9/13/2011
This post is short for a variety of reasons, as you can tell from the entry. I had trekked for about six hours that day along a route that many, if not most, do in two days. The temperature had dropped significantly, and I had very little time to rest before the final ascent later that same night.
It's difficult to write because my hands are so cold. We've arrived at Barafu, which is the base camp for the summit ascent, and the temperature here is much lower due to the elevation.
Today was the most difficult day so far. There was actual hand-over-hand climbing. On top of that, the sunburn on my face, neck, and even lips is bad. I finished reading Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter two days ago. (Having previously read Washington Irving and Ernest Hemingway on this trip, I don't feel like I have to justify my reading selection) I felt like one of the vampires from the story the way I hid from the sun today. Fortunately, most of the trek today was in the shadow of the mountain itself.
We stopped at Karanga Camp for lunch after about three hours. Many groups stop there for the night to acclimatize, but we pushed on. The higher we climbed and the closer we got to Barafu, the more hostile the terrain became. Eventually there was only brittle rock to walk on and fog to walk through. The fog gave the whole landscape an ethereal feel. The terrain was a moonscape.
Barafu itself reminds me of the base camp for Mount Everest: no vegetation, rocky terrain, and an unforgiving appearance. There are quite a few more people here though than there were at Everest. I crossed paths with a few people just down from the summit. They were all in good spirits, but seemed utterly exhausted.
I need to rest now. Tonight at midnight Bryson and I will continue on to Uhuru Peak alone. It's six hours there and three back. Afterwards we will rest again at Barafu, and if all goes well we will push on for 5 more hours to Mweka Gate, finishing a day early. We'll see.
This was my last entry on the mountain. My next journal entry is from the first day of safari. There was no time to write about the final ascent to Uhuru after we returned, and once I had gotten down the mountain, I was so exhausted, dirty, and self-satisfied that I didn't bother recording my thoughts. However, I remember it clearly, and I will follow-up with an entry soon detailing the experience.
This post is short for a variety of reasons, as you can tell from the entry. I had trekked for about six hours that day along a route that many, if not most, do in two days. The temperature had dropped significantly, and I had very little time to rest before the final ascent later that same night.
It's difficult to write because my hands are so cold. We've arrived at Barafu, which is the base camp for the summit ascent, and the temperature here is much lower due to the elevation.
Today was the most difficult day so far. There was actual hand-over-hand climbing. On top of that, the sunburn on my face, neck, and even lips is bad. I finished reading Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter two days ago. (Having previously read Washington Irving and Ernest Hemingway on this trip, I don't feel like I have to justify my reading selection) I felt like one of the vampires from the story the way I hid from the sun today. Fortunately, most of the trek today was in the shadow of the mountain itself.
We stopped at Karanga Camp for lunch after about three hours. Many groups stop there for the night to acclimatize, but we pushed on. The higher we climbed and the closer we got to Barafu, the more hostile the terrain became. Eventually there was only brittle rock to walk on and fog to walk through. The fog gave the whole landscape an ethereal feel. The terrain was a moonscape.
Barafu itself reminds me of the base camp for Mount Everest: no vegetation, rocky terrain, and an unforgiving appearance. There are quite a few more people here though than there were at Everest. I crossed paths with a few people just down from the summit. They were all in good spirits, but seemed utterly exhausted.
I need to rest now. Tonight at midnight Bryson and I will continue on to Uhuru Peak alone. It's six hours there and three back. Afterwards we will rest again at Barafu, and if all goes well we will push on for 5 more hours to Mweka Gate, finishing a day early. We'll see.
This was my last entry on the mountain. My next journal entry is from the first day of safari. There was no time to write about the final ascent to Uhuru after we returned, and once I had gotten down the mountain, I was so exhausted, dirty, and self-satisfied that I didn't bother recording my thoughts. However, I remember it clearly, and I will follow-up with an entry soon detailing the experience.
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