Day 4

Tuesday, February 27, 2007

I wake up at the crack of dawn today. I feel a lot better than last night. Today is acclimatization day. We take a short hike up to Zebra Rocks. Ada goes so far ahead we lose sight of her. The assistant guide can barely keep up with her. We have dubbed her the mountain goat mama. Joan, Laura, Lisa and I take our time. Joan stays behind with Teacher and me. Between the two of them, I am feeling really motivated. We pass by several rock mounds along the way. Teacher explains that people add small rocks to the mounds to show that they were here. I add a small stone to one of the mounds. The mounds become taller and more numerous as we climb and the clouds move in to surround us. At one point we are literally walking through the lower mists of the clouds. But the mist moves on with only a little rain and a slight drop in temperature.

Clouds move in near the trail from Horombo Camp to Mandara Camp on Mt. Kilimanjaro at Kilimanjaro National Park in Tanzania, Africa Wednesday, February 28, 2007. (photo by Tammy McKinley)

We reach the base of Zebra Rock and I see how steep the climb is. I ask Teacher if we are going to climb straight up. He says, “ Sure, whyyyy nooooot?” That will forever be Teacher’s quote, “Whyyy noooot?”. We begin the ascent to the top. Although it isn’t supposed to be technical, it certainly is tricky. The gravel is slippery and the way is steep with lots of switchbacks. The path is very narrow and almost imperceptible. I have to step and secure each foot before making the next step up. This part of the climb I don’t mind so much because going slowly is unavoidable. But it is a little dangerous. One misstep can send a climber sliding hundreds of feet over rocky terrain to the base of the hill.

Zebra Rocks is landmark on the way to the summit of Mt Kilimanjaro in the Kilimanjaro National Park, Tanzania Tuesday, February 27, 2007. (photo by Tammy McKinley)

Once we reach the top we are at slightly over 14, 000 feet, which is about as high as Pike’s Peak in Colorado and only 5,000 feet to the summit of Kilimanjaro. We can almost see the next camp from our location. We are all feeling strong and confident. Joan says she can already see herself at the summit.

Lisa Hepinstall, Joan McLoud, and Laura Garcia take pictures after climbing Zebra Rocks near the summit of Mt Kilimanjaro in the Kilimanjaro National Park, Tanzania Tuesday, February 27, 2007. (photo by Tammy McKinley)

The clouds clear briefly to reveal the summit of Mt. Kilimanjaro near Horombo Camp in the Kilimanjaro National Park, Tanzania Tuesday, February 27, 2007. (photo by Tammy McKinley

On the way back down Zebra Rock, I take the lead for the first time on our trip. Down I can do. Although, it is harder on the feet and toes.
Teacher assures me that yesterday was my hardest day until the summit and that today’s climb is very similar in steepness to the climb to the peak. This renews my hope of getting to the summit.

Lisa Hepinstall,(right), Laura Garcia, Joan McLoud and Teacher descend after climbing Zebra Rocks near the summit of Mt Kilimanjaro in the Kilimanjaro National Park, Tanzania Tuesday, February 27, 2007. (photo by Tammy McKinley)

On the way back to Horombo Camp, we see a woman being carried from the higher elevations back down the mountain. Teacher says she has altitude sickness and must descend to a lower elevation quickly before she experiences cerebral or pulmonary edema, as those are fatal. I remember reading on the Internet that only 40 percent of the people that attempt Kilimanjaro actually summit and that the route we are taking has the highest casualty rate due to the inexperience of the climbers. I have no climbing experience.
Back at camp the winds move in. Our private toilet tent is blown down. The porters struggle to get it back up. Once it is back in place, the wind beats against the sides of the tent. Each of us has horrible visions of sitting on the pot with our pants around our knees and the wind blowing the tent away, leaving us exposed to the elements, the porters and other climbers.
I spend the rest of the afternoon taking photos near camp. I notice a White Necked Raven sitting on a sign that says, “Please do not go further than this point” written in English and Swahili. It’s to prevent campers and porters from contaminating the small stream coming down from the mountain that is our water supply. But to me, it seems more ominous.
Teacher records our vitals again at dinner. He gives us the ok for the hike to Kibo hut tomorrow.

A white necked raven sits on a sign on the slopes near Horombo Camp in the Kilimanjaro National Park, Tanzania Tuesday, February 27, 2007. (photo by Tammy McKinley)