Some Final Thoughts

Post written August 8, two weeks after returning

Processing time was needed

Kilimanjaro,

Your Spirit speaks in my soul.

Asante Sana.

~Stephanie Hall, August 1, 2013

Most likely taken on the second day...

Marc - looking totally fine!

I gave everything I had to Mount Kilimanjaro: physically, emotionally, and mentally.  In places, I left my sweat, my tears, and even my blood on her ancient stones.  There were times when I felt empty, that there was nothing left that could even make me take one more step, and in those times she always found a way to fill those holes.  She would show me something new, or another living soul on the mountain would have something that would spark the energy:  the porters would sing at camp, another climber would say “Jambo” with a smile, one of my mountain family would sing or touch my arm for encouragement.  It was amazing.  Words cannot really express how profound an experience this was for me, how deeply spiritual.

I mentioned before that I felt her enfolding me and that I knew if I gave her everything she would replace my efforts with something else.  And she did.  I gave her my worry, my doubt, my anguish, my anxiety, my terror, and my despair.  She gave me love, assurance, pride, and accomplishment.  I never realized that the summit wouldn’t matter until I turned away from it but that was never the goal.  The entire point of the trip was to feel her, I just didn’t know it until Day Five. 

Walking away from her and back down was one of the hardest things I have ever done, but when we left her slopes, she didn’t leave me.  She still sings in my heart and if I close my eyes, I can see her glowing in the dark.  For people who haven’t been there, you won’t understand, but for some of you who have, you know exactly what I am talking about.

My mountain family will always be just that – family.  I don’t think there’s any way you can go through something like this and not form a close bond with the others who went with you.  Jen, Sandi, and Tim will always have a place in my heart because they share all these memories with us.  Though we never saw the other faces we had grown accustomed to after our summit attempt (Phil, Claire, Noel, Bruce, and others whose names we didn’t know), I remain hopeful that every single one of them made it to the summit without any problems.  I’ll probably never know for sure, but that’s my hope.

Tim

Jennifa!

Sandi - Tim took all these portraits
They're fantastic!

I want to be perfectly clear that I would do this trip again in a heartbeat, though I would skip the summit attempt.  I hit my altitude ceiling and I will never be able to go above that, but just because I will never touch the sign at Uhuru doesn’t mean the mountain doesn’t hold a huge attraction for me.  I would do the hike, wait at basecamp, and make pancakes for everyone so that when they came down, I could throw my arms out, scream about how awesome they were to the sky, then offer them pancakes.  I know, weird dream, but it’s still there.

Stock of Injuries: Sunburn to my nose (peeled) and left hand (I was wearing long sleeves and didn’t even think about sunscreen), bruises on both knees, a slightly swollen ankle, a few blisters on my feet (not as many as I thought there would be), a blister on the pad of my right hand (it popped and blistered twice, actually) and several small cuts on my hands from the wall.

Brian: He made the summit without many problems, though it hailed on the camp at Barafu and the summit push was made in snow.  Instead of being able to surf down the mountain on the scree, they had to be careful of the ice that had frozen into ruts from other climbers that had gone before them, but he did make it!  The cigar wouldn’t light at the top and I think he was faintly disappointed that it was easy for him, but I think he should be very proud – not many people even think of attempting Kilimanjaro and not everyone, as evidenced, makes it to the top.  He says the best part of his trip was the safari with us.

Our Guides:

Anderson

Meckson: "Mad Max"

James

Traveling Back to the States: Overnight in Amsterdam

July 26-27

So we had to get up at 2:15 AM to go to the Kilimanjaro airport this morning.  I posted a quick note on Facebook at the hotel and we were off for our flight.  It was really hard to leave Africa, though I will be glad to be back in the states where flush toilets are the norm.

In the gate for the plane, there was a ladies toilet, but there was no seat and no paper.  I found myself looking for a rock, but when I didn’t find one, I went back out through security to find a toilet with a seat.  Again, they looked at me funny.  Big deal.

Since our flight left just before sunrise, we got one more view of Kilimanjaro before we left and I couldn’t take my eyes off her.  She is so beautiful and will always have a space in my heart.

Nairobi was still awful, though our layover wasn’t very long.  I got into a fight in the bathroom with a woman who thought she could push in front of me because she really had to pee.  I had to do something more, so I physically took ahold of her and moved her back behind me with a few strong words.  I think I shocked her a bit, but I accomplished my business and I’ll never see her again, so Hakuna Matata!

