The path to the signal hut

We were walking across the moor to inspect an old signal hut after several days of rain. Water had softened the paper map, and the fold showing the final junction tore as I opened it. Mist concealed the wooden marker posts until we were almost beside them. Long stretches of the path were waterlogged, and our boots sank deeply into the peat. At the stream, a split plank had left a gap in the narrow footbridge. Before we reached the far bank, one of the shoulder straps on my rucksack snapped.

Describe the difficulties of reaching the signal hut. You may support your points with brief quotations.