It's 1:10 pm right now, and I've already had a challenging
day.
We set out from Horombo around 8:30, right behind two very
large groups of Swiss tourists who are doing the six day trek (extra day at
Horombo for acclimatization). Unfortunately, they were older than our group of
twenty- and thirty-somethings, so we were stuck dragging behind them until we
finally found a place to pass them.
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| The summit and the Swiss group we were trying to get around |
We made the transition from moorland to alpine desert, and
it was quite the transition. There weren't exactly tall trees in the moorland,
but then there was nothing in the alpine desert taller than some tufts of grass
that were maybe 8-10 inches tall. And then the grass was gone, too. At least we
still had rocks.
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| The last water point on the trek. After this, it was too high for water. Our porters carried 60 liters of water up for drinking and cooking. |
Kibo, where we are now, is 4750m, which makes it the highest
I've ever been, and I'm feeling pretty good. A little short of breath when I
walk around, but otherwise okay. No headaches or vision problems or other
symptoms of altitude sickness, so I guess my medication really is working
(despite the claims of the Romanian mountain climber that it doesn't do
anything).
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| Kibo Hut. Very high and very cold. |
We're going to be having lunch soon, and then we get a brief
nap before it's time to bundle up again and go on another acclimatization hike.
Our guide said it'll be about 45 minutes total, which will be good, because
we'll be taking off around midnight to begin the trip up to the summit.
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| View from the acclimatization hike |
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| Day 3 of the hike, according to my Garmin |
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