The flight crew to Nairobi was great, though my in-seat entertainment wasn’t working, so I spent the flight sleeping and reading.  Totally a bummer.  Marc’s worked – he got to watch movies, which I was REALLY looking forward to.  The crew felt bad and they gave us two amenity kits, which are nice and I guess are supposed to make up for the boredom. 

Tram #5 got us everywhere we needed to go!

When we arrived in Amsterdam, we found out that we couldn’t check our luggage in until tomorrow, so we had to find a place to store it overnight.  After some walking around, we found large baggage lockers and got it all situated, taking with us the carryon for the night.  We bought train tickets and headed to the train, getting directions from the information booth as to how to get where we needed to go.  At the train stop, we had to switch to a tram and we ended up switching to the wrong direction tram.  A nice woman explained it to us, we got off, and got back on the correct side.

At the tram stop, we couldn’t find the hotel, so we had to ask at an ING office.  They googled it for me, gave me a map, and we found it without no problem.  Once there, we upgraded to a room with a Jacuzzi tub and free wireless, so we could call our kids.  It was a very nice hotel!!  After talking to the kids, we headed out to find some food.

Stammpott!

The desk clerk recommended a spot where the restaurants were not frequented by tourists, which is exactly what we wanted.  We ended up eating in an alleyway at a great restaurant, having Stammpott, which is a traditional Dutch dish of mashed potatoes, sausage, and meatballs.  It was SO GOOD!  I also had a martini rossa with the local gin and it was delightful.

The Cassa Rossa Theater - live shows if you wanted them!

Instead of taking the tram again, we decided to walk to the redlight district to take a look around.  It was NOT what I expected.  Anywhere there was a red lantern, there were glass doors behind which the women displayed themselves in very little clothing.  Occasionally they opened the door to proposition people that walked by.  Some of them were quite beautiful and it was actually a fun walk, past headshops and hookah bars, porn theaters, and all sorts of other things that you would expect.  And it wasn’t even dark yet!

Can you see the red lanterns?  Pictures in front of them would
have been bad form.

We mosied our way back and did some shopping for cheese and gifts, got some frozen yogurt, then rode the tram back to our hotel for a snooze.

Walking through Amsterdam

In the morning, we had a leisurely breakfast at the hotel and the buffet was fantastic.  Scrambled and soft boiled eggs, fresh bread, Dutch cheese, fresh fruit and juice…so tasty.  Probably gained back all the weight I lost on the mountain in one night in Amsterdam.  After breakfast, we began making our way back to the airport.

This time, my entertainment system worked and I watched Warm Bodies, Les Miserables (all the way through this time!) and part of Skyfall before we landed in Chicago at 2 in the afternoon.  Our bodies thought it was 9 at night and we still had a five hour layover.  We got a tasty dinner at Wolfgang Pucks, then made our way slowly toward the gate where we took a nap while we waited for the plane.

The flight to Sioux Falls was quite short, we slept the whole time, and when we arrived it was 10PM.  We made our way to baggage claim and…who is that??

Dagny and Sintu were there waiting for us.  Sintu was so overcome by our return that he started to cry and it felt SO GOOD to hug them.

So I’ve made a promise.  The next big vacation will be a family vacation and it will NOT involve tents or heavy backpacking.  Sounds like Disneyland to me!!

Ngorongoro Crater: Safari Day Two

July 25

Ngorongoro Crater from the lip

In the morning, Stanley was due to pick us up at 8, so we went to breakfast at 7:00.  It was divine.  Eggs sunny side up made to order, mushrooms, cereal, yogurt, cheese, everything a girl could want!  While we ate, we watched a bird raid the breadbasket and sit in the cereal, which was very funny.  I wish we could have caught him on film.

I visited the gift store and begged at the reception desk for cashews when I found out they didn’t normally sell them.  They agreed to sell them to me – a kilogram for $40.  The most expensive cashews in the world, but I did it for Dad.  They are really good nuts!!

We were able to pack our own lunches from a selection on the patio and a chef made us a sandwich for our lunch boxes for safari, which was really very cool.  Stanley got a lunch, too.  I had a chicken and lettuce sandwich, with a little mustard, a small piece of quiche, a banana (awesome bananas - small and really sweet), and a juice box.  LOVE those juice boxes!

