Kilimanjaro - My Journey to the Roof of Africa

Mt. Meru (Day 2):

Miriakamba Hut to Saddle Hut

Tuesday, January 8, 2013

I couldn't sleep very well again even though the bed was really comfortable and my sleeping bag really warm. Miriakamba Hut is truly an amazing place. Not at all what I expected in Africa. It's actually quite luxurious. At around 5am my period arrived. I knew it was coming from the signs yesterday. This means that I'm going to have two really tough days on the first two days of my period. Exactly what I was hoping to avoid. At least here at Miriakamba Hut I can somewhat clean up so it's not super bad after all.

I got up around 6:45am since I couldn't sleep anyway. I quickly packed my backpack before I cleaned up a little bit. The bathroom facilities were quite busy. My porter brought me a bowl of hot water again. Breakfast was at 7:30 and it was a lot. First avocado (so big that I've never seen that big before) and mango then porridge and finally toast with peanut butter and jelly, fried eggs, hot dogs, cheese, and veggies. I ate most of it except one toast and the eggs which I wasn't too crazy about. Michael ate half of my avocado. I like this eating together and sharing the food. I got ready by 8:15 and that's when our big group led by Gideon hit the trail.

Today was quite strenuous. We only walked 6 kilometers to Saddle Hut but it was steep all the way. Andreas and I are always the last ones in the group since we take lots of pictures. We photographed beautiful flowers (fireball lily, everlastings, red hot poker, and gladiolus). We also had beautiful views of Kilimanjaro on today's hike and we were lucky to find a Jackson chameleon as well. Poor little thing had to endure us touching it and giving it from person to person. It took us 4.75 hours to walk the 6 kilometers to Saddle Hut. Saddle Hut doesn't have as great bathroom facilities as Miriakamba Hut. There are only two working toilets and one working sink. I'm not happy about this situation. Luckily, my porter brought me a bowl of hot water again so I could clean up a little bit in the shower (which doesn't work but it's private).

We had a couple of hours rest before climbing Little Meru Peak. I finished my lunch that they gave me in the morning. They always give so much food; it's impossible to eat it in one sitting. I ate half of it on the trail and now finished the rest with two cups of tea. Unfortunately, it started raining while we ate. It also got colder so I had to put on more clothes and my rain gear.

Faustin and I started climbing up to Little Meru Peak just after 3pm. I did what I've been doing all day: walked slowly and concentrated on my breathing. It started raining again shortly after we left. At that point we couldn't see anything from the fog so I was just watching the trail in front of me the whole time since it was rather treacherous and slippery from the rain. We got up to Little Meru Peak (3,820 meters) in less than an hour. We snapped a few pictures with the sign, I sprinkled some of my brother's ashes on top of the sign and then we headed back down. The whole trip was only 1.75 hours. I had a half hour rest break before dinner so I could write in my journal.

Dinner was huge again: soup, crepes with honey, rice, chicken, vegetable sauce, green beans, and fruit (avocado and mango). I barely touched the main course. I simply could not eat much even though I tried my best. We are at 3,560 meters now. I have a slight headache and not much appetite. It's almost 7 o'clock now and it's time to go to bed. My wakeup call is at midnight and we'll leave for the summit at 1am. I hope I can get some sleep until then.