Not gonna lie... The night was cold and expectations of my apparently -10C sleeping bag were not met. Do you think I could warm up the air inside? Nope. Not even with thick smartwool tights and my down "moon booties" that came on at various toilet runs.
Outside the stars shon brightly, a half moon smiled down and tree hyraxes called out... a wee bit too close to the toilet tent, as I sat there. The air was chilly, but scarily not much colder than my sleeping bag!!! Sleep was elusive and spotty but I welcomed the first stirrings of camp in the early AM. Even moreso when Emmanuel "knocked" on the tent with hot coffee and a big smile. He enquired about sleep and I was surprised to hear that Sue was in the same boat. I guess I was relieved to feel normal too. LOL
Today was our first attempt at the organized pack-up before breakfast at 6:30am. Porters eagerly eyed our tent and I could tell they had designs on dismantling it ASAP. Like us, they had been told of the afternoon rain and attention was being poured into an early start for a PM arrival at Shira I Camp, on the Shira Plateau 1200m higher and 7km down (up) the trail from here.
Our Habari Team had another health check then breakfast of pancakes, sausage, eggs, toast, fruit and a millet type oatmeal with honey. A LOT!
Emmanuel, our waiter, would be by during breakfast and every meal to encourage us, pressure and force feed us until we had cleared the table of food (which was impossible!) or made ourselves near-sick, trying. Hahaha. We loved him anyway.
The trail... UP, Up and mostly up. Through the jungle in early morning light and damp. In the first 2 hours, the sky was clear blue. We even got a stunning view across to Mt Meru.
As we got high enough to exit the rain forest, clouds scattered and accumulated, mistiness swept through the valleys. It was still t-shirt weather... we were trucking steeply uphill. Our guides called it "the giraffes neck".
Last time I was in Africa, I was 25 - enjoying drinking games and the freedom to make irresponsible choices with no way for stories to follow me off the continent. This time at 51 years old, I surprised myself by suggesting we (4 trekking passengers) played a drinking game aimed at getting us well hydrated. Every time a porter, carrying bags half my body weight, passed us; 1 sip from the camelbak. Every time another passenger passed us; 2 sips from the camelbak.
Six hours into our hike, I finished my 2L of water and had drunk a half liter of electrolyte drink too! Outstanding for me -> Very normal for Sue! I had pee'd 4x using my pee conch in the bushes and was feeling very proud.
Our little group had been throwing fun or useful facts at each other almost non-stop. Evance, at the front (our pacer) had for several hours, acted as a mighty fine DJ with his portable speaker. Spirits were high. Energy was good. I personally felt the joy factor was 10/10 and even on the steep uphill, the pace was slow enough for jokes, conversation, easy breathing and no muscle fatigue.
Shira Plateau is wide and beautiful. Clouds blocked our view of Kili but I enjoyed the moodiness and was grateful to reach camp with my bladder ready to burst again. Thoughts of warm layers, a hot lunch and the elusive nap were front of my mind.
Elevation: 3610m. Moorland.
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Lunch was another hearty event. Stew with veggies and bananas!? Crazy delicious actually! Burgers featuring fresh lettuce and avocado! Off to bed... food coma assisted napping ensued and I relaxed into the warmth of 3 sleeping bag layers, fresh socks and sun filtering through the tent. It's surprising how time flies though. One (admittedly large) journal entry and a few documentary photos later, we are staring down the barrel of dinner - and going back to bed!
Todays real challenge? I managed to pucker up ALL the tent zippers I touched. Our tent, dining tent and porta-potty tent! WTF?! Luckily Emmanuel is a wizard and with a little hand soap, he fixes all the sticky and misaligned zippers. Genius!
Sunset on Kili makes the world a better place...
Briefing for tomorrow:
Shira I Camp to Shira II Camp @ 3850m
A 10km walk taking 4-5 hours.
Hot lunch at camp then, weather permitting, we'll take a little extra uphill (200m) walk for aclimatization. (Hike high, sleep lower.)
Wake up: 6:00am
Breakfast: 6:30am
Departure: 7:00am
Pack 3L to drink, rain gear, sunglasses, sunscreen, sunhat.
Wear baselayer, fleece, puff jacket to start.
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