Sunrise breakfast at Barranco Camp with view of Kili peak in the background. This peak was illuminated by the moon & framed by the stars, the night before. It's FREEZING before the sun hits you. The change is so extreme here.
I caught little sleep the night before. I'm not very good at sleeping anyway so camping at altitude is not very fun for me. Luckily, i am still "young-ish" & can still function without much sleep. hahahahaha (*sarcasm*) So anyway, i am sure i caught some sleep but the cold woke me up this morning. After my experience at Mt Blanc, i've made a more conscious effort to ensure i will be warm enough. I have 2 sleeping bags among my warm stuff - but this is not to be enough :-(
I walk out & catch sight of the frost on the tent. This actually amuses & excites but i climb back into the tent & pack up, noting that the sun will hit us soon, but not yet. We are summoned for breakfast & sit in the shadow waiting for breakfast & waiting for the sun to hit us. It was quite exciting watching the sun approach!!
I really like this porridge thing!!!
But my digestive system is not doing what it should do & i am envious that everyone else is sleeping & pooping well!
We have a slightly heated discussion with Daniel at breakfast. As most were not feeling very well, we asked to change the plans slightly. We have decided that we do not wish to sleep in the crater (5700m) and instead would prefer if we went to Arrow Glacier & did an acclimatization walk to the crater but slept in Arrow Glacier for 2 nights. For reasons then unknown to us, this was not agreeable & Mayunga & Daniel seem to have stressful conversation with each other. At one point I believe Daniel insisted that we went to Arrow Glacier and decide but I was a bit annoyed about this & insisted that we do not sleep in the crater. So it was decided that we do not go to Arrow Glacier today & stop at Lava Camp. This sounded like a better idea, but it means we will have a long summit day.
After breakfast, we pose for a photo & make our way up to Lava Camp. It's a steeper but shorter walk today. The terrain is beginning to look like a desert strewn with volcanic rock & more of that "tree". Mt, Meru is visible throughout the walk. We play around with some yoga shots, mostly, it involved me stricking a pose while perching on the edge of a cliff or a boulder - but of course, you can't see this from the pictures....
<--mt meru
<--mt meru
It starts to feel a little bit harder. My friends have gone quiet. It's probably the altitude. We have gone from the very flat Norwich to 4000+ meters in 4 days. I'm not very chatty myself. I don't really enjoy chatting while climbing (walking uphill) I find that there is so much going on in my body and mind at this time. Fascinating things - little battles in my head or thoughts that i do not seem to bother me at sea level, for example, thoughts about how amused my dad would be if he were still here today, etc. So i stay with my thoughts. My body feels strong and I am not struggling. I feel lucky. At the high altitude clinic in Nepal, I let them carry out some test on me & it seems my body copes well with altitude. It has nothing to do with fitness. (Contrary to popular belief, i am not very fit)
There is a last steep ascent up to the camp site, a bit of light scrambling and very dramatic view of Lava Tower. We are not alone at this camp tonight. There is a big group already camped out there. One of those posh tent group (but please remember, it's still a tent) on the way down but i am not sure which route they are on. Apparently, there are about 50 porters in the group!! They have 2 toilet tents with a sit down loo. I have toilet envy. the toilet provided at camp is not bad - a wooded shed with a hole - but i am glad it's there!! I was expecting to crap out in the open. Anyway, sorry to go on about toilets but it's one of those very real inconveniences you have to deal with. Easier if you're male & don't have to expose your whole backside & thighs to the cold just to have a peepee. I wish i had bought that she-wee.
Our table arrives & we get a new table cloth!! Lunch is served. It is actually very cold, even in the sun. I can't remember what was lunch but it looks like pasta in this picture. Anna & Steve express that they do not feel very well so after lunch, they decide to rest. Barney & I go off on another walk with Moses. I had wanted to take a walk up to a higher altitude but I think my suggestion was misunderstood as enthusiasm to take a walk. So Moses takes us for a walk, more or less downhill. But really, i can't see much to walk to. It was a bit like being on the moon, i would imagine. There is nothing much i can say about the walk really. We could have walked up Lava Tower but by the time we had come back from our little walk, I started to develop a headache, so i too decided to retire to my tent & rest.
So back in my tent, my headache intensifies and i take a half diamox. We have an early dinner out in the cold. It was a yummy vegetable curry stew of some sort with some pancakes and rice. I felt better after dinner but we all retired to bed. It was just too cold to sit outside and the sun had disappeared. Barney is not feeling too hot either. Seems like everyone is suffering some altitude sickness. To top that, Steve was having a cold of some sort and felt feverish.
Our tent is not very comfortable either tonight. We seem to have some rocks under us & between us. But at least it is quite flat. Some time in the night, my headache returns and becomes quite a scary experience. I could barely move my head. It felt like there was so much pressure in my head that it was just going to explode. I have no other way to describe it. I take more diamox and a nurofen. I think it must have looked scary too because Steve considered going to let Mayunga know. But the headache eases and i actually managed to sleep - i am not sure now if that was such a good idea. Live & learn. I should add that even the porters & our guide Daniel was sick.
It was difficult climbing out of the sleeping bag this morning even though i had most of my layers on. Again, there was no rush today as it was only going to be a short hike up to the next camp. I could hear the other party packing up & leaving. I am actually happy that it is morning. the nights are just too difficult for me. If i could just keep walking, i would probably do it! Once i am out of the tent & in the sun, i am alive and happy again ;-)
packing up at Lava Camp
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