...more than a couple of hours," replies the inexplicably cheery, pony-tailed girl in the red baseball cap.

"Going down is a lot easier," adds her equally chipper companion, sipping at the straw that curls beneath his arm and into his back-mounted water-hydration system.

We have spent the past four hours and 17 minutes climbing. The cramp in my left thigh, combined with the knowledge that this trek is far from over, gives me the sudden, evil urge to push these smiling hikers down the trail.

Instead, I haul myself up and slump deflated on a mossy tree trunk. Ponytail Girl gives me an encouraging smile as she deftly steps around me and my pack.

"Dig deep," she says. "It's worth it."

We are slowly, painfully, making our way up to Lake Lovely...

NOTE: All illustrations and photos have been removed from this article.



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