It had taken us two and a half hours to hike down from the trail head. During that time, we had descended 1600 feet. It was now time for the ascent.
Obviously this was going to be more work, and it was going to take us longer than on the way down. The problem was that it was late afternoon, and a return trip of three hours (or worse, three and a half) would put us on the trail after dark. I was muttering out loud.
“We’ll be fine,” Trudy said.
You must understand, that fairness and industriousness are only two of Trudy’s many attributes that make me count my blessings every day. Boundless optimism is another. So here she was, being herself.
“We’ll be fine.”
I kept my thoughts mostly to myself.
And in the event, it did not rain on the way out. Drops were still dripping from the canopy of the rain forest over us. And from the state of the trail, it had clearly rained very hard while we were enjoying out snacks along the cliffs. But it was raining no more, and we were able to unzip our jackets as we trudged uphill.
Not only was there no more rain, but we had no slips or falls, and to our surprise (and to my relief), climbing back up the rocky and wet dirt trail proved much easier than the hike down. We made very good time, and in only an hour and a half, we emerged from the jungle at the dirt lot where we had parked our car.
We were tired. When we got in the car after changing out of our hiking boots, we both sighed and just sat there silently for several minutes catching our breath. But was still daylight. And it was indeed, as Trudy fearlessly predicted, fine.