Waking up on day 3 was memorable - finding my water bottle was solid and there was frost all over the ground and tents, after I had spent the previous day walking in shorts was a shock to the system! Our camp was set between the Shira ridge on one side and our distant destination on the other. We witnessed a glorious sunrise over the peak, had breakfast then set off on a long slog across the flat heathland-like terrain. Mid-morning we paused at the Cathedral where half of us climbed (slowly!) up to the top above the cloudline to see some of the most breathtaking views we had ever witnessed. It was well worth the extra scramble up to 3950m to see them!!
We then continued on to our lunchstop (again later than planned- such is the relaxed African sense of timing!) As such some of the team were suffering with sickness/headaches but thankfully I still felt ok. After a lunch of soup, burgers and fruit, followed by tea, everyone perked up and we continued on to our main camp, sleeping at just over 4,100m. Methley had said we might get signal here so a few of us climbed up a nearby ridge to try to call home but had no luck - I nearly cried! I had built my hopes up that I might get to hear two special little voices and got a tad emotional when our hopes were dashed.
I cannot emphasise enough just how much support the team all got from each other - it was hard to stay miserable with that lot! Amazing views of the top of Mount Meru and of the summit of Kili that evening but it was dark when we got back just in time for dinner... 'chinese'! Well, meat and noodles, but still warm and very welcome!
I didn't sleep well that night: the air was bitterly cold and some of the crew were awake for ages, stomping past the tent.. But on a good note, I was pleased I chose a decent sleeping bag!
Monday, 2 September 2013
Em's firsthand summary part 2.
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