Finally, the "fun" part of the hike!
Yes, Virginia, there are 10 feet between the wooden planks. This revelation changed the entire plan of this section in my mind; for 2 months I kept thinking it was ladder-like. In any case, this was definitely not what I had expected!
Everyone wanted one of these wooden planks to stand on in order to rest our arms so we all surged forward at the same time and then took a short rest. At its steepest point, the grade rose to 45°. The "ripples" in the rock are actually knee-high steps that aren't a whole lot of fun when you're hanging on for dear life.
Suddenly, there appeared about 50 people backed up behind us. Almost there...