To read part four of day ten, click here.

We had to go back the way we had just come? Now that wasn’t fair. I before turning and moving to the side, letting Katie pass me. I looked behind me before walking off, waving to Rebecca, knowing that it wouldn’t be long before I was the one being left alone.

A couple of minutes later, Katie stopped walking.

“Brett, this is your campsite. Good luck!”

Luke waved at me as he and Katie walked off, leaving me alone. As soon as they were out of sight I sat down in the small clearing they had left me in, determined not to cry, but already missing the constant companionship.

I decided that I was going to get to work on my tarp first, so if it decided to rain I would be ready. I couldn’t really see the sky from where I was, and I didn’t want to be caught by surprise. The clouds had been starting to turn grey, so I knew it was going to happen eventually.

Looking around the small clearing to try and find a good spot for my tarp was difficult. It was a small clearing, just big enough for my tarp on one side, and a small area for me to sit on the other. It was surrounded by rhododendron trees, the trail on one side, and the river on the other side.

Katie had said that I was allowed to go down to the river, as long as I stayed right next to my campsite. I decided that I would go down and wash myself off, as soon as I was done with my tarp and my mailbox. I couldn’t wait to spend a lot of time in the water!

I pulled the tarp and para-cord from my backpack. I untangled the cords, wondering how many I had. There were four. I grimaced as I realized that it wasn’t going to be enough for the corners and the top. I thought about it for a minute before I started searching for some straight sticks. If I could find a couple of sturdy ones, I could drive them through the loops to hold my tarp down.

The only problem was, I couldn’t find any suitable sticks.

Click here to read the next part of Day Ten.

*Everything here is from my own memory and may not be correct. Outward Bound is not responsible for anything I post here. Thanks too NCOBS for letting me use their photos.*