Sunday 18th - I woke this morning feeling apprehensive. During our evening chat Methley had told us that today would be the real trial of how people might cope as we were to ascend to Lava Tower at 4,600m... I think everyone felt some symptoms. One was sick, there was dizziness, headaches, tingling fingers...
It was a tough walk up to Lava camp so it was with great relief that we stumbled into the dining tent for lunch. We had soup (I think it was cucumber this time..) noodles and meat. Not realising that the crew were waiting for us to come out of the tent (we thought they would let us know when it was time to leave!) some of the team had a little nap...
Unfortunately as it was a brief lunch stop the ladies had to make do without our deluxe portable toilet - the toilets in this camp were stinking! Just to help you picture it; a small wooden hut with no door, inside is a hole in the ground with a wooden slab on either side.. Needless to say, some trekkers had clearly mis-directed when they squatted down!! We did however, brave the smell and man up without too much complaint. I have to add, the 'Shewee' is a great invention! Leaving the camp was eerie. When we arrived we had clear views all around but by the time we had eaten (and medicated!) there was thick fog/cloud all around so we could barely see 20m ahead!
We descended pretty swiftly down a steep but pretty valley to Baranco Camp to sleep at 3,900m. The whole team was in good spirits as most of the symptoms we had previously felt had gone. I FINALLY got signal and was able to call my boys so went to bed feeling elated, if a little emotional. Every day had been a challenge so far but we were all still in good spirits. Handy tip; running through Monty Python quotes/songs is a great way to help a long walk go quicker!
Monday 19th - What a day!!
We made a group decision at dinner last night to alter our itinerary after Methley suggested that the best chance for group success would be to summit during the day rather than in the cold of night. As such, we had a rather early start this morning. 05.30 to be precise. Thankfully we had a genuinely fun bit of scrambling up Baranco Wall to do!
Once at the top (I think it was about a 200m climb) we stopped for a good 15 minutes just to take in the fantastic views of both the valley below us and of our target above us, but looking more and more reachable with every step! Here is a sneaky shot one of the team took of me; Tom's jacket fits me better than I thought...
Yet again though, just as we readied ourselves to leave, whilst some of the lads relieved themselves over the edge of the cliff (!) the clouds descended (or rose!?) to cover the beautiful views.
We then had a long, long walk to our lunch-time stop at Karanga camp. The worst bit was seeing our camp then realising that to get there we had to descend a steep V-shaped valley and climb up the other side! To make it worse, I really needed a wee and there wasn't anywhere to hide!! Carrot soup, Pasta and Mango for lunch, plus some sunbathing/naps as were were above the cloudline and the weather was quite pleasant!
Where our original itinerary would have had us sleeping at Karanga, our new plan meant we had to suck it up and keep trekking onwards and UPWARDS to Barafu Camp; the highest camp before our final ascent! It was a very steep path and every step or movement, such as unzipping the tent, left me trying to catch my breath! I have never felt that unfit before. Next stop, summit day...
