Kilimanjaro re-post: Day 3 on the Mountain

Day 3 on the Mountain- September 3, 2010

Here we are at the Barangu Camp. It's pouring rain outside. Dad isn't feeling so hot- the altitude jump today triggered a migraine so he is trying to sleep in the tent. I'm sitting in the mess tent. He says he's doing okay, he took some of his migraine meds. Poor Sifuel and Frank have no idea what a migraine is and they think he has altitude sickness but that's not what it is. He was doing great until we got to Lava Rock, which is about 16,000 feet. That's ridiculously high. Over 15,000 is considered extreme altitude and very dangerous and we're going well above that in the next few days.

Sunrise over Kilimanjaro

We got up this morning at 6:00 AM. Today we hiked with Sifuel and got to know him better. He's married to Api and has 4 kids. Vivian is 16 and she's actually his brother's daughter that he adopted. Gidness is 14 and is his Uncle's son that he also adopted. His younger two Gregory (5) and Gresha (3) are his biological children. He has funny stories about them. Sifuel is a good man. I think he connects more with Dad because they like to talk. I like hiking with Frank because I like to think while hiking and he does too. Sifuel used to work search and rescue on the mountain so he's really well versed in the symptoms of acute mountain sickness and cerebral edema, which are both super dangerous and happen quite often up here. He'll catch anything before it gets too severe and will arrange any emergency evacuations. It is comforting to have him has a guide. He said that once he made it from the Machame gate (where we started) to the base camp (3 miles form the top of Kili) in only 8 hours when he was on a rescue mission. That is intense. That kind of ascent would kill me because I'm not acclimatized to the altitude like he is and he was essentially sprinting. We've got to take it slow and weave our way around the mountain instead of taking a straight shot so that our brains don't swell and our lungs don't burst. Sifuel is pretty hard core. He grew up in Moshi, which is a city on Kilimanjaro so he is used to the altitude. 

Dad, Sifuel, and me

Today's hike was great. I felt just fine the whole time. We rose steadily 3,000 feet and I barely noticed the change in altitude. I just danced my way up the mountain as I listened to my iPod. We got to Lava Tower (a huge rock) and I started to notice how hard I was breathing. I still felt okay but I could tell the air was thinner. Sifuel said this is where most start to feel really sick.

Looking up at Lava Tower

We stayed up on top of there for 15 minutes or so and then started back down to sleep at a lower altitude to acclimatize. We went downhill (very steep) for nearly 2 hours to get to camp. I hate downhill. My lungs relax but it is hard on my knees and muscles. The terrain today was fascinating. Weird looking. It looked like we were on some other planet- I've never seen these plants and flowers before in my life. They are really pretty though. 

Incredible scenery unlike any I've ever seen.

Camp is situated in Kili's shadow. The daunting and intimidating task of climbing the steep and perilous looking barranco wall hangs over us. I can see it from camp and we'll tackle it first thing tomorrow morning. When we got here, it was a bit chilly but it was clear and the sun was out. Now all of camp is enveloped in a thick cold cloud. The fog makes it so you can't see very far in front of you and the rain is pounding on the tent. There are these white-necked ravens everywhere and quite honestly I want to strangle each and every one of them. Their screeching is extremely obnoxious. I love hearing the Swahili chatter everywhere though. Africans are loud and social people. They laugh and call to each other until well into the night and I love it. I'm grateful I brought earplugs though. I can't help but adore these people. Kind, polite, very gracious... they remind me so much of Moses and William, my Nigerian friends in Italy.

Gordie (one of our support team) just came in and played around with my digital camera. He kept taking pictures of me, but sometimes would only capture half of my face, unsure as to how to hold the camera. He's never used one before. This is only his 4th time up Kilimanjaro so he's fairly new to the business. His English is... well, lets just say his efforts are heroic. He's probably about my age, maybe a little younger. He brought me popcorn and wanted to know what I was reading. He studied the cover for a while and then said "You is good book." Thanks Gordie. 

The product of Gordie's photography skills 

I want to learn Swahili. It is such an interesting language. Dad tries to learn it but struggles to remember phrases well sometimes. He's getting better. "Jambo" means "hello" and he kept calling out "jamba!" today to passers-by. I kept saying, "Dad, jamba is a juice, not a greeting." He's not a complainer so I don't really know how bad his migraine is but I hope it passes soon.