Main Gate - Stanley is going to pay our park fees

It was about a three minute drive to the entrance of the park and a VERY LONG drive once we passed the entrance to actually get down into the crater.  They have to do this since the trails in and out are one way – too narrow for more than one car at a time.  The view on the way down was incredible.  Words can’t even describe it – I’d seen it on TV before, but nothing prepared me for the real thing.

Buffalo - one of the Big Five!  I guess they're very dangerous,
though this one just looked hungry to me.

Right off the bat, we saw a buffalo, a jackal, and a caracal, which Stanley had never seen before in eight years of driving.  He said it was good luck, and it was!  We saw a pair of lions from a distance and watched them for awhile, him getting up to follow her when she moved.  They were fun. 

Caracal - his ears were awesome!  A few minutes later, he
pounced on something while we watched.

The Big Five of African wildlife include the following: elephant, buffalo, lion, leopard, and rhino.  I asked Stanley why giraffe and zebra weren't included since they were so popular and he explained that the big five all have something hunters want -  they are dangerous and they have trophies of some sort.  Giraffe and zebra are not dangerous, really, and hippos are incredible dangerous (they can bite you in half) but they have no trophy body part.  The Big Five are the goals of hunters.  Shame on them.  But I digress.

We searched for rhinos and cheetahs, but no luck for those.  That’s okay, since we saw everything else!!  We saw a few older elephants and an elephant graveyard.  The older bulls that come down into the crater usually come here to die.  It was a bit spooky since the bones were just sitting out in the open.

Lazy Hippopotami!

We saw hippos close to the road and no one was there but us, which was great!  We got some excellent pictures of them lounging by the water.  We also saw more wildebeest and zebras.  The sheer number of animals was staggering – so many at one time.  We must have seen 400 wildebeest together in one area!

Snoozing in the shade.

And then the crowning glory – a lioness in the shade of another safari truck.  Many jeeps were gathered around to watch, but Stanley stayed with her a little longer and when she got up to move, we kept pace with her along the road.  I was literally ten feet away from her, taking pictures with my phone.  Thrilling!!

She walked on the road for awhile and we kept pace with her.

We stopped for lunch before leaving (it’s a five hours drive back to Arusha) and we decided to eat in the car by the lake.  It was very windy and there were a lot of black kites.  But in the water, we could see hippos and some of them came very close to shore so we got a good look at them doing hippo kinds of things.

Our way out of the park was blocked by zebras!

I finished my book on  the drive home – it was good.

We had dinner at the hotel with Brian, then had to say goodbye.  He will be embarking on his grand journey in the morning.

I posted a few safari pictures to hold everyone over and then we went upstairs to organize our things before trying to get a little sleep before our early pickup.  We will have to get up at 2:15 in the morning as Emmanuel is picking us up at 3.  Our flight leaves at 6:00 AM and it's an hour drive to the airport.

Tarangire National Park: Safari Day One

July 24

This morning when I woke up, I tried to unzip the comforter.  No joke.  I couldn’t figure out how to get out of bed since there was no zipper!!  That is one sound I will not miss – ziiiip, ziiip…everyone getting out of their tents at night to go to the bathroom.

Stanley was our driver and he picked the three of us up at 8:30 after we’d had a relatively good breakfast.  Tarangire National Park was about 2.5 hours away and the roads were AWFUL.  The detours (they were paving the main road) ran like frontage roads along the sides, but they were dirt, in terrible shape, and had speed bumps.  It was crazy.  We chatted the whole time about the mountain.

On the way, Marc became fascinated with termite mounds until he finally asked Stanley to stop so he could take a picture.  Brian told me to get out and stand by the mound for perspective and that became a joke for the whole safari “Steph, go lay down by the elephant poop so we can have perspective!”  “Steph, go sit on that lion for perspective!”

For perspective!

At the gate of Tarangire, there were a lot of vervet monkeys around, leaping on cars, climbing the trees…they really wanted tourists to feed them, but the signs warned us against it.  Marc thought they were very funny because the males have very large blue testicles.

Vervet monkey

Once inside, on more dirt roads, we saw impala, zebra, and wildebeest right away, with the zebras crossing the road right in front of the car.  It was incredible.  We saw a secretary bird, a few giraffes at a distance, and then…elephants.  I cried.  I cried like four times that day.  Elephants are completely amazing.

Wildebeest.

