Day 2 02/09/2012

 Day 2

I woke up today in a completely different mood from the one I fell asleep with. This rather surprised me because that night I dreamt of going home, and so even though I woke up feeling a bit home sick, I also had a positive attitude and couldn't wait to get up and begin day two! God only knows where this came from seeing as I was all doom and gloom the night before. I suppose I came to realise that I was in a magical place, I was doing something amazing for charity and I might as well enjoy it -- and enjoy it I did.

It helped that the sun was shining and it was hot before we even began trekking uphill. The sun never fails to put me in a good mood. Today, we only wore shirts and shorts. Some of the guys even took their tops off at one point, although not the best idea because, being closer to the sun, it's much easier to burn.

 Today's walk was, for me, a lot more exciting than the day before. I actually felt like I was on a mountain, as opposed to yesterday, which was pretty much walking up a steep hill through a jungle.
The path on day 2 was relatively steep and very rocky, so you had to think about where to put your feet so you don't trip. As we got higher, and the air got thinner, the plants got smaller and you could see the magnificent view. As you can see in this picture, by 3200m we were above cloud level which was truly breathtaking. I've only ever been above clouds when I'm in a plane... But there I was looking over miles of fluffy whiteness whilst outside breathing in the fresh air. I could have sat there and looked out at the rest of the world for hours.

 We stopped for lunch at around 3500m and you could really tell that the plant life was gradually fading out. It was mainly just bare land. Even though it was a warm day, it's surprising how cold it gets when you're not walking! We stopped for lunch and a toilet break. I remember walking up to this small and square wooden hut, a little walk away from where everyone was eating. The door was flapping open and shut viciously because of the wind. Unlike other long drop huts, you could see where the 'long drop' ended, the hut was on stands and you could see underneath it... Grim. It's amazing what you put up with when you have no choice. Surprisingly, nobody really complained about having to use the toilets... just the smell. I suppose it's better than doing your business in the open where anyone can see.

 We walked for 6 and a half hours today, which was the last of the short days (until the walk down the mountain). It was my best day on Mount Kilimanjaro and spirits were high. The camp we arrived to had the best toilets a mountain hiker could ask for... There was proper building (built out of BRICKS!) and inside there were tiles on the floor and a sit down toilet... it was Kilimanjaro's equivalent to a 5* hotel restroom.

My mood was still high as I went to bed, and I was eager to start day 3 and see what adventures that would take us on...

Shira camp.

Height: 3840A.M.S.L

Day 1 01/09/2012

Day 1

Everybody woke up at the hotel at around 7am. We left at 10am and arrived at Machame gate around 1 hour later. Everybody was in great spirits and really excited to get the trek started after being in Africa for 3 days already. The weather was gloomy and there was light rain but this didn't dampen our moods. While we were waiting at the gate and everybody was sorting themselves out, we saw loads of monkeys in the trees. I've never seen a monkey outside a zoo so that was pretty damn cool. But one of our guides informed us that it was unlikely to see any animals on our climb to the summit because the route we were taking was a popular one, so the animals have moved on to quieter places on the mountain.

 After only about an hour and a half of walking we stopped for our first lunch on the mountain. We had these mini bananas, cucumber soup for lunch  (surprisingly yummy) followed by a bell pepper sandwich. Nobody could be fussy with food on this trip and it's surprising what you eat when you haven't got the choice... And food that maybe wouldn't taste great at home tastes amazing on the mountain!

 We carried on walking for about 4/5 hours until we reached the camp. At first I was in high spirits but as the hours went by my mood got lower. I had been bitten 2 nights before 28 times and the bites were really hurting; they had started weeping which was gross, and they itched and they hurt like bruises. As we started getting higher, we could feel our breathing getting heavier already, and the walk just started to get a bit boring.

Near the end a lot of people felt like what my t-shirt said... "are we there yet?!".

 On the plus side, the weather was great and the scenery beautiful. Sometimes we could see the summit through the trees which was very exciting, but I knew there was still going to be a lot of walking until we got there.
 After around 6 and a half hours of walking, we eventually got to camp. Although I was hot when we were walking, as soon as I stood still I felt the cold wind. We must have arrived to camp at around half 6. I wasn't in the happiest of moods this night. After unpacking my stuff into my tent, I kind of just had this feeling of "why am I even doing this?". I haven't been camping since I was around 12 and the thought of packing and unpacking everyday for the next 6 days didn't amuse me. At dinner, we were in a massive tent, with a long table with candles on. The night sky was beautiful, filled with twinkling stars, yet I just could not get in a good mood. I just wanted to speak to my mum, but with no phone I felt lonely. After dinner, at around half 8, I went straight to bed. I wanted to get the week over and done with as soon as possible.

Machame camp.

 Height at the end of the day : 3000A.M.S.L