From the roof of Africa with love (part 2) - Uhuru is not just a lager (by Darina)

Friday 24th September 2010, around 7:30am

Nothing like to be sitting around half past seven in the morning on the lower top of Kilimanjaro, taking in the beauty of the sun’s warmth on your face. One thing I am noticing is that there is no snow. We can see glaciers but there is no snow otherwise and that was one of the things we were prepared for. I am very grateful that the weather was so kind to us.

I could probably sit here forever but we need to continue to Uhuru and then rush back to lower altitude. After a short panic episode (me going over the rocks to send an email and then not being able to put my third trousers layer back on therefore me just standing there alone, breathing heavily, being not able to move and not able to think what to do… for about ten minutes!) we set off.

The path is much more pleasant than the nightmare from Jamaica Rocks and is rolling up and down slightly. Still it’s a long way to go, especially when you’re only living on a bar of Cadbury milk chocolate and water (the pipe still frozen so still using the back up water from the bottle). The sun is pleasant but makes me feel sleepy again. At one point I just want to sit down and sleep but Robbie, who’s our guide from Gilman’s Point, keeps saying we’re close. So I keep shuffling and shuffling. People passing us from the other direction, coming back from the peak, keep saying “Well done, keep going” and “Almost there” and similar nonsense as we’re still NOT almost there. It feels like another marathon and we need to make several stops to refresh and de-layer before we finally get to climb the last very slight hill that leads us to another wooden sign!

The first thing that comes to my mind is that this is not what I thought it would look like. It’s a wooden post standing at the end of the road, it’s not like a peak of a mountain at all. But then I realise we’ve arrived, we’re here, we’ve made it and everything else is gone! The tiredness, the hunger, the frozen pipe, the numb toes, lack of sleep, all problems and little troubles vanish because we’re standing on the roof of Africa and what’s more important, we are all ok and enjoying this moment immensely! I feel great. It’s like I am a new person. My breathing is fine, the air is wonderfully fresh. I feel energised and all the tiredness is gone. We all hug, we take pictures, we laugh… It’s an amazing moment.

There is a long way back ahead of us now. It’s hard to believe it’s only half eight in the morning, we were walking for more than eight hours and there are another three hours back to the Kibo Huts for lunch and then three/four hours to our last camp expecting us. It’s not as much fun but the excitement of our achievement is pushing us to move on. The route back is the same up to the Gilman’s Point and through the rocks and stones above the Jamaica Rocks. Then we divert towards a very steep downhill slope of scree. We can either walk it in zigzags or slide which sounds like fun and looks like a fast way how to get down. It’s unbelievably exhausting too I find out very soon. My knees are complaining already, they don’t like the downhill trek at all. I end up falling on to my bum several times too but who cares, there is a lunch awaiting us at the bottom of the hill!

When we finally get to the camp, I just lie down in the tent and lie and lie. We’re covered in fresh dust from the scree adventure. Trying to get rid of it seems like an impossible task as it’s very windy and the dust is just flying around. The camp is very quiet, everybody is resting. Later I learn that some people – Ryan, Jason, Denise – made it to the Gilman’s Point and then decided to go back. I feel a big admiration for them as Ryan and Denise were climbing on an empty stomach and Jason was having big problems with his toes.

The atmosphere at the lunch is much more positive than our breakfast “last night”. I feel happy but also very sleepy and am sure that tonight I will be sleeping like a log even if the tent is suspended in the air somewhere. We get a little bit more time to rest after lunch before we’re rushed to walk to the next camp, the Horombo Camp which is in 3700m. The route is easy, slightly downhill on a pleasant track. We make it to the camp just after the sun set. Our last dinner together is cheerful but the tiredness is taking its toll and we all go to the tents to sleep fairly early. As expected I sleep like a baby for the first time in a week!