Starting at midnight; so anxious I hardly slept; besides there was so much noise coming fromsome nearby tents; thought someone was getting sick; and the wind was pretty strong and kept buffeting the tent....aaarrrggghhhh!!!
So - in a word: the experience was INTENSE!!! ANd I have to say: not fun!!!
4 hours to Stella Point; probably should have taken 5; but we got into a rythm and it seemed that I felt better when I kept moving;felt alittle dizzy when I stopped...
My heart was hammering with the effort of pushing the blood around fast enough to get air to all the cells!!! I have never inhaled so deeply for so long to get so few oxygen molecules. Felt ok at Stella point - almost the top - continued on to Uhuru - another 45 min - on the way felt dizzy ... and actually contemplated turning around, but pressed on...glacier to left and crater to the right...amazing to look at, but sightseeing was not the number 1 priority at this point. Though the sight of the lights of Moshi town juxtaposed against the eerily lighted glacier was ...distracting....
(think I already mentioned some of this in my first post about the climb - so apologies for repetition)
anyway - summit obligatory photo - and we are offf to get some "fat air"; short cut to the bottom gets us down fast - but a visual feast on the way - with the sun rising behind a silouetted Mawenzi.....We slide down through sandy talus...pretty easy on the knees!
Back at camp at 7am....supposed to sleep.....of cours that's not happening. From the camp we have a great vantage point to watch as other climbers descend....many do not make it all the way to Uhuru....
After a great "brunch" prepared by the fabulous Yusuf, we are on the march again to begin our descent; about 3 hrs hiking through alpine desert and moor land brings us to the edge of the rain forest again at Mweku camp. A brilliant double rainbow is displayed above the camp! Now I nap for cpl of hours and check in with other climbers to see how they did. A few of us agree to set up a snapfish account to share photos. Have dinner and go to sleep at 8pm.
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