I awoke at 6:30am to the pounding rain and Trent's wristwatch alarm. I felt like shit. My head was still spinning, I was in foul spirits, and I was dreading the five hours of hiking ahead. So, I suffered through breakfast and thought of thousands of reasons to abandon the climb and head back to the sun-drenched luxury of Zanzibar. But, for some reason, I put on my rain gear and started the day's ascent.
Thirty minutes in, I gave out. I was fully drenched, exhausted, naseuous, and hating myself. I sat on a rock and contemplated my options. Trent did the right thing by encouraging without belittling. Only four or so more hours.
So, I invented more games. I had run all out of peanuts, so I had to resort to mind games. My favorite was the simplfying fractions game:
Pick a denominator, say 60.
For the numerator, start at 1 and continue to 60.
Simplify each fraction as fully as possible. 1/60, 1/30, 1/20, 1/15...
Every step
is quite a challenge. It sounds silly, I'm sure, but it's difficult to consider
how terrible the conditions are when you're trying to simplify 18/60 in
the time it takes to make one step. The next two hours through the boulder
fields passed quickly, and I can tell you for certain that no one knows
the simplified forms of x/60 better than I do now.
We climbed out of the forest and into an almost desert like region. Well, desert like rock formations that is -- it was still raining like hell. These 40-45 degree slopes of rock and mud were quite tricky at times. Then again, so is simplifying 57/72.
We arrived at the Shira camp, 3840m ASL, just past 12:45, four hours and fourteen minutes after leaving Machame. As if a sign from heaven, the rain let up and thirty minutes or so later, a hint of sunshine peeked through the cloud cover.
Our cook/porter
came and gave us hot tea and popcorn. We tried to dry our socks and shoes
next to the fire and sucked down a few liters of Kilimanjaro rain water.
Surprisingly, I felt very fresh and alert. The sun was invigorating. My legs weren't aching at all, and all bodily functions seemed to be working normally. Hell, for a brief second or two, I considered going for a little day hike to an interesting set of rock formations about an hour hike away.
And then, the full sun shattered the remaining cloud cover. Behind the clouds, now visible for the first time to me, was Uhuru Peak -- the snow-covered highest peak in Africa -- the reason we were here. I could do nothing but sit and stare at the enormity of it -- sheer beauty and power -- majesty unlike that I've ever seen.
Trent, ever the clever mountaineer, wasted little time on such niceties. He proceeded to lay out every piece of clothin, rain gear, shoes, and sleeping bag to bask in the elusive sun's warmth. I did the same, being careful to heed his helpful advice on the most effective placement that would be sure to take advantage of the milding blowing wind.
And then,
I slipped off my clothing and basked in the sun, mountain air, and warmth
of our blazing fire. I really enjoyed the beautiful views from the plateau.
Eliawony lent me a pair of sandals, so I was even able to dry my shoes by
the fire. For the first time, I honestly felt like there was a chance I
could make the summit, now only 2000m or so above us.
As the sun
fell and night took over, our guide served us a fantastic dinner. Chicken
soup was followed by pancake-like bread, potatoes, rice with vegetables,
then fresh fruit for desert. And a gallon of hot tea. I ate a ton of food
and thanked our chef for the delightful meal (and begged for more pancakes
for the following night).
Trent and I entered our tent at around eight and fell quickly into a deep sleep. My dreams were interrupted a few times by the tea pressing against my bladder, but I slept well.