An hour or so later we were both woken bolt upright by Scout barking ferociously at something like we had never heard him bark before. I tried to ignore it and think of the many things other than large wild animals that could have spooked him. Will however was on edge and had to check things out with the flashlight before laying back down. Strange sounds filled the air but we were tired and sleep came eventually with Scout having retreated under the bed but still growling lowly.
In the morning we knew there was no time to muck around, we planned to walk the full 32km back to the Dodge that day rather than spend another night in the tent. We discussed the nights event over breakfast and Will will always tell the tale more exciting than I will as he’s convinced Scout was barking at something in the woods. After breakfast we packed up and as we were about to boil our second pot of water for drinking when the cooker ran out of gas. Conveniently others had left a propane cooker there so we got that going and despite the long walk ahead I crammed the bag of rubbish I had collected into my backpack. Given all the empty bug sprays and other rubbish lying around I could have easily collected ten bags more so we suggested it to others in the log book. Almost ready to leave we couldn’t help but write our names on the wall before heading outside to get ’the’ photo. The last photo ever taken of Chris was one he took of himself sitting outside the bus, it was later found still undeveloped in his camera along with a number of diaries from his multi year journey. Our photos wouldn’t be quite the same as his was taken in the summer but we got pretty close.
See you on the road to happiness…
Rochelle & Will