Day 2 - 8/11/06

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• We didn’t get much sleep last night because it was a long day and most of us are only going on five to six hours of sleep. Hopefully today will go faster but we have three miles more to travel today than yesterday. The camp is bright and sunny with tons of people and porters. However it is more crazy than peaceful right now as we are prepping to leave. The porters have to work on Darol’s bike before we can depart.
  
  

  • 10:15am- We are starting an hour and a half later than we had wanted to because Darol needed a little extra rest today. We need to travel 12 kilometers or 7.5 miles to our next camp.

  
  • 11:10am- We broke through the rain forests to the grasslands of the mountains, absolutely beautiful with the mountains in the background and a fine mist in the air.

  
  • 11:30am- The trial is quite a bit easier for Darol to navigate so we are moving faster than yesterday. Of course not trekking through several inches of rain and mud is a huge help.

  
  • 12:30pm- Darol has really been feeling well, seeing how there are a lot less rocks on the trail today. For the rest of us we are able to take in the beautiful landscape. The trees at 10,000 feet have an interesting long moss that hangs from their branches. Again the fine mist in the air gives the scene a surreal quality.

  
  • 1:30pm- While stopping for lunch it started to rain again. We are thinking we won’t make camp again until midnight. We are only a quarter of the total distance that we need to travel. For the “dry season”- that is August- we sure are getting wet a lot.

  
  • 3:30pm- In the plains of the mountains there are very few trees. While the rain has stopped, there is complete cloud cover in the rolling mist and fog.

  
  • 4:30pm- Darol is moving great. There is no rain or harsh terrain for him to navigate making it much easier than yesterday. Although he does need to pace himself so he does not burn too much energy.

  
  • 4:45pm-: We are sitting at Mastrick Point and we have a chance to really appreciate where we are. There is comfort in the quietness and solitude here. Much like a calm ocean it is peaceful and tranquil, but we know that at any time a storm can brew and our storm is the altitude for which we constantly prepare.

  
  • 5:30pm-We encountered some rolling hills that the trail winds though. This has given Darol an opportunity for some fun on the downhill portion. For all of us each downhill is a welcomed relief, a welcomed break.

  
  • 6:00pm-We saw the summit for the first time. It is beautiful but at the same time intimidating.

  
  • 6:40pm- The sun is setting and we are well past the halfway point. Although Darol continues to excel, it is still taking longer than any of us expected, it is becoming quite cold and we are predicting a midnight to 1:00 AM arrival time into camp.

  
  • 7:30pm- It is really getting dark. It has been dark now for 45 minutes and no one knows how Darol can navigate so well without any light. Alex our photographer has placed a light underneath his white poncho so Darol can have a better view of the shadows on the trail. It is working much better than a headlamp.

  
  • 8:00pm- We are not certain how long it will take to get to camp now, 2:00 or maybe 3:00 AM, it seems that we are almost always overly optimistic on time and distance so we made a decision. Instead of camping out on the open terrain tonight, we are having people head down from camp to bring clothes. We plan to travel all night if necessary as tomorrow is going to be a rest day.

  
  • 10:00pm- Food and clothes arrive. Good thing as it was really getting cold for everyone. Everyone is in good spirits even though we are predicting a 1:00 AM camp time. FYI- the soups the porters have served have been amazing!

  
  • 12:00am- We are still moving but it is really getting cold…32 degrees. Darol is continuing to do well; we believe we can now calculate his pace much better for the days ahead.

  
  • 12:30am- We are close to camp, perhaps another 30 minutes. The moon is nearly full and it is so bright that most of us don’t need any lights to navigate the trail.

  
  • 1:00am- We finally arrived at camp at 12,400ft. It’s a clear bright night and above us in the distance is the summit of Kilimanjaro in full view. This truly beautiful sight inspires us.