At lunch we were beset by starlings, who obviously wanted crumbs, and the view from our lunch spot was gorgeous.  Stanley told us to be careful with our food since there were black kites (birds) flying around and they could be very aggressive for food.  He’d even seen one break a guy’s nose while stealing his sandwich.  I kept a close eye on those darn things while I ate.  First ravens wanting underwear, then kites wanting food…crazy African birds.

Mommy and baby elephant - this was without a zoom!

After lunch we saw dwarf mongoose and giraffes again, really close up this time!!  Someone spotted a leopard farther into the park and though we drove there as fast as we could, we didn’t spot him.  We did, however, get very close to baby and mommy elephants (I cried…again), ostriches, and a few waterbuck.  It was a most amazing day.

Giraffes

At one point, the whole road was covered in baboons – must have been almost 100 of them.  As we drove, we could see a bunch climbing down from a tree and they kept coming and coming, like a clown car!  How many baboons fit in an acacia tree?  The world may never know.  Once they had stopped climbing down, they paused a moment, then all started climbing back up!!  We just watched and laughed.

A road more traveled - by baboons!!

On our way out, we stopped at a Masai women’s cooperative so I could buy a bracelet for myself.  I didn’t haggle – they need the money and I had it, so I paid what they asked.  We had a two hour drive to the Ngorongoro Farm House ahead of us.

I think all three of us snoozed in the car, though I tried to read my book.  I was determined to finish it before we left on the plane so I could only pack one book for the plane ride.  The views out the window were great, though, so I was frequently distracted.

The grounds of the farmhouse - the smell was divine!

The Ngorongoro Farm House was incredible.  The grounds were amazingly fantastic, covered in coffee plants, banana trees, and all sorts of flowers.  The smell in the air was redolent with natural perfume and I was in heaven.  My mother would have LOVED that place.  Our room was called Tumbili (named after those blue-balled monkeys…how fitting!!) and had two double beds, both hung with netting.  Double beds just aren’t big enough, so we knew we’d be sleeping separately.  We also had a big mud fireplace and a bathroom!  The windows were all screened and open, so there was plenty of fresh air.

Our room - two smaller double beds meant we had to sleep
separately, which was the only bummer.

The Ngorongoro Farm House main building

Since it was almost time for dinner, we headed back to the main house for a display of Masai dancing before the feast.  I felt so rich here, I swear – Marc had a cup of coffee that smelled like God made it himself and I had a Fanta (I know, I’m obsessed) and we had small snacks before the restaurant opened.  Dinner was buffet and they had lamb chops, lentils, stewed mushrooms, chicken soup, fresh vegetables, rice, goat cheese pasta, oh my god….and the dessert table had chocolate bread pudding, pineapple cheesecake, and a cheese tray…heaven.  Again.  I found heaven a LOT in Africa.  And the food was fresh, made with ingredients frown on the farm itself.

Masai Dancing before dinner

After dinner, we sat on the back deck to chat.  Since Brian’s room was right next to ours, our decks were attached.  He had a cigar while we chatted and there was a bat that was very grateful we had the light on for the bugs.  He kept flying by happily munching and when he wasn’t flying over us, we could hear him in the tree talking to himself.  The moon tonight was a smoky orange and absolutely beautiful.

That night I slept in my bed with the netting down, even though I didn’t really need it.  We hadn’t seen any bugs the entire time we’d been on the mountain, nor had we seen any at the farm house, but it seemed wrong not to use it.  I did put mosquito repellent on the next day, though, just in case.

The Farm House was laid out with duplexes of rooms scattered over the grounds.  All the walkways were through jungle with the smell of the fields of flowers lingering in the air.  The lodge itself was amazing, and I am so glad we got to stay there.  And it was a fluke!  We were supposed to stay at the Ngorongoro Wildlife Lodge, but they booted us because we were such a small group.  YAY for US!!

Stephanie, Brian, and Marc under a banana tree!

Mweka Camp to Mweka Gate and Off the Mountain: Day Eight

July 23

10000 feet – 5400 feet

3.7 miles, 4 hours

38.9 miles altogether, minus the two miles or so we missed on the night of the summit attempt.

We woke up a little earlier today, 6:00 AM, to get an early start on the way down.  It was hard to leave camp this last time – it had become home for us.  We got a great picture with all the porters and guides which I will treasure forever, and we bid farewell to the tent.  Marc was certainly not sorry to see the tent go and I think all of us were a little lighter on our feet with the promise of a shower in the future.

