- After putting four of the empty sploosh jars in the sunflower seed sack, Stanley and Zero head off toward the mountain. Zero is weak and suffering from stomach cramps (ick), but he uses the shovel he took when he ran away from camp to help him walk. Determined and resourceful to boot!
- As they walk, the boys think about who Mary Lou might have been, and they work on Zero's spelling skills. They're a pretty encouraging team, that's for sure.
- Stanley wonders when he'll start to feel sick from the sploosh that he drank. He worries about his parents, and how they'll never know what happened to him if he dies – how worried and sad they'll be.
- As the two boys get closer, the terrain gets more difficult. At one point, Stanley has to lift Zero up onto a ledge, and Zero helps Stanley climb up after him, bloodying his hands on the shovel in the process.
- This is no leisurely day hike.