Kili Diary - Day Four

I wake up around 06:00am.  A good half an hour before my wake up call served with a cup of tea and a 'washy washy'.  I'm feeling much better and I notice sun burn on my neck, back of my arms and back of my hands.  I had used factor 30 but being so high up the sun is less forgiving.

I've been loaned some factor 50, but its too late and my neck gets much worse before lunch.  

Today's walk is less daunting than yesterdays hike.  We have three ridges to clear before we arrive at Mawenzi Camp 4300meters above sea level.  Should take us 4 or 5 hours.  As we walk the vegetation becomes even less and we dance on the edge of the alpine desert.  

The first ridge has a sharp incline and after yesterdays efforts no one is feeling 100%.  But we make it and find solidarity that no one found it easy.  The rest of the hike seems easier and we got some great views.  There is a collective sign and sense of achievement when we get to Mawenzi Camp.  It is in a crater of the extinct volcano of Mawenzi Peak with a pool of water in the middle.  A back drop to our view are some towns of Tanzania along with the plains of Kenya just beyond the towns.  And of course, we camp in the shadow of Mawenzi Peak.

We unpack into our tents and take a cheeky nap after lunch.  However, the day is not yet done as we start the first of our acclimatisation walks. It is a very sharp incline with many rocks in out path.  We spend a lot of time climbing rocks inbetween big steps to reach higher altitudes.  For the first time I really feel the effort on the legs.  Following good advice we walk high and sleep low.  we ascend to 4600m and are gifted with a view.  At first it looks like the sea side with a shore line bordered with stone walls... however this is a sea of clouds as the view out over Kenya is now obscured by the clouds that has floated in.

Its not long before we return to camp to dinner and more of the team feel the effects of altitude sickness from a simple loss of appetite to vomiting.  I find it heart breaking as I feel we've all gelled together well as a group and we are keen for our group to achieve 100% of summit success.  

After dinner, many retire quickly to their tents.  Its not even 7:30pm and only a few us remain in  the mess tent to chat and watch some comedy on an iphone.  By 8:30pm we are all in bed.