Takes 24 people for 5 to hike the mountain - all our porters, guides, and us!

The trail down through the rainforest was very wet (go figure) and it rained lightly on us the entire way.  The dark red dirt was muddy and well-traveled and I had to be careful where I put my feet.  Anderson, of course, helped in the questionable spots, but otherwise we were allowed to walk at our leisure.  Our pace didn’t matter anymore, since now we weren’t acclimatizing anymore.  It is really hard to go downhill – our legs are really sore and each step becomes a curse unless you’re thinking of something else.

The rainforest was fantastic and it actually RAINED!

Our other three walked much faster than I did.  James went ahead with them and Max and Anderson stayed back with us.  We mosied, though I did learn that Marc was stifled following me this entire time.  For the morning, he would stop and take a picture, then run to catch up with me to stretch his legs.  Going at my pace must have been killing him for the past eight days.  I wish he would have told me sooner – he didn’t have to follow me the whole time…

Max picked a beautiful flower for a picture, then gave it to me: Impatiens kilimanjari.  The flower looks sort of like an elephant face and only grows on the rainforest slopes of Kilimanjaro.  I tucked the flower into my pack strap and they promised to tell me when to hide it so I wouldn’t get in trouble for having it.  Now it is pressed in the back of my journal and I will treasure it.

Impatiens kilimanjari

The others waited for us about twenty minutes from the gate so we could all walk in together, victorious.  It was quite a rush to finish as we started, as a group, through a gate.  And what a great surprise was waiting for us!!

The celebratory beer - I actually drank a Fanta, but this
was a good picture opportunity!

A fabulous celebratory lunch was waiting, with Fanta and Kilimanjaro beer, which was great!  Jen and I sang for the porters (Thank You) and then we ate, serenaded by a Swahili guy with a guitar who sang all his songs in Spanish.  I kid you not, it was very unreal.  La Bamba, La Cucharacha, etc…he was very good, though.

Amazing Lunch!

We ate our lunch on someone’s front porch and there was a small child nearby.  I gave him a chocolate bar and Marc paid his father to wash our boots for us, which is how a lot of people around the bottom seem to make their money – I think we got asked twenty times to have our boots washed.

There were FLUSH TOILETS in the bathrooms – completely awesome.  We did a potty dance in the bathroom in thanks.

Jafar, the young man who carried Marc and my bags all over the mountain
This was his first time being a porter!  I gave him my fleecy when we left.

When lunch was finished, we loaded up into the truck for our drive back to Arusha.  We had prepared with chocolate and pens for the small children who came up to the road in the banana fields on the way out so we had treats to throw to them.  It felt very good to pass on these small things.

Said goodbye to Tim at his hotel and it was very hard.  Much harder than I thought it would be.  He’s family, always will be.  So we’ll just have to meet again somewhere else.

We went to the hotel and showered, got fresh water, and felt a million times better.  Lillian was there to debrief us at 4 and gave us our safari itinerary for the next few days, which was exciting.  The adventure was not quite over, though we would have to say goodbye in another few hours.  Jen, Sandi, and Tim were going on a different safari than we were, which was sad.

We asked for a driver to take us to the Masai Market for one last shopping trip and Lillian said he was on his way with another client and in walks Emmanuel with Brian a few minutes later!!  It was great to see Brian, to tell him all about what we had done, and to realize that he was going to get to do it, too, in just a few days.

We all went to the Masai Market as a group and I bought the sandals and the masks I had been looking at before the climb. They were still there, so it was meant to be!  Emmanuel took us to Pepe’s for dinner, saying that it was very good, even though it wasn’t the Indian place we were hoping for (they were closed on Tuesdays).  Pepe’s was aweasome!!  I had a mushroom ravioli that was to die for, Marc and Brian had excellent pizzas, and we all walked away feeling very satisfied.

Once back at the hotel, we had to say our goodbyes.  We managed not to cry, though I did later.  After spending 24 hours a day with peeps for 8 days, you get to know them very well, especially in the circumstances we were in.  They were my mountain family and I love them so much.  I will never forget the moments that filled my heart while we were on the slopes together.  They were a huge part of my life-changing experience and I hope they remain in my life for years to come.

