This is my favourite for a couple of reasons.
1. I love the mood.
2. I was only there because some friends I was helping let me down. It reminds me what amazing things can happen when things don't go to plan!
I was helping carry a friend's pack for part of day 1 of the OLT. Plan A was that I'd do that as far as Marions Lookout. Plan B was to Kitchen Hut... Plan E was to Waterfall Valley hut, with a turnaround time for me of 5pm at the very latest. The other (strong, fit, healthy) members of the group took off once we started dropping towards Waterfall Valley. I was left alone with the friend who twisted an ankle, was exhausted, and was very, very slow. I was very, very grumpy with the others. In the end, I got to leave WVH just before 6pm. With an extra 5kg or so from one of the others who had taken too much stuff and changed his mind about it.
Finally I decided I could stay cross and not enjoy the walk out, or just take on the challenge and start enjoying it. The latter was a much better choice! Then when the light show started, and I had the whole mountain to myself, I was overwhelmed with gratitude that my friends 'put' me in that situation. I would have missed one of the most stunning evenings of my life if they hadn't taken off and left us in the lurch.