5 July 2022

Diary Entry

Today we started a bit later and the time made a big difference. I got out of bed when the sun rose. I was significantly warmer and did not start the day with longs on! WE had to get up at 7 for breakfast at 8, started hiking at 9.

The hike was short but long. We had on elevation of roughly 900m which was tough., There were some parts where it was very steep Early in the hike I saw a vulture to our right left, over / close to the camp we are now I also saw one to the left right which was amazing. Gliding effortlessly with Mt Kili in the background.

I am missing Monique! I have not read her missing letter yet, but I cannot stop thinking about her and Mitzi photo she sent with me! I was going to talk about it today but started crying. So I stopped.

Every time I cry my eyes hurt. I think its because of the sunscreen and other things on my face.

During the hike Steph, Craig and I were the last to reach camp with Bariki and Armani. It was the first day the team split up into two teams, Very interesting, the two teams met during the allotted breaks.

It was very interesting to see the dynamics with the people. I think the people who took it slowest are going to summit, if anything for the acclimation.

It has been very interesting, at some of the way we we were able to see both Kikelewa and Kibo camp. It was amazing to see and feel, it was amazing. I must say I am so excited.

I have been constipated for most of the trip, I think / hoping that falls away soon, or has no negative effect on me. Normally my body / brain listens to what I am doing and chooses the correct time.

I went to the toilet yesterday for a poop and because of how cold it is, I did not sit on the toilet for very long.

Breakfast today was egg, pancake, paw paw and soup. The food is really good. For lunch we had soup, chicken, coleslaw and potato chips., I don’t know how they do the chips, but it was awesome, hard outside, soft inside.

After the last break while walking, we took a group photo, it was quite funny, the co-ordination.

We also are seeing less precious stones.

Dinner is at 6:30 today and its macaroni and soup.

Sleep is going to be good tonight, it is going to get cold though.

After Notes

Temperature

Sunset and Sunrise, it is something else experiencing how quickly the temperature change. Waking up after the sun had risen allowed me to be more comfortable and not have to change clothing right before the hike started.

Summit Acclimation

I mentioned who I believed to summit, of the two groups. There was one person from each “team” who did not summit, and if we look at it from a numbers perspective, the group in the front had a higher individual summit percentage. I guess slowing the walk is possibly not where the acclimation happens. We were not far from each other 10 - 30 minutes behind the front group.

Evening Attire

Because of the medication we were on, I needed to go to the bathroom to pee quite a bit. This was abnormal for me during evening / sleep times. The first couple nights ( including the one I was leading into ) I did not have my routine down. Although as I got more accustomed to dealing with having to leave my tent, I became familiar with how to stay warm while outside.