The Up's and Down's of Mt. Kilimanjaro - Part 5

9 February 2016, Tuesday

Day 2

Machame Camp – Shira Plateau

6hrs hiking, about 7km

Star: 2890m (9776ft), End: 3840m(12 600ft)

It’s 01:00. It feels as if I have been asleep for ages, but it has only been 5 hours. It is raining, and I need to use the bathroom. There is no way I’m getting out of my sleeping bag and going out into the cold.

04:00.

Maybe I should go pee. No, now it’s pouring with rain. I should have gone earlier when it was a gentle drizzle.

06:00.

I may as well get up and pack.

06:30.

Who would have thought it would take me 30 minutes to pack a duffle bag. Tonight I will have everything packed up and ready before I go to sleep.

Today my muscles are a little tender, but I was expecting worse!

Breakfast is water, coffee, milo, bread with peanut butter and honey, oats, mini-omelette and a pork sausage. Mmmm!

We are geared up and on the way by 08:30. Yesterday I climbed in shorts, but today I opted for my long pants with zip-off shorts for if I get too hot. This way I can also use my gaiters and keep the mud and stones out of my boots.

 

New day, new terrain. Slippery rocks to get the morning started!

Right off the bat, the climb was up, up, up.

Instead of ‘stairs’ made of mud and logs, we clambered over hundreds of rocks, some of which were huge. My thighs ached and my knees weren’t too stoked about the business, but my shoulders were almost happy; either I had somehow managed to pack and adjust my bag perfectly, or my shoulders were now used to the load.

 

Can you see the other climbers? We still had a long way to go!

To be honest, I don’t remember much of that day’s climb.

One foot in front of the other, sip water from my camelbak often, drink Rehidrat at every rest stop.

Pole Pole, slowly slowly.

Look up, find the other climbers through the cloud, realise what still has to be climbed. Take a breath. Steady myself with the hiking poles. Pick a line over the rocks. Go.

They say that in life, you shouldn’t look back; always look ahead and focus on what is to come. But out here, looking back gave us the most astonishing view of mountains and trees and sky and cloud, and we could see just how far we had come. Literally.

I felt on top of the world as wisps of cloud rolled past me, and I hadn’t even reached the Roof of Africa yet.

On top of the world! And this is only day 2!

 

Looking back, the camp is somewhere down there.

...Some hours of climbing later...

The wind has picked up and we are in the cloud. I am cold and my muscles ache, but as soon as I put on another layer, I want to die of heat. Breathing is become more difficult. Pole Pole.

I focus on moving forward, no matter how slowly, and I listen.

I listen to my breathing, the crack of hiking poles on stones, and the crunch of gravel and squelch of mud beneath hiking boots.

I am taking breaks more often.

How much further to the camp?

1 and a half hours.

We will stop for snacks soon; there is an area nearby where we will shielded from the wind.

Okay… I carry on.

...A while later...

We have snacks in a half-cave type place on the side of the ridge we have been climbing. The guides give us juice and chocolate and biscuits. My body rejoices.

Not long, then you can have a hot lunch.

Music to my ears!

After eating, I descend a bit to find a tree. Every tree is lavatory (lava-tree). Business done, I am a little too eager to clamber back up the rocks, my body not used to not having a 5-8kg backpack weighing it down. I reach the others, breath coming in wheezes.

“Go on, I’ll catch up when I catch my breath.”

Pole Pole.

...Nearing the camp...

It’s getting better. Only one section of hectic rocks left, then we hit a plateau. My breathing has calmed. My thighs ache.

And then, we see the multi-coloured sea of tents. Home. We have survived almost 6 hours of uphill hiking. We have reached the Shira Plateau.

Hot food is ready for us. Cucumber soup, tuna salad and fruit. I glug down my Milo, warming up quickly.

I don’t know how I feel… not sore, but stiff. Not tired, but drained. A faint headache comes and goes. The air is thin and cold.

After a good old wetwipe-wash, we headed off to an outcrop of rocks near our campsite. Less than a 30 minute walk away, we passed the caves where the porters and guides used to sleep; in the past they weren’t issued with tents or even sleeping bags, and all slept in the cave around a fire.

It was nice to walk with just a water bottle in hand, rather than a fully-laden backpack.

At the top of the rocks we were afforded a spectacular view of Shira Plateau (our campsite) and Shira Camp (campsite for those on the Lemosho Route). We could also see Mt. Meru. After some photos the icy wind got to us and we headed back to the camp. As we arrived, Mt. Kilimanjaro appeared from behind the clouds, and looked down upon us in all her splendour.

Wow. And to think we will be up there soon, trudging through snow and freezing our backsides off. Why did I sign up for this?!

It is almost 6pm. I have lost most sense of time, days of the week, months, years. Dinner is around 18:30. I think I will hole up in my tent and read until then.

 

Sunset from the camp.