reach the top point on Tortola, Mt. Sage. It is a 3.5-mile hike, with the first mile going straight up a big steep road that really tests your ankles. Luckily this year, it was pouring rain, and the uphills were soggy, and the downhills were slippery. I was drowning in sweat while also literally drowning in freshwater showers. I convinced two and a half people (Syd was the half) to play a game of where’s Gabe? With Gabe from the event horizon. Anytime Gabe was spotted, the two and a half people were required to lose our minds. When I reached the top, I was told I was the 13th person to reach the summit of the mountain. This was strange, as I was actively having a heart attack throughout the whole experience, and I knew I was farther behind. The storm apparently discombobulated the hikers causing mass hysteria. Many people were never seen again. After the hike, The boat was allowed to enjoy long wait times for food while floating in shoe puddles. Did you know that although it was most prevalent in the First World War, Trench Foot is also a common problem amongst action quest campers? Neither did we until today!
Back on the Mere Cat, we were greeted with the pleasant reminder that we had to complete our dive theory review portion of the divemaster workbook. We all bonded over learning of simple diving concepts, such as pressured-based chemistries, the relationship between absolute pressure, density, and volume, the common problems that arise amongst poorly maintained gear, the inert pressure in dissolved oxygen, and my personal favorite: Decompression Illness. While the majority of us worked on the fun part of diving, Claire, Syd, Maddy, and Ava got to do the boring bits, actually diving. Maddy and Ava got ocean porcupine quilled, while Claire and Syd were the only ones who saw a Dolphin.
The most exciting part of the day is not but a few moments away. Sidney’s Peace and Love. Where everyone leaves with one more shirt than they arrived with. One of the last barbecues of the trip. We have been looking forward to this for the entire trip. Anything can happen tonight. Maybe another mosh will get shut down by mike? Perhaps Ash will get his hair braided? Most likely, someone will get injured again.
In the meantime, I shall sit here and ponder possible outcomes
Aidan D.