Monday 27th Feb - Day 2

It continued to rain in the night, but we were pretty comfortable and warm and generally had a good nights rest. We were in bed for 9pm and were woken at around 6.30am with "wake up tea". We would be woken up with this every morning. The guides told us this was to warm up our stomachs so we could eat. About 15 minutes later we were then given "washy water" again for another freshen up. We had to pack all of our kit up before having breakfast as whilst we were eating, the tent porters would start taking them down and getting everything packed up ready to leave in good time. Breakfast consisted of lots of tea or pretty much any other hot drink you could imagine, porridge and eggs - and sometimes bacon. Amazing considering where we were. After a final visit to the toilets (which were remarkably clean camping toilets in blue toilet tents) and we were off again on what was to be a very long, hard day.

Day 2 consists of a steep up-hill section in the morning and a more gentle afternoon. We would be climbing to a lunch stop at the "Second Cave" at a height of 3450m. This was really tough going and was the only time I really questioned why I was doing this and whether I was going to make it. The guides were great and set another Pole Pole pace which was the only reason I was able to get through the day. However, the views really started to make a difference as we were able to get our first glimpse of Kilimanjaro and Mawenzi Peak where we would be camping the following night.

The rain in our camp the night before had been snow on the mountain and Kili was covered. It was stunning.


We were walking through shrub land for most of the morning which had unfortunately been quite badly burned due to fires which had swept through the area a few months earlier. However, there were still some absolutely stunning flowers and plants around and many of these were in bloom too.


We stopped for some "drinky water" and snacks at the 1st caves - and the by now, well practiced toilet drills "alfresco". All that water has to go somewhere and peeing a lot was good sign that we were well hydrated. A few hours later we reached our lunch stop where the mess tent, tables and chairs had been put up for us. It stayed dry, but was quite windy and having a hot lunch under cover was definitely needed - you'd think they'd done this trip a few times before! I was really very tired by this point, but fortunately the climb wasn't as severe in the afternoon as we headed for our camp at Kikelewa Caves at 3600m. There were 3 distinct speeds that our group walked at. There was a really fast group, followed by me and a few others in the middle, and a group who took a sensible pace that suited them just perfectly towards the rear. I could always hear them chatting away when I was struggling to breathe - so they definitely had the right balance. It was during that afternoon that I found just the perfect pace, the weather was overcast but dry and I started to relax and enjoy myself. On this walk, one of the guides walked with me all afternoon - his name was Julius and we had a good chat about what was to be expected on the summit night. It was during our chat that he promised he would help me all the way, that we would carry my bag and would make sure I made it. He was a family man and told me all about how important the job was to him to be a porter. It was really interesting to hear his story.

So - we arrived at camp in the early evening and were again met by our tent porter, washy water, hot tea and snacks. I know it sounds like we are on a holiday camp - but trust me, it's hard work and it wouldn't be possible without this level of support. It was dry when we arrived and we had amazing views up the mountain but also across the plains of Kenya (we were on the south side of the mountain at this point.). Unfortunately, what was also very clear was an immense storm was making its way across the plains - straight towards us. Huge black monsoon clouds, deep rumbling thunder and lightening was all around us - and at the altitude we were at - we were going to be smack in the middle of it. We had another good dinner and then dashed to our tents before the rain, sleet and electrical storm came in. Whilst we had been at dinner the porters had been digging trenches around our tents - clearly, they knew something bad was coming. Our tent was on a slight angle so I pulled out all the guy lines as tight as I could, built a dam from rocks at the top end where it was clear the water was going to run through. We then got into our tent and waited for the inevitable to happen. Fortunately I had my bivvy bag with me which I did get out as it just meant I would sleep easier knowing that I didn't need to keep checking whether my sleeping bag was touching the tent. Yes - I'm a bit OCD when it comes to these things as poor Mary will confirm! We also put our main kit bags towards the outside of the tents for the first time that night, and slept together in the middle of the tent. Again, we were warm and stayed very dry.

The noise from the rain was something else - and the earth actually moved in the thunder. Fortunately this only lasted until around 1am and I did doze for bits of the storm until the lightening, that was so bright, woke me up. It was like someone was shining a torch straight in your eyes. At the height of the storm, we heard the porters running around outside checking our tents and making the water channels around some of the tents a bit deeper to cope with the rain. What these guys go through to help us is nothing short of amazing.

Kili - the morning after

Camp - the morning after!