Back to our beautiful campsite on Moke Lake, and with quite a bit of sunlight left, Jordan’s urge to climb the unnamed mountain just couldn’t be contained. Challenged to make it to the top, we took off up the hill, dogging thorn bushes and crusted sheep poo. (YUK!)

Beautiful Moke Lake 

About two thirds of the way up I waived the white flag and decided to end my climb. Jordan, determined to hit the top ridge, trekked on in the evening sunlight.

Making our way up the un-named mountain 

Making my way back down the mountain, I felt a bit like a sheep as I zigzagged my way down along the traverse, trying to minimize the steep decline. Stopping to check his progress I lost sight of him over a ridge but continued to check every few steps.

Jordan close to the top (but it appears like he is at the top!) 

Once I reached the bottom I searched for movement in the distance, hoping to see where he had progressed but failed to locate him (no thanks to his camouflage clothes). After about 30mins with no sight of him, and just one faint reply to my several calls of his name, the worry started to settled in a bit. Running through the various scenarios in my head – climb up after him? Yell for help? Call a chopper?

Deciding to make a run back up the hill to get closer, I yelled out and thankfully he finally yelled he was on his way down and eased my imagination. Excited with his accomplishments he described the sketchy sections he climbed in an attempt to reach the top. With just a few meters away though, the last couple steps were just too risky which resulted in him making the tough decision to turn around and descend safety back down (thank god! – sorry Jeanette I promise I won’t let him out of my sight again!)

This is just how close Jordan got to the top! 

With a clear sky and no forecast for rain, Jordan setup his camera to capture a beautiful time lapse of the stary sky. What a view of the Milky Way!