This Saturday marked the official end of DR field research and the beginning of write up time.  On Sunday, our free day, 12 of us went to Lamb’s Range to hike up the mountain.  It was a 12 kilometer hike, with a 6-7 hour estimated return.  The day started out beautifully, if a bit hot.  We chose to start the hike on the less steep side of the mountain in expectation that going down the steeper side would be much more enjoyable than going up it.  The trail had 5 main lookouts along the way.  When we stopped at the first one it was breathtaking.  Since the entire trail was enclosed by vegetation up to this point we had no idea how far up we were, nor how far we could see.  But when we climbed out onto the protruding boulder we could see a jeweled landscape open up below us.  It was amazing.  At the second look out we stopped for lunch.  The fourth look out was arguably the best of the lot.  It opened up out onto a valley, with a slight shelf on the edge of the cliff that was covered in springy moss idea for sitting upon.  There were wild flowers covering the side and a seemingly endless valley of trees below us.  To the right was a huge lake and beyond that Cairns.  To the left we could see the beginnings of the Tablelands.  The return trail was impossibly steep.  I don’t believe it is possible for people to make it up that way.  We slide at least half the way down, it was easier than trying to walk down.  When we reached the bottom we were just over 6 hours and incredibly sweaty, so we stopped at Davey’s Creek on the way out of the park to go for a swim.  Everyone stripped down an jumped in.  The cool water felt wonderful after the long hot hike.  The sun was setting as we drove home, coloring the sky and clouds gorgeous oranges, purples and reds.  As we drove a storm began on the horizon and we watched the lighting send streaks of fire through the clouds, occasionally striking the ground.  One time we saw a fire off the side of the road that must have been the result of a lighting strike.  We had just enough energy by the time we got home to make dinner before all heading off to bed.  It was a most enjoyable, if tiring, day.