Chapter Eight: Take a Hike

Zelda stood in the middle of the group of campers, all of them wearing backpacks and carrying walking sticks and canteens.

"All right, everyone, we've got a really cool hike planned," Zelda said. "We're going to go up and check out the ruins in the foothills, and then we're going to check out some of the waterfall caves. It's going to be really cool." She pointed to a gap in the trees where a trail started to climb up into the hills. A bright blue blaze with a lightning bolt was painted on a tree. "See that blaze there? They're used to help you find your way along the trail. Look for them every couple of trees, and you'll be able to figure out where you're going."

The kids were all excited. But Zelda spotted a few kids who looked a little nervous or uncertain.

"There aren't any bears, are there?" Molli asked.

"You'll see a couple," Zelda said. "But as long as you stick close and wave your arms and make a lot of noise, it won't be a problem."

"My dad fought a bear once," Colin said proudly.

"No he didn't, he tripped over a bear rug and busted his nose!" another boy retorted.

"Did not!

"Did too!"

"Okay, okay, settle down!" Zelda waved her hands for attention. "A few safety rules. Everyone needs to stay on the trail. No going wandering off into the brush, because you don't know what could be lurking in the bushes. Stay with the rest of the group. We're not going to walk too fast. This is a walk in the woods, not a forced march up Death Mountain."

"But I like forced marches up Death Mountain!" Pelison said plaintively. This met with some snickers and eye rolls from some of the other kids.

Zelda hefted her backpack, and made sure she had her compass and her whistle hanging from the chain around her neck. "All right, everyone, let's get going!"

With a big cheer, the group followed Zelda into the woods.

The trail meandered past a stream running down from the mountain, and they crossed over a little stone footbridge. Here and there, there were some moss-covered statues of Nayru and Farore, and one or two little statues of Kokiri.

As they walked, Zelda chatted about the different birds and animals they were going to see, and the different kinds of plants.

"…and there's lots of wildberries down here at this time of year. Grab a handful and snack on them. Oh, but stay away from that one bush with the giant orange berries over there. One bite and you'll be throwing up for hours."

"Cool!" several kids exclaimed. Zelda began to reconsider her warning about throwing up, and she reminded herself to check whether she had the ipecac bottle in the first aid kit in her pack.

Most of the kids helped themselves to the wildberries, and they snacked on them as they continued on the trail.

"Hold up!" Zelda held up her hand. "Everyone, be quiet, I heard something."

There was a rustling in the trees.

"Maybe it's something coming to eat us," Garini wondered out loud - which did nothing to soothe some of the more nervous hikers.

But no. It was a mountain doe and her two fawns. The deer munched on some leaves, stared at the hikers for a moment, and then bounded off through the woods, tails wagging.

The trail continued upwards, along some stone steps into the hills. Some of the kids were getting a little winded, so Zelda made a mental note to slow down. "It's not that much of a climb, but you'll feel it a bit. But don't worry, there aren't many climbs like this."

At the top of the steps, they came out into an overlook on a mountain ledge. A little spring bubbled and gurgled from a fissure in the rocks. And just beyond, the group could see a waterfall plunging down the mountain toward Lake Hylia.

"Sit and rest for a bit, we've got a little more climbing to do. Drink some water." Zelda took a slurp from her canteen. "If you need a refill, that spring over there coming out of the rock - it's safe to drink from."

Several of the kids did need a refill already. They quickly unscrewed the lids off their canteens and used them to scoop up water.

Some of the other kids were standing at the edge of the overlook, taking in the view. Molli had her binoculars glued to her eyes.

"Look, there's the camp!"

"Wow, it got really tiny…"

A falcon soared overhead and flew off, screeching at the top of its lungs.

Once everyone had a chance to rest and take in the view, Zelda led them up another trail, with some more stone steps.

This one took them into a cave that ran behind the waterfall. The cave was cool and dark, and it smelled of moss and wet limestone. The crashing of the waterfall echoed off the cave walls.

At the top of the steps, once they emerged from the cave and onto the summit, sat the ruins of what looked like a small castle.

"Sometimes you get treasure hunters up here," Zelda said. "In these old ruins, you can find lots of cool old stuff, like old weapons, maybe even some gems or jewelry."

The kids began eagerly poking around through the ruins, climbing up into the towers, and peering down an old well in the courtyard.

Zelda sat down on a toppled column so she could check her map.

"Found something!" Finley cheered. "Wow - it's some kind of old knife or something."

"Careful - don't cut yourself!" Zelda cautioned her. "This looks really old. We should take it back to camp with us - maybe someone can tell us how old it is."

Other kids found things like old potion bottles, or little pendants carved from amber or polished agate. These too were added to the collection of things to take back to camp.

"Hey, Zelda, what's that?" Pelison asked, pointing at something.

Zelda looked up to see what Pelison was pointing at. It was a clump of weird purple flowers, with sparkles around them, growing out of a shattered window.

She frowned. Those didn't look like any flowers she'd seen. She got closer to examine them, and…

POOF!

It was loud enough to startle most of the kids into turning to look.

A Korok appeared out of thin air, waving its sprigs of leaves and berries.

"Ya-ha-ha! You found me!"

xLoZx

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