Our Assault on a Big Pointy Rock and Why We Had To Go Back The Next Day Again

July 4^th-5^th : Saturday and Sunday

Saturday we poured the last concrete slab in the morning and then went for a hike in the afternoon. left around 1:30 headed past the clinic up towards Mt. Kadam. Our goal: climb the rocky peak two miles into the valley. The Team: Dan (Badger), Tim (Panda), Johan (Lizard), Jim(racoon), and I (cobra). We followed a trail back into the valley and up the ridge. We circled around the other side of the peak and approached it from behind. Sneak attack. Never saw us coming. We had to climb up some rocks and we found some caves. I also found a scorpion. Itried to kill him and I lost a scorpion. Little scary. We then hiked towards the peak cutting across a little valley and up the back of the ridge. After some more scrambling and rock climbing we made it to the top around 4:00. An amazing view. After hanging around up top and talking for a bit we decided to walk down the south-west side of the mountain. We beat a path through tall grass and thorns tell we finally reached the bottom and some actual paths. I need to buy a panga, a machete, in Namalu if we keep going on hikes and deciding to off-road it. 

We arrived back around 6:30. that night for dinner we made tacos. Emily made tortillas which were incredibly delicious. We made meat and fried vegetables, onions, peppers, mushrooms. Also we shredded cabbage and graded cheese and cut tomatoes. Jim made some really yummy hot sauce. A really good meal.

The next morning before church Jim comes up to me and tells me of his woe. Yesterday I may have accidentally dropped his backpack about 25 down a rock cliff. Well we retrieved it and his camera worked and all was forgiven but Jim couldn’t find his key ring this morning with all the clinic and house keys. To add insult to injury his toilet handle broke off this morning. So after church Jim and I went on a search and rescue mission looking for his lost keys. Never leave a man behind. It took us 2 ½ hours of hard hiking there and back again but we found them and returned at 2:30. just in time for July fourth dinner. Homemade buns and hotdogs, some incredibley good beans, spicy and flavorful, and watermelon. I also had a Moonberg which might be my favorite beer so far.