Once goodbyes were over, we had some organizing to do!  The hotel agreed to keep some of our stuff while we were o safari so we wouldn’t have to take it all with us, so we had to pack things up and get ready to leave the next morning.  We put all our dirty clothes into one suitcase and zipped it, not to reopen it until we were home.  We called this bag “Stinky Bag” and made jokes that if anyone had to examine it at airport security, they were NEVER going to forget that smell…

The hotel room - the shower was behind the sliding
glass doors.  I think we each took at least two!!

Barafu Camp to the Summit to Mweka Camp: Day Seven

July 21 - 22

15200 feet – 19341 feet – 10000 feet

13 miles, 14 hours

10 PM rolls around – time to get up and get our clothes on for the summit push!

·         2 layers of long underwear (expedition weight and midweight)

·         Hiking pants

·         Rain pants

·         T-shirt (over the long underwear)

·         Parka

·         Gaiters (to protect lower legs)

·         Balaclava for my face

·         2 hats (one woven, one fleece)

·         Socks

·         Sock warmers

·         Boots

It was hard to even get dressed – all those layers were insane, and yet we knew we’d need them once we got close to the summit.  It would be necessary since tonight was clear, no clouds to hold in some of the heat from the day.  It was going to be a cold one (-15 Celsius, 2 Farenheit).  The moon was full and the trail could be seen without headlamps, lending an ethereal glow to the whole experience.

Just one step after the other…watch Anderson’s boots.  One step, another step, Dagny, Sintu, Joe, Lori, Mom, Dad, Roscoe….seven steps down….repeat….Dagny, Sintu, Joe, Lori, Mom, Dad, Roscoe…

4 hours later, I ran into a problem.  We were between 16,500 and 17,000 feet when my body decided to stop working.  I would tell my foot to move and my hand would move instead.  I was dizzy, had a headache, and was crying hysterically.  Anderson told me not to worry, when the sun came up I would feel better, but the sunrise was still three hours away and I knew I didn’t have that long.  Another few hundred feet and I was going to be carried down the mountain.  The only things running through my mind were my kids and the fact that I didn’t want the rest of the climbers to think worse of me for not being able to go on.

So I pulled the plug for myself.  I said “I have to go down” and I told Marc to keep going, though of course he wouldn’t.  He was too worried about me and it had been something we were doing together.  He wouldn’t go up without me.  He told me later that Max had said “Come on, Marc” and that Jen had replied for him: “He won’t leave her.  He’s going down with Steph.”  Marc was pretty grateful for her to have understood.  I am, too.

So, with Anderson in the lead, we turned back to go down instead of making the summit.  It took 2 and a half hours to get down the mountain, skidding on scree and taking the switchbacks we’d taken on the way up.  A woman passed us going down, her guide holding tightly to her arm.  She appeared to have High Altitude Blindness and I remember thinking how glad I was that I could still see.

Once we got down, the porters had to find our things.  They had moved them to the cook tent so they could all watch, which was okay with me, even though standing up any longer was becoming difficult.  Marc says I collapsed, but I don’t remember that.

I got in the sleeping bag with both layers of long underwear on and put my parka over the bag – I still couldn’t stop shivering.  Anderson said that was bad, maybe a sign of hypothermia and I was going to have to keep going.  They would feed me some breakfast, then send us on our way.  I tried to sleep for an hour or so, but by 7:30 I was back in the mess tent with hot tea, still in my parka, still shivering.

Tim's picture of the sunrise from Stella Point

At about 8:15, Anderson let us know someone else was coming into camp and it was Tim.  He was as high as a kite, having taken a single dose of Diamox the night before from my bag, just as I was leaving the group (he’s not supposed to have blood thinners).  He had made it to Stella Point, gotten a picture of the sunrise, and walked to within 50 feet of the summit at Uhuru before having heart palpitations so severe he was afraid he might have a heart attack.  So instead of trying for the sign, he came down the mountain FAST.  James brought him, which changed my mind about James, and they surfed the scree all the way down, coming back into camp in just 55 minutes.  Amazing.  Completely Amazing.  Tim was almost in tears about how James was his hero and it made me cry, too.

They fed all of us shortly thereafter, a warm and chunky potato stew that was just wonderful, before telling us we had to keep walking to Mweka camp, which was at 10,000 feet where we would all feel much better.  I was still unsteady, Tim was still high, and Marc, of course, was just fine.  He would have made it had he kept going, but I am glad he followed me.  I felt much safer with him behind me.

Sandi, Mad Max, and Jen at the sign for Uhuru Peak
The Highest point in Africa!  So Proud of them!!

