I slept better last night and I woke refreshed. The heather covering the ground around the tent is covered in frost. I notice the tent flaps are frosty as well. I pack my bags and break camp. I realize I am beginning to fall into a routine.
The Umgumu brings coffe at 6:30 am, a bowl of water for washing at 7. You are expected to pack your bags before breakfast as they will start breaking camp as you eat. Liberate says we do not have to roll up or bags but since they go into my duffle bag, I do it anyway. Breakfast is set up by 7:30 and we should leave by 8:30.
After breakfast of fresh fruit, corn porridge (what we would call grits but more finely ground) and an egg, Lisa and I headed off with Liberate. Liberate is a small man full of humor and knowledge. His smile is captivating and contagious: a true Duchenne smile (smiles with his eyes). I firmly believe his pack weighs more than he does. He has climbed Kili over 170 times and I trust him to get us to the top.
Today will be an easier day with only 5 hours or so of hiking. We see evidence of Jackals in the heather. We also come across tracks of buffalo and eland. Liberate sets a brisk pace and well before lunch we are atop Cathedral ridge. The view is spectacular. We take in the view for 15-20 minutes then head down to meet the Umgumu waiting with our backpacks. The trail backtracked so we could relieve ourselves of their burden during the final ascent.
A note on backpacks: if you think "do I need this?" as you are packing, you don't. You begin to resent every ounce in the blasted thing. Mine ended up at my training weight of 25 pounds when my water is full. I am carrying 4.5 liters every day. I cannot transfer anything to my other bag since there are strict rules on their weight. They weigh them every morning.
As we descend from cathedral ridge, Shira 2 camp is less than two hours away. When we arrive about 2 in the afternoon, Mike and June have arrived just before us. We exchange pleasantries over lunch. It appears they may continue on with us tomorrow, but may not after another freezing night. We are at about 12,500 feet in altitude so I will be cold. However, we are on the downside of a ridge so Liberate said it will be warmer tonight than last night on the open plateau. We hiked 10.1 kilometers today, but that does not truly represent the work accomplished as a lot of it was uphill.
I spend the afternoon in camp catching up on this blog since I was too tired last night. I think I will go take a nap before dinner. I have a very mild altitude headache which EJ tells me is normal.
A short nap later, the headache is gone and I awake to a spectacular sunset. The problem with sunsets are the temperature drops rapidly. I donned my down jacket, toque, scarf and gloves and headed for the dinner tent. Everyone was quiet tonight. Mike and June have decided to stay on one more day. The shorter easier day seemed to agree with them. Lisa on the other hand hardly spoke. Upon inquiry, I learned she had gotten sick, but thinks it will pass. Nausea and loss of appetite are symptoms of altitude sickness. Liberate dined with us and tried to keep the conversation going. After we ate we took the health test. My heat rate is 105 and my oxygen is 84% which was higher and lower respectively.
I got two bottles of boiling water and put them in my sleeping bag. I pushed them down near my feet to keep them warm. It was wonderful. I drifted off once again but with Kilimanjaro looming much closer this time. Tomorrow is a six hour hike up to Lava camp.
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