We made it to the top!

 
After weeks of planning and postponing, but really more postponing than planning, the guys and I finally got our acts together to go on what seems to be our annual hiking adventure. Last year it was Wasps and Waterfalls, so this year we decided to forego the waterfalls for views from the top. This year, Thanksgiving fell on a Sunday giving us a long weekend perfect for reflection, relaxation and adventure. Our first task? Find Welcome Stone in Rose Hill, St. Patrick.
 
Many adventurers before us successfully found Welcome Stone and flooded our Facebook and Instagram feeds with gorgeous vistas filled with perfect shades of blue and green. Naturally we wanted to find it too, but there was one problem… we are, without a doubt, the island’s worst adventurers. We got to Rose Hill without any problems, but then had to get directions for the road that would bring us to the Stone. We followed the never-ending concrete road up the mountain until a chain and sign – “No Vehicles Allowed. Pedestrians OK” – prompted us to continue our journey on foot. So we parked, and started the slow climb up the mountain.
 
Ok, so I may be exaggerating the steepness of the mountain a little. It really wasn’t that bad, but for me at least there were two factors at play. The first was that despite it being overcast so there wasn’t a blazing hot sun to compete with, it was disgustingly humid. Within minutes we were drenched. The second was that my ears were blocked from a bad ear infection, so the higher we climbed the more uncomfortable I felt. 
 
It took us about fifteen minutes to get to the top of the hill, but at the top wasn’t the view we’d seen on Instagram, but a mini construction site and a small monitoring station of sorts. We got past the construction and the view didn’t match the photos. Jamin scaled a rock and the view still wasn’t what we were searching for. Gary and Gaurav went through the bush, one to the left and the other straight ahead, and they still couldn’t find Welcome Stone. We were almost ready to concede defeat when I was finally able to convince the guys to call a friend for help (pssh, men).
 
Turns out that the path that Gary was on was indeed the correct one, but he had missed the track that led down the hill. We resumed our search, and were soon on the right path towards Welcome Stone. When we finally emerged from the bush, I couldn’t believe how incredible the view was. Even though it was overcast, and the sky was grey not blue, it was still breathtaking. Fun from the Stone Fact: Levera Pond kinda looks like a heart. Who knew?

The view from Welcome Stone!

Group selfie from the rock! Thanks Gaurav 🙂

 
So by now you’re probably thinking that compared to the wasp attack from last year, this year’s adventure was pretty uneventful. Wrong. When we got back down the hill hot, sweaty, and hungry, Gaurav realized that we had a problem. His van has keyless entry and he couldn’t open the doors.
 
“Stop messing around and open the doors,” we said. “I would if I could,” he said.
 
We checked his bag — no fob thing. He checked his pockets — no fob thing but a hole in his pocket. By this time it was already starting to get dark, and his sister, who had the spare fob, was at home an hour and a half away from where we were. I wasn’t about to climb back up the hill, so I stayed put while the guys went searching for the missing fob thing. Meanwhile mosquitoes the size of dragonflies started attacking me, and I wondered how I would convince my Dad to come rescue me at the top of a hill on the other end of the island, because there was noooo way Gaurav was going to find that fob thing.
 
A few years ago I wrote about the random adventure gods being ever in my favour when I won with tickets to the White House Tree Lighting. I think they were back in business for this trip because even in the fading light Gaurav found the fob thing on the ground in the one spot that wasn’t covered by leaves. I don’t think I’ve ever been as excited as I was to see a car door open when Gaurav walked up to the van and opened the door. See ya later mutant mosquitoes! We jumped in and headed home.
 
Adelphi Waterfall and the great 2014 wasp attack? – Check
Welcome Stone and the missing fob thing of 2015? Check.
 
Hopefully we won’t wait an entire year for the next mis adventure.