As we were leaving Barafu, we could see the girls just coming in to camp.  They had both made it and needed some rest and food before following.  That was good and it was great to see them.

On the trail between Barafu Camp and High Camp (where we didn't stop) - had
someone had to be rescued, a porter would have come and gotten this cart
to roll them down the mountain.

The trail to Mweka camp was just awful – more a cow track than anything else.  It was rocky, uneven, and very hard on the knees, though the view was beautiful.  I can see why people say that down is harder than up, it was!!  A whole new set of muscles has to be used and each step felt like fire.

The trail from High Camp to Mweka Camp - REALLY difficult.

I fell twice, once with no damage whatsoever, though I needed help to get up since it was very awkward.  I twisted my ankle on the next one, but it wasn’t so bad – the boots were very helpful for that. 

Once we reached Mweka Camp, Tim forged the girls’ signatures so they could come straight to camp and we went to find our campsite.  Next to Shira One, this was my favorite camp.  There were flowering yellow trees everywhere and our camp was among a small grove of them, giving us shelter and shade. 

We gave Anderson our extra headlamp and batteries – he had used a flashlight the night before to get us down the mountain.  It was crazy! 

We had a great conversation with Mad Max that night.  He thinks that I was developing a cerebral edema (brain swelling) and that I made the right decision to come down.  He was so congratulatory for all of us and so happy that we were all happy.  It was very uplifting.

And still there was dirt – I think there was still dirt on me from the first day, honestly – I am convinced at this time that I will be dirty forever.

The dirt that never comes off.  Not quite as dramatic on film.

Karanga Camp to Barafu Camp

 July 21

13200 feet – 15200 feet

2.2 miles, 5 hours

Only just over two miles to go today, but heading up to 15,000 feet again, so everything feels harder.  We made lots of stops as we walked and I was having trouble drinking.  At one pee stop, Jen took notice and made me drink a bunch of water right in front of her, informing Max that my pee was too yellow.  This sparked a long discussion about dehydration and more drinking, which I did, but grouchily. 

Desolate landscape today - nothing can really grow that high!

While we were taking our potty break, we also noticed a small black lizard checking us out.  I wasn’t quick enough to catch him, but I described him to Max and he told me it was an Alpine lizard.  Here’s the funny thing – every animal or plant I’ve asked about has had Alpine in the name, so I’m thinking he just likes that word.  I guess I’ll have to check up on that – it made me laugh at the time, now I actually want to know what it was!

We saw Noel again today and it feels so good to see him still going.  I know it’s hard, it’s hard for me, I can only imagine how it is for him.  I wish I had his email address or a picture, but all I have is the memory of our conversation.  He is a truly amazing man, carrying with him a Welsh Flag for a picture at the summit.  I hope he made it.

Again, I love Anderson.  He knows just how to guide me and keep me going.  I feel very safe when he’s around.

We had lunch once we reached the Barafu Camp, our home before our summit attempt.  We hung our pants out to freshen in the sun (good luck with that) and tried to do some snoozing before dinner.  Summit would start at 11:00 PM, so sleep would be hard to come by.  During one foray from the tent, Max asked me to ask Lillian if Brian could climb with James so his brother would have a job.  I said okay, but at the time I was torn.  I didn’t really like walking behind James, since he didn’t seem to pay close attention to the climbers, but something that happened later in the climb made me change my mind about this encounter.

Barafu is by far the stinkiest of the camps.  There are cigarette butts around (really, who wants to smoke at 15,000 feet??) and lots of the rocks have been used as potty stops.  The ammonia smell is pretty strong, though not close to camp, which was good. 

Our camp and the scary perched drop toilets.

Our camp was close to the drop toilets, which the men didn’t mind using but I never went near.  The hut sort of hung over the edge of the cliff and I had this image of me squatting over a hole with a view and a breeze and falling over from disorientation – terrifying.

We asked where our stuff would be kept during the summit – we’d like a porter to watch it since theft is a probability at base camp – all the climbers leave their stuff there for eight to ten hours – and we were assured that all our bags would be in one tent with a porter to watch them.  That was good.  I had brought locks, but I didn’t really want to use them.

We had a small dinner, then we snuggled down to sleep for a few hours.  I am blessed, by the way.  When someone tells me to sleep, I appear to have no problem doing so.  Three hours of sleep was an easy accomplishment.