The Kilimanjaro Diary: Day 5 - Karanga Camp (4200m) to Barafu Camp (4600m) (15 March 2013)
Originally published at Rodney's Blog. Please leave any comments there.
Inertia and Sister Act 2
in·er·tia [in-ur-shuh, ih-nur-shuh]
The property of matter by which it retains its state of rest or its velocity along a straight line so long as it is not acted upon by an external force.
That’s our battle cry. We decided that pretty early on that we needed a word or a phrase the encourage us to keep going when we felt like stopping or giving up. The line for us is straight up to the top of the mountain!
We also decide that we’ll have a theme song. We probably had several theme songs to be honest, but the one I liked the most was “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” - the version from one of my favourite movies Sister Act 2. Surprisingly, Christina knows the word to the song. She knows the words to most songs. I’m impressed
We sing a few lines on the way up to Barafu camp.
Click to viewChristina’s ankle is hurting her and I last night I didn’t adjust to the altitude as well as I have the previous two nights. Still no sign of altitude sickness, but the lack of oxygen certainly makes you feel like you have had a couple of glasses of wine. It’s manageable.
Ain’t no mountain high enough to stop our inertia to the summit!
An early day but a long night ahead of us
It’s a relatively easy hiking day in terms of energy compared to other days. We finish our hike around 12-13. We are at Barafu camp which is also known as “Base Camp” because it is the last camp before the summit. The wind is super strong. But you can listen to my video blog. It’s the last one of Day 5.
At our briefing with Ashard, he explains the process of reaching the summit. We’re encouraged to eat a bit extra, but honestly, I have no appetite again. The ascent we did in what was a relatively short amount of time made me feel a bit like I did on Day 2 of the trek. He also lets us know that Abraham will not be going to the summit with us. We instead will go with our porter/waiter Frankie. Frankie’s a cool guy so it’s no problem with us. Whatever maximises the chances of reaching the summit.
We’re also told to “wear everything” which means that dress in as many layers as in your bag. It’s that cold.
Ashard also confirm that we will be leaving for the summit just after midnight. We’ll wake up around 23.00 or 23.30 for tea and biscuits (we should only eat them if we don’t feel nauseous) and Ashard and Frankie will have tea for us to drink on the way up.
After dinner and as the darkness falls and the wind blows, we’re told to get some sleep. A bit tough when the wind is causing so much noise that you can’t really fully sleep. But as darkness fall I manage to get some hours.
The moment of reckoning is approaching….Inertia! \o/
