3:30 AM – Burning throat and ears. I’m burning up. Fever is so hot. Hallucinating. Should I get up and see Matt and Jasmin? Did I already get up and see them or was that a dream?

4:00 AM – I can’t think straight. My fever is hotter. Forgetting where I am. Keep drifting off and waking up within seconds forgetting that I am sick and that I am in a tent. I contemplate death as an option.

5:00 AM – Did I talk to Matt and Jasmin I can’t remember. My dreams, hallucinations and reality are blurred beyond distinction. I think I haven’t slept but I don’t remember the last hour. The fever is pounding through my body.

7:00 AM – Can’t talk. Get out of bed. Fever still burns. My throat and ears are infected and in great pain. My body is trying to fight the infection with everything is has…..unfortunately it doesn’t have much after 3 days of hard hiking. I feel like I’m dying. Darn Amanda for bringing SARS on the trip.

Amanda is from Ottawa. She is a programmer for a domain registration company. Of all people Amanda is the least outdoorish. She is holding her own though. On Day 2 she fell ill with the same symptoms. She just recovered yesterday. It’s her fault I’m sick.

Today we are to pack up camp at Sandbag Lake and head for an unnamed lake. It’s roughly a four kilometer hike. Shouldn’t take us too long we think. We pack up camp and get ready to go. I can hardly stand up let alone carry my pack and walk up and around mountains. I managed to squeak out that I’m sick to Matt and Jasmin. Other than that I say nothing, which is very odd for me.

My day consists of concentrating on each and every step. I keep up but just barely. To make matters much worse, the terrain is unforgiving. Matt and Jasmin appear concerned and worried over the amount of terrain we’re not covering. The micro-terrain is killing us. We have scouts out front constantly searching for the best path. Despite the scouts we end up in a couple of dead end situations where we need to back track to move on. Brutal. Lunch sucks. I eat in silence.

It is sunny and hot, which is not good when you have a fever. I am trying to drink as much water as possible but my throat is roaring with pain. Matt and Jasmin eventually take charge and start running ahead of the group to find the best path. They have as much of a problem with route finding as we do. We scurry and skim through little paths with huge scary drops. The moving is extremely slow. Just when I’m about to give up and call for a chopper evacuation, somehow, I think by the grace of God, Vero Super hands me a cold orange. We’ve been in the woods 5 days and she has a cold orange?! She is the pinnacle of an outdoors person.

Can we make it? Matt and Jasmin ask us what we think at a regular watering up break. Some thing we can……others, like me. Think we can’t. Thankfully because of Outward Bound Policy the chickens always win. For safety reason we always use the lowest common denominator for decisions. I play my sick trump card and we agree to camp early. We find a nice little lake and set up camp. I’m on Latrine……..That means I have to dig a whole for everyone to crap in……I do it and go back to my tent. Digging a crap hole when you’re sick is I think the absolute worst thing anyone can ever have to do! We eat supper and I head to bed immediately. My head is pounding.

Unfortunately we’re not allowed any drugs on the trip other than Advil. Jasmin gives me an “Emergen – C” a disgusting vitamin C boosting mix. I chug it down, close my eyes and pretend it is neo-citran. Sleep comes painfully slow.

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