Day 5 was an easier one and day 6 was basically summit day. The guides never wanted us to know much about the days ahead, it seemed....so we wouldn`t worry too much. Now I get it. Summit day is basically a wake up call at 11 pm after going to bed at 6 pm but being so nervous and excited that it was hard to sleep, and the climb starting at midnight. This last leg of the hike is very steep; you are counting on your headlamp as it is otherwise pitch black, and the lack of oxygen made some of us pant like chain smokers running a marathon. It was rough..Stellar point is the point which you want to get to. Basically the point high above you which you can see somewhat even in the dark as that is where the white glaciers are, and you see some head lamps off in the distance of those climbers who left a bit earlier. The climb is steep. You cover just under 6 km`s but with an incline of about 1.2 km`s....which should explain why. Uffff!!! We got there before sunrise and the sun started to just come up as we arrived (I seem to remember, but am a bit fuzzy here). Once there, everyone cheers, and hugs, but then you basically have another hour or a bit less to Uhuru Peak where you get your pics and which is the true highest point. The sunrise is stunning, you can see the crater to the right, the glaciers to the left...it is a truly magnificent site.
Even though it is exhilarating to be at Stellar Point and see the sights, you are super tired, many of us too tired to take pictures, too cold to get your camera out and exhausted....in our prep info it said something like ``ìf you feel tired, don`t lie down``.....didn`t really understand that until we got closer to the top of Stellar Point. I likely could have napped....so tired from lack of sleep, the cold, the darkness and we spent only a few minutes at the peak and then started our descend again. The way down makes you aware what you climbed on the way up...now in daylight. There is a lot of loose rock called scree (sp??) and you can basically slide down it, but you are likely to fall on your butt at some point. The dust is everywhere, but again, at this point, you really don't care. The climb up had taken us until sunrise, the way back down was .....I don't remember, we started to go at different paces and since more than the usually 4 guides had come to the summit, we had guys all around us making sure everyone was ok. There was some nausea happening with some folks due to the quick change in altitude.
We had a quick nap and then had to go another 2.5 hours to get further down the mountain. Going up the mountain is rough, but down is not that easy either: really tough on the knees and toes.
Then we spent the last night in tents and early on the 22nd, at around 7 am, we started our last leg to make it down to the gate where we ``got the t-shirt``, drove to the store in Moshi where we returned our stinky, smelly rental gear (now the renters felt better than the ones who had to carry all their stuff all the way home), and got back to our Impala hotel in Arusha to take our first showers in 8 days. Yip, it ain`t pretty, but it`s the truth. :)
FYI:
- Dirt under finger nails...not so pretty
- Dirt in ears.....interesting Q-tip moment
- Dirt in your nose: just plain gross, and you have to sneeze allll the time
- Wet wipes: best invention ever for camping
- Spitting tooth paste into bushes is much more fun than spitting it into the sink
- Portable toilets in tents: not so great on a cold and windy day...there can be lift-off!
I want to take a second and thank all my team mates and want to also congratulate them on their Kili success. They will always be an important part of this memory.
Congrats to Nancy B, Nancy V, Carin, Chelsea, Michelle, Lisa, Steve, and Alex!
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