December 25, 2010

December 25, 2010

We woke up at 6:30am this morning. Had the best sleep last night because of some Tylenol pm I got from Lucy. After breakfast (the usual porridge and bread, but at least this time we got a fried egg and bacon too) we got ready to leave camp. The African guides and porters got together and sang 2 songs for us that I got on video. No idea what the first song was, we're told it was a Christmas song, but the second song was the "Jambo Song" that they usually sing to the hikers at the end of the climb when you're back at the gate. I guess they sang it early as a Christmas present to us. After they were done, we started the hike for the day which included us climbing over the Barranco Wall. This was my FAVORITE hike thus far. Climbing the wall was so awesome. Very scary at times because you would be clinging onto the rock wall and if you even slightly let go, the weight of your backpack would cause you to fall backwards and, depending on where on the wall you were, it was a good drop to the bottom of the valley. We had to put our poles up because we had to use our hands to scramble our way up the wall. After the wall, we went down over the other side of the wall a little bit and then had one final push up a very steep hill to get to Karanga Valley Camp.

We're at 13,300 feet now (at the Karanga Camp - Camp 4) and at this altitude EVERYTHING leaves you out of breath. Even peeing. Oh yeah, don't know if I've mentioned anything about that yet. On the mountain, we go to the bathroom in outhouses. Sometimes they have doors and sometimes they don't. What's strange to us is that the hole in the ground in these outhouses were rather big at the first camps, but as we ascend, the holes in these outhouses are getting smaller and smaller. I think we're suppose to have our aim perfected). When we get to camp our porters give us our duffel bags and we have to unpack them to get out our sleeping bags and clothes if we plan to change the next day, toothbrush, etc. This is the worst part of my day everyday. I have to bend over to reach into the tent to get a toothbrush or toilet paper or what have you, and then stand back up once I'm out of the tent. After this process, I have to take about 5-10 minutes of rest before actually brushing my teeth, or walking to the outhouse. I know that sounds crazy, but it's very true. At this high of altitude, everything takes 3x as much energy as at sea level.

Anyway, so when we got to Karanga Camp, we got a hot lunch that included onion soup with chicken and chips ("chips" to them is fries to us). SO GOOD!! It was a short day. Our hike only took 4 hours to complete which means we had time to rest after lunch before dinner, which was well needed! I'm about to take a nap now.

Took a great 2 hour nap and woke up to the African guides singing Christmas carols outside the tent. We had dinner at 7pm and Mike brought Christmas lights to decorate the mess tent. We had veggie soup again with rice and hot drinks. It's so easy to get warm while eating dinner. Also, I was able to call home for a brief minute and talk to my mom and Mike and Jen and Jeff on speaker phone. Justin talked to his mom and dad too. I can't wait to see our phone bill when we get home. (The phone bill as of 12/22/10 was $380. The billing cycle isn't over yet). The view from Karanga Camp is amazing. You can easily see Moshi below all lit up at night. The view of the summit is getting bigger and bigger because its getting closer and closer to our camps. There tends to be no clouds at all when we wake up in the morning from about 6am-10am. Then they move in slowly and cover our view. I can't believe we're attempting the summit tomorrow night!! Tonight will be the last good night of sleep I'll be able to get. Hakuna Matata!! (This is not just a term from the Lion King, it's actually a Swahili phrase for "no troubles". Our guides said it ALL.THE.TIME).

Beginning Elevation: 12,959
Ending Elevation: 13,300
Elevation Gain: 921 feet gained up the wall, 950 feet lost going into the valley, 341 feet overall
Calories Burned: 1,818
Miles Hiked: Just over 3 miles
Time Hiking: 4 hours
Justin Oxygen: 91
Marcie Oxygen: 93
**The fact that our oxygen levels are in the 90's is a GREAT sign. It means that our bodies are getting acclimated***

Here's pictures of today's hike:



The Barranco Wall from camp. See those white dots? Those are people climbing the wall.



Scrambling the rocks. Most of these pictures are of me because Justin was the one taking pictures.









Finally made it over the wall and took a group picture with all hikers and 4 of the 5 guides.



Hiking down from the wall into Karanga Valley



View of the summit from Karanga Valley


Today I have two videos for you! This is a video Justin took of some of the other hikers climbing the Barranco Wall. You can even hear Justin breathing heavily in the video due to lack of oxygen at that altitude. In the video the other Marcy is climbing one section of the wall. One of the things she talks about is having a hard time to find something to grab onto to pull her up. This was an issue. It was somewhat difficult to find a rock that was sturdy enough to put all of your weight on so that you could pull yourself up. We literally had to follow the exact footsteps of the person in front of you and put your hands in the exact place they did. It was incredible though. This wall was my favorite part of the whole hike. LOVED IT!



And here's a video I took of the views at Karanga Camp: