an experience

I feel bush-bashed and bush-battered.

I wouldn't describe it as fun. It was the hardest thing I have ever done, traversing 25km through the dense rainforest was tough, and add to that the constant effort of pushing aside and dodging spiky vines and ferns, pushing through thick scrub, scrambling to get under dead tree trunks, stepping on slippery boulders to cross creeks and sliding down steep rock faces,  whilst carrying a tent, sleeping bag and food. 

At one stage, the ground was covered by dead leaves, sloped quite steeply, and we were holding onto one tree at a time as we moved ahead to prevent us from rolling downwards. 

Without paths, every step required preliminary assessment. I was not careful enough, as I expended my energy just keeping up with the others. My legs constantly hit into logs, which were hidden under ferns. Spikes of branches and vines caressed my arms. On one occasion, in order to get through some staggered rocks, I had to descend from a higher rock face to another below. I clung onto the crevices of the rock and lowered my feet. My landing foot missed the surface of the lower rock, I lost my balance, and my bodyweight swung my other leg into the vertical surface of the rock above.     

It was my first experience of the rainforest as unforgiving, or rather, as having a dark sense of humour, which requires a taxing level of mental and physical strength to handle. At times, I felt like a weakling engulfed in a maze...exhaustion sets in, yet the hurdles are endless, and the end is not in sight.