By 8:30AM we were yawning and after brief ablutions we hit the sack, having planned with the guides, to get up at 6:00AM – long before other climbers. Back at camp we were treated to a fabulous meal of soup, roasted chicken, potatoes, kale, salad, and bananas for dessert. We chatted about the day and discussed important issues such as ‘acclimatization gas’ and the very weird fizzing sensation in your fingers. We were greeted at 6:00AM with bowls of hot water ad cups of tea. Breakfast was pretty huge, toast, porridge, eggs, sausages, tomatoes and more tea. We left the camp at 7:30AM and within 20 minutes we were out of the rain forest and in to the moor lands. The sky is clear blue. Ellen is still excited and a little nervous ‘thus far’. She hasn’t been sleeping too well, however she is managing to rest, the ‘tinglies’ are really bothering her! Susan unfortunately has a cold, however is hydrating lots and keeping her mind off her congestion by delving into the lives of the guides. Sarah is doing well with only slightly sore palms. The SideStix are performing fabulously. Sarah’s using the hiking tips with steell studs and she’s as sure as a mountain goat (although she smells better!). I’m (Kerith) doing great. Feeling a little sore in the hips but other than that - no problems. Just so I can keep you up to date, I have my cell phone connected to a solar panel on the outside of my pack! It was a long day today. Seven hours and about 4,000 feet elevation gain. Long slow slog, very hot in the sun, but cooling rapidly as the fog rolled in. Horombo camp is very busy with people returning from the summit attempts and people like us on the way up. It’s very sobering talking to people who have attempted and failed, our anxiety levels have gone way up. Today we passed someone being brought down on a wheeled stretcher and a young boy collapsed on the trail in front of us. We’ve all be hydrating lots and we’ve all got minor headaches however we will be in Horombo for two nights so we will hopefully acclimatize somewhat. We’ve all been popping headache pills and Sarah threw up after tea, hopefully this will be an isolated incident. Sarah’s SideStix have performed well again, however I had to put in some new studs because she lost a few on the rocks. TTFN
