Day three on the mountain was important to me for several reasons. It was the first time I had experienced a headache and the first time I had realised what being in high altitude meant.
The morning is chilly but beautiful with a view of the sun rising over the pink and white fluffy clouds below us. Again I couldn't sleep properly at night but still I feel fairly refreshed and ready for another challenge. Today shouldn’t be a long walk as we are supposed to reach the next camp (4300m) around one in the afternoon and then later we have an acclimatisation walk planned (up to 4600m and back to the camp). Obote and Lazarus are our main guides for today. The walk starts uphill and is uphill all the way. Thankfully we are again walking very slowly so the rocks and stones are not a big obstacle to tackle. The nature is changing around us, it’s mostly bushes which gradually disappear until we reach only stones and rocks with no green vegetation around us at all. We are passing the 4100m mark at which point I realise I have a dull pain at the back of my skull. It’s not huge but it’s there and it’s not going away. This is my first encounter with the altitude sickness.
We are steadily hiking up the hill, Obote is promising that our camp is basically at the top of the hill. I am not tired but a bit lethargic although otherwise still very well compared to some of my co-hikers. Every break is a very welcome opportunity to catch the breath and just sit for a minute and enjoy the fact that we are over 4000m. The sky is clear and it’s sunny and dry although the wind occasionally gets under the skin.
Eventually we get to the top and to the camp which is quietly sitting in the valley under the Mawenzi peak. From here we cannot see Kibo. The ground is fairly even so I am hoping for a nice good night when I actually manage to get some sleep. But now it’s time for lunch. There is more of us now having headaches and some people are not able to eat or just simply lack the will to eat. This is the occasion when the encounter with high altitude is very real. Simple walking or bending or getting down to sit in the tent is leaving us breathless. It’s difficult to get used to the fact that everything needs to be done in slow motion but the sudden rush into the head when I do things in my normal pace teaches me the lesson very fast. We have a lunch after which I am taking a couple of Paracetamols as my headache is still there and pounding. Then we rest before our acclimatisation walk.
The walk takes us up to one of the ridges of Mawenzi. It’s very steep and rocky trek but the views are incredible. Finally we see Kibo again and the path across the saddle from Mawenzi to Kibo Huts where we will be walking tomorrow. Although our group is now affected by various altitude problems - tiredness, lack of sleep, not being able to eat, headaches, nausea - we all are very optimistic when seeing Kibo in front of us. It feels quite surreal to be here above the clouds and looking at the impressive hill ahead.
The acclimatisation walk takes about two hours. After our return to the camp, the usual evening routine expects us, followed by the dinner. The weather changes very fast after the sun set and what was a pleasantly warm day transforms into a cold and windy night. Our faces that were very optimistic just a few hours ago are now showing worries and the fear of uncertainty. My headache is gone but I decide it's the time for Diamox. I don't have time to think about the side effects, I only keep thinking that I really really want to get to the top of the hill and I will do anything I can possibly do. At this point I have no idea what an adventure the night ahead will be.
One of the things that are repeated to us on a regular basis is that we need to drink as much as possible. It's fairly simple during the day (I think I managed to drink around three litres only during the morning trek today) when you have opportunities to go and send an email whenever you need to. It's a different story at night. You have to get out of the very warm and nice sleeping bag into a sharply cold tent, get dressed, get out of the tent, find your way to the toilet tent and then go back, undress, get into the sleeping bag. All this is causing you shortness of breath, not to mention the wind and chill outside is not very friendly either. I am aware that Diamox is making this even worse as one of the side effects is the need to go and send emails more often than normally. The only thing I can do about this is to limit my drinking before we go to sleep. I manage to fall asleep fairly quickly (I did try ear plugs too which helped a lot), unfortunately am woken up soon - yes, I need to send an email. There is not much I can do, so I undergo the whole daunting procedure. Then I realise I feel very very dehydrated (which is very unusual for me) so I dare to have a little sip of water from my Camelbak. Unbelievably I need to go get up again after an hour or so. And one more time later at night even though I didn't dare to even think about having another sip. One night when I don't have issues with falling asleep and I spend it travelling to the toilet and back... However ridiculous or silly this sounds, this was my worst experience from Kili.
But hey, the night is over and ahead lies the day D when we get as close as possible to the foot of Kibo and night N when we start our trek to the summit...
