Cathy's Adventures: Tuesday 28th Feb

After our eventful night, a few of the group were feeling tired but generally we were all well and after the normal wake up tea, washy water and breakfast drill we were ready for our next day on the hill. The camp was very damp and there were pockets of sleet and snow all around us. Today's walk was fortunately going to be a short(er) one to our next camp at Mawenzi Tarn. We were told it would take around 4 hours and that after a hot lunch in camp, we would be taken for an acclimatization walk in the hills around our camp.The height of our camp would be 4330m so we were really starting to get up quite high and feel the affects of the altitude. I didn't really get any headaches or sickness but you could definitely feel the lack of oxygen in the air.

I was a little stiff after the long day before, but after a few minutes of pole pole, all stiffness went and I had quite a pleasant walk. It was quite cold and there was a lot of snow when we arrived in camp - the residue of the thunderstorm we had experienced the evening before further down the mountain. A few people had told me that the tarn (small lake) at this camp was disappearing. I can confirm that when we were there - it was very much in situ! This was the last camp where there was going to be fresh spring water and would be the last camp where we would get washy water. After today, the porters had to carry all the water we would need with them - so it was naturally all saved for drinking or cooking. I had plenty of wet wipes with me though as I didn't honestly expect to be given the opportunity to wash as often as we were.

It was nice to have some time to relax before we went for our acclimatization walk for just a couple of hours and climbed the mountains behind us.We gained another few hundred meters of altitude and stopped there for a while for our bodies to get use to the altitude before descending back into camp for dinner.

Unfortunately, it was at this point that one of our group was taken quite unwell and it was very sobering to see the affect the altitude had on her. I'd been walking into camp with Sophie when she started to say she felt a little strange. To be honest, we all felt a little light headed but for the rest of us; food, water and some time to relax sorted us out. However, poor Sophie just got worse and worse. She had terrible nausea and vomiting and wasn't able to keep any food down. At this altitude, you need every calorie possible to keep going and she was clearly getting worse as time went on. The guides and her boyfriend (Henry - also a dentist who had been working in Dar es Salam for a month) had a detailed discussion and before the last of the light faded, a mountain guide and two porters were tasked to get her down as quickly as possible. (She made it into the lower camp that evening, but was still unwell and they continued to get her down the mountain as quickly as they could. She did end up in hospital for a short time and they believe she had gastroenteritis along with altitude sickness. We met up with her at the hotel after the trek and whilst she was still quite weak, she was otherwise fine.)

We went to bed a little apprehensive that night; worried about Sophie and also about yet another storm that was circling around us. Our tents were surrounded by water and trenches had been dug yet again, but this time there was no where really for the water to go. We were lucky - the storm didn't materialise. It was really very cold though that night - the guides told us that it went down to -5 deg C. Fortunately, a work colleague who'd recently returned from Kili had recommended getting some over-sized chemical hand warmers. He said they acted like great hot water bottles - and both Mary and I can agree that they were absolutely fantastic! We opened them and chuntered for a good 10 mins that they must be a faulty batch as they didn't get hot at all - until we realised that they needed Oxygen to work (like us!) - but after a little while - they were roasting! I'd also put a couple of the smaller hand warmer variety in my socks - but had to take them out in the middle of the night as my feet were on fire! Poor Johnny and Andy in the tent next door had a terrible night though - and wore every single item of clothing they had in their sleeping bag and yet they were still freezing. The advice my work colleague had given me had made our trip so much more comfortable. Thanks PK!

Mary and I weren't at all popular the next morning when we overheard saying how hot we were overnight! However, the sunrise that greeted us all that day was something else. The storms had cleared through and we were to be blessed with a great day!