I woke quite a few times to sounds in the jungle or a cold breeze that required adjustment to the sleeping bag. It drops into the low 40's at night at this altitude so it feels very chilly. The rental bag is rated to -15 degrees so I was warm as long as I did not shift so the covers opened. I left the sleeping bag unzipped a bit as not to overheat. I heard that these bags will do that if it is not really cold. As dawn broke the monkeys began their morning symphony. The birds joined in shortly followed by the sounds of humans stirring in the camp. I rose and dressed before coffee which was expected at 6:30. The warmth and the smell and the taste of the coffee was wonderful. One of the waiters brings a tray to your tent and prepares it at the door. It was most welcome after sleeping (or almost sleeping) on the ground the first night.
The porters break camp as we set off, then pack everything off to the next location. On the long days, some of the porters wait at an intermediate point with a tent set up for us to eat in. Thomson Safaris does a great job of making us feel a bit pampered, especially compared to the other groups surrounding us. Never take chairs for granted! They are such a nice reprieve after a long hike. All the other groups seem to use the ground or a big rock.
This morning we departed the forest camp later than planned at about 8:50am. It turned out to be sort of a blessing since it meant we had the trail all to ourselves. The pace was slow and difficult we we expected to hike 7.9 miles up to 11,499 feet. It is hot as we pass through forest into moorland. The amazing flora surrounding us contained many bright blossoms. The most interesting was the Impatiens Kilimanjaro. It is a tiny red blossom and the underside looked like an elephants trunk.
There were dozens of other flower species around. One of the flowers we pass is known as the everlasting flower and is considered by many to be a symbol of Kilimanjaro. They used to give a flower to every person that made the summit successfully, but conservation in the park prohibits picking them now.
We saw monkeys in the trees feeding peacefully in the heat of the day as we progressed excruciatingly slow. We stopped far too often and once lunchtime had come and gone we were still far from the lunch camp. Liberate motioned to Lisa, then to me and signaled for us to follow him. We passed the rest of the group and began to set a more brisk pace.
We arrived at lunch late, but once there we ate heartily. The fried pork was wonderful. We had fresh fruits and juices. The gluten free bread lacks a lot of taste and has a texture resembling set mortar. About the time we finished eating, Mike and June's group caught up. We decided to stay on the faster pace so EJ came with us while Liberate stayed with the others. Once again we set a brisk pace but the climb was tough. EJ pointed out a red hot poker flower. I took one shot and my camera battery died...Yikes.
We crested the very next ridge and for the first time we saw her from the trail: Kilimanjaro looming in the distance. We snapped a few shots with Lisa's camera and headed towards Shira 1 camp.
We arrived just before sunset. I quick ran into the tent and grabbed the solar charging battery. I pumped juice into the camera while I bathed. The porters or Umgumu (Swahili for strong man) bring you a large bowl of warm water when you reach camp and have settled in just a bit. The warm sponge bath is so welcome since I am coated from head to toe in a thick layer of volcanic dust. I put on my camp clothes and grabbed the camera for a few shots of Kili at sunset.
The evening turns very chilled and Mike, June and Liberate arrive as the sun set. It was a long hike day and everyone is weary. We all ate a little dinner and waited for the evening health check. My heat rate was 91 and my oxygen saturation was 93. These were a little better than the previous night so Liberate checked my pulse to make sure it was reading right. I had avoided the evening coffee due to the high heart rate and troubled sleep the previous night. I told him I had just studied harder for the test this night.
Then we were asked what route we wanted the next day: the easy one (straight to the next camp) or past cathedral rock (a longer more strenuous hike). Mike and June chose the easy hike as they were both suffering terribly and talking of evacuation. Liberate convinced them to not decide until the next camp which is closest to the evacuation point. Lisa voted for the longer hike and I agreed. So tomorrow the team splits up again. We are all exhausted so we retire to our tents. The night is bitterly cold and I am so tired I can barely unroll my sleeping bag and crawl in.
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