"And into the forest I go"

You decide to keep what exactly you found in the crater a secret, for now anyway, you will at least tell them after you get the shuttle back. However, you do inform them about the giant creature you encountered.

As you tell them the tale and describe the strange creature, your party begins to make their way into the forest running along the northern edge of the waterfall and climbs up into the higher elevation the falls originate from.

The trees are relatively sparse, their trunks being thinner and more spread out than the ones due south, The leaves are also closer, you might be able to climb the tree should you so desire.

The ground is covered in may old leaves orange giving way to a rim of deep red, matching the pattern of green and purple of the leaves above.

You look at the hill you are going to have to traverse to get above the falls, to say it was steep was almost an understatement. It was going to be hard work, but you could not delay, every second counted.

"Ok, we are going up the hill," you pointed, letting those behind you know.

"Aw, come on" Rachel groaned.

You began to walk up the steep incline, you find the task surprisingly easy, however, as you look behind you see the others struggling to pull themselves up along the sharp terrain, only hindered by the higher gravity.

You slow down, allowing you to look out for any potential threats they may appear, you keep your weapon at the ready just in case, remembering back to the "grey" ape attack earlier. Letting the others catch up while you keep guard.

"Are we also done?" Yasmin grunts, panting.

You look upwards, you cannot see the top beyond the trees, and you can still hear the waterfall to your left.

"Yeah," you lie.

"Thank you" Yasmin says to the sky, also panting.

You realize that there has to be something you can do to make this easier, you need to find something.