Head up the right path

You peer up the stream, trying unsuccessfully to see if there is any other pathway that you can take. You look back up the other path, deciding this might be your best option to rejoin your party mates. You reach down to cup a sip of water in your hands before leaving the stream. Some of it spills onto your bare chest but the cold mountain water is so refreshing that you don't mind. Freshly satisfied, you begin trudging up the path and away from the water source.

Unlike the winding stream, this path is fairly straight, heading directly away from the water and up a slope that is thankfully much less steep than the one you tumbled down earlier. The path still takes much effort to travel up, however, despite the well-worn ground being much more stable than the bank of the stream. At several points you even have to switch to crawling on all fours to safely climb up, grabbing on exposed tree roots for support as you pull yourself along.

You continue up this path for longer than you expected, with the trail climbing higher and higher. You even traverse a few switchbacks in steeper sections. Just as you are considering giving up and turning back, you hear voices up ahead. Could that be your party? You hurry forward as fast as you can, until you reach a small hill you must again get on your hands and knees to crawl up. You can hear them just up ahead - you just need to crest one last ridge and you'll reach it!