Friday, May 17, 2013

Kilimanjaro (Day 6):

Barafu Camp to Uhuru Peak to Mweka Camp

Thursday, January 17, 2013


Summit day! It was a very long and taxing day that started at 11pm yesterday. That's when Faustin woke me up. I was actually able to sleep a couple of hours until then but it wasn't easy because of the wind. They brought me tea and biscuits which I ate and then quickly put all my clothes on for the big challenge. We left for the summit at 11:50pm on Wednesday. I put the foot warmers in my boots but I don't think they did any good. The right one hurt my feet at every step but there was nothing I could do about it. I also used the hand warmers Randy gave me. They did warm up my palms but my fingers were still freezing.
 
We slowly inched our way up the mountain in the dark. Some sections were steeper, some were less steep, and sometimes we had to climb up rocks. I concentrated on my breathing and followed Faustin religiously. About 2.5 hours into the climb, my stomach started hurting. I was really bloated from the altitude. More and more people caught up to us and passed us since I was very slow. There was actually one other woman who was slower than me so I wasn't the ultimate slowest person on the mountain. Yesterday, the same woman was doing much better than I was. I guess, finally all that smoking caught up to her.
 
My misery started when really big groups were catching up to us. There was literally a traffic jam on the trail. Sometimes, we had to stop and wait until people in front of us started moving again. This situation was annoying. Sometimes, I was caught in the middle of a big group and I was holding people up since I was moving slower. Occasionally, I stepped aside to let people go by but not everybody wanted to pass me. I really didn't enjoy people breathing down my neck.
 
About two-thirds into the climb, I had an emotional/mental breakdown. I sat down on a rock and started sobbing. Because of that, I had trouble breathing. I felt so miserable in that moment that I wanted to give up and turn back. When I stopped crying, I told Faustin that I didn't think I could continue because I couldn't breathe. All he said was: "Follow me, please, slowly!" and he started climbing uphill. I had no choice but to follow him. Later, I was really glad that he didn't let me quit.
 
From that moment on, I was repeating the following mantra in my head: "I am strong, I am warm." and kept going up. Pretty soon we made it to Stella Point at 5,745 meters (18,848 feet). People were celebrating and taking pictures up there in the dark. Faustin wanted me to take a break but I just said: "Let's continue!" I was in good spirits because I knew that the hard part was over and I didn't need a break at that time.
 
The rest of the walk was pretty easy. The sun started rising and I could actually see the beautiful rocks covered with snow. From Stella Point, everything was covered with snow and everything was frozen. It took us six hours to get up to Stella Point and another hour to walk up to Uhuru Peak. Just before the peak, I heard someone calling my name. Andrew and Mio were coming back from the peak. They started their climb at 11pm. They congratulated me even though I haven't reached the summit yet.
 
We reached Uhuru Peak at 6:45am. Faustin gave me a hug and I cried for a second. Arriving at the peak was actually a big disappointment for me. I mean, I'm glad that I accomplished my goal but I expected much more from the summit. The place was so foggy that I couldn't see anything but the sign and the millions of people. There were so many people up there and everybody was trying to take a picture with the sign. When it was our turn to take a picture, I quickly sprinkled the remainder of my brother's ashes on the sign and then Faustin and I posed for a couple of pictures. Unfortunately, the guide who took our picture wasn't the best photographer.
 
After our pictures were taken, we started the walk back. We took another picture at Stella Point since it wasn't dark anymore then we started our death march back to Barafu Camp. We came down on a different trail. This one was very steep and treacherous. It was more like sliding down the hillside than a proper trail. Faustin was going down really fast while I was very slow and cautious. It seemed like he didn't have patience for me. At one point, he decided to grab my arm and drag me down the mountain. I got really pissed and we had our first and only argument. He said that I was dizzy and he was going to help me down the mountain. I told him that I wasn't dizzy, I was just very tired and I wanted to walk by myself but slowly. I did not wish to be dragged down the mountain like other people who were suffering from mountain sickness and weren't able to walk by themselves.
 
In fact, I had absolutely no problem with the altitude. I was just physically and mentally exhausted. I had another emotional/mental breakdown on the way down. I really had to pee (I've been holding it since the summit) but there were not many hiding places on the death slope. Finally, we stopped at a big rock that had poop all over it and Faustin wanted me to pee there. The problem was that people were constantly coming down the slope and there wasn't a good hiding place to squat down. I was walking around trying to figure out where to pee and it was getting hopeless to find a good enough spot. Finally, I stepped over all the poop into a little hidden place and I relieved myself. While I was struggling to pull my four pants up and button them with my gloves on, I broke down crying again. I couldn't stop crying for a few minutes so I sat down on a rock blowing my nose and sipping my water very slowly. Finally, I got my composure back and I could continue down the death slope.
 
It took us 3.25 hours to get back to Barafu Camp. There, I laid down on my mattress after I took off most of my clothes and fell asleep right away. I slept for an hour then I had lunch and after that I packed up all my gear. We left Barafu Camp at 12:45pm and headed down to Mweka Camp.
 
The hike down was very steep and treacherous. To make matters worse, it started drizzling. Everything got wet and the trail became very slippery. It took us another 3.25 hours to get to Mweka Camp at 3,106 meters (10,190 feet).
 
The bottom of my tent was wet when I got there but there was nothing I could do about that. I had to set up my bed in those conditions. I had dinner in my tent. It is getting harder and harder to put up with Goodliving's horrible body odor. Every time he brings me my food into the tent, the smell lingers for a while and it's really hard to eat like that. I'm also getting really tired of the "mambo-poa" bullshit. I think I'm just glad that this will be all over tomorrow.

I retired for bed at 7pm.

At Uhuru Peak with Faustin
 
People waiting for their summit pictures to be taken
 
At Stella Point on the way down form the peak
 
With Faustin at Stella Point
 
Coming down from the peak
 
Faustin waiting for me
 
Mt. Meru in the distance
 
Barafu Camp on the horizon
 
Getting really close to Barafu Camp now
 
Arriving at Mweka Camp
 
My tent at Mweka Camp
 
 
 

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