Day 5 - Bring on the drugs... (Feb 15)

Kikelelwa Camp to Mawenzi Tarn Hut Camp
Distance: 3.75 km; altitude gained: 627 m
Kikelelwa Camp - 3675m (12,057 ft)
Mawenzi Tarn Hut Camp - 4302m (14,114 ft)

Don't let the short distance fool you.  Although this was just over 2 miles of distance, we gained over 2,000 ft in elevation today, which made for a pretty steep climb.  And at altitudes approaching the highest peaks in the continental US, this was by no means to be taken lightly 

Sunrise at Kikelelwa Camp

Since our hike to Mawenzi Tarn Hut would only last through the morning, we "slept in" until 6:30 AM.  At this elevation, the porters were now helping us all stuff our sleeping bags into their sacks as it could be a strenuous activity, lasting a good 10-15 minutes and stealing away precious hiking time.  After our usual breakfast (I was so pleased every day to see those delicious omelets!), we prepared our daypacks with the requisite 2L of water (plus gatorade flavoring) and were on the trail by 8 AM. 

Catherine, Bridget and Olivia ready to hit the trial

The hike was definitely steep and rocky, requiring us to really pick up our feet and navigate around the rocks to start.  The trail then tapered off to more of a dirt path which was much more manageable.  The air was getting colder now, not helped by the fact that we were encased in a cloudy mist for much of the way, and most of us were now wearing long sleeves. Despite the cool and misty weather, the clouds would occasionally part and give way to some stunning views of both the Kibo and Mawenzi peaks urging us onward.

Our team of porters, making it look easy

Catherine, Ed, Bridget, Imogen and Olivia taking a break

The steep and rocky trail

Mawenzi Peak

Arrival at Mawenzi Tarn Camp
About 3.5 hours later, we arrived at the Mawenzi Tarn Hut Camp, which was situated in a crater under the shadows of the looming Mawenzi peak.  We checked in to the little hut, which was the routine at any of the camps with a small ranger's hut (our first, third and fifth nights on the mountain). The camp was already set up with our tents, as well as tents from 3-4 other groups of hikers, all surrounding a small pond.  Because of it's location in the crater, Joshua had forewarned us that it would be hot during the day but potentially below freezing at night once the sun went down.  We decided to enjoy the warmth of the afternoon as much as possible before setting out on our acclimatization hike.  Though every time the sun would disappear behind the clouds, the temperature dropped significantly and we got a taste of what was to come that night...

Olivia "checking in" under Joshua's watchful eye

A spectacular view from our tent

Not long after arriving at camp, we walked around the rocks, snapping photos and enjoying the views of the incredible Mawenzi peak before settling down for lunch.  Lunch today consisted of chicken noodle soup, "donuts" (i.e., some sort of odd pastry) followed by beef empanadas, fresh pineapple and oranges and a pound-cake-like muffin. 

Our camp at Mawenzi Tarn Hut

Mawenzi Tarn Hut - it doesn't get much better!

Cairns at Mawenzi

A look-alike?

Writing postcards while waiting for our acclimatization hike

After lunch, we had an hour or two before the acclimatization hike, so a few of us took naps, while others hung out in the lunch tent or walked around the camp.  I was afraid that if I fell asleep, I wouldn't want to get up for the afternoon hike, so I hung out with Catherine in the lunch tent. 

Diamox or Die! (Ok, maybe that's a little dramatic...)
Just prior to the hike, I started noticing a slight headache coming on.  I notified Joshua who asked me to grade the headache on a scale of 1-10. 
1 - no action
2-3 headache goes away after taking tylenol
4-6 headache doesn't go away with tylenol but improves within 24 hours of taking diamox)
7-10 headache doesn't go away at all
When we had arrived at camp, I would have said a "1" but after sitting around camp for a while, it definitely got worse and I upgraded the rating to a "3".  Imogen also started experiencing some symptoms, so we were both instructed to take a half a dose of diamox after our acclimatization hike and to continue taking it.

There are a few schools of thought about diamox.  Some people take it prior to starting the hike.  Others take it once they start experiencing symptoms.  Since it is a strong diuretic, I opted for the latter, as I didn't really want to be stopping every 30 minutes to go to the bathroom and definitely didn't want to force myself to drink any more water than the massive amounts we were already consuming.  But now, it was time. 

Acclimatization Hike

L to R: Olivia, Ed, Joshua, Imogen, Bridget, Felix

The goal of our acclimatization hike was to hike from 4300 m to 4500 m, which we all accomplished while playing dorky geography trivia games (you might say we were a competitive bunch).  The hike itself was somewhat challenging, but certainly doable. 

Chillaxin' at 4500m!

Olivia and the giant groundsels

Olivia at 4700m

The views from here were incredible.  Above us was the magnificent Maweni peak, its rocky black face shrouded in contrasting shades of white cloud and snow.  To our left in the distance, was the famous Kibo peak, our ultimate goal of the journey. And below us, a steep, rocky path that seemed to lead directly into a sea of clouds. 

Joshua and Imogen at 4500m

Bridget, hiking up from the clouds to Mawenzi

A view from our acclimatization hike
If you look closely, in the lower left corner, you can see the tents dotting the camp near the pond.

After taking in the views, we heard Olivia, Catherine and Ed all making their way down the steep Mawenzi peak, but they were heading down the mountain a few hundred yards from where we were, running down the scree.  With each step, they would slide about an equal distance.  It was certainly a quick way down, but looked precarious.  This is also how we would be descending from Kibo on Day 6, but more on that later. 

Back at Mawenzi Tarn Hut Camp
Not long after we returned from our afternoon hike, it was time for popcorn and tea.  This is when I decided to take my first half-dose of diamox.  It only took about 30 minutes for the dose to kick-in.  For the next hour, Imogen and I passed each other going back and forth between the toilet tent about 6 times (in addition to passing Catherine a few times as well, as she had been taking diamox from the start).  This was surely going to be a long night. 

Trying to stay warm!

Dinner was up next.  Potato and corn soup followed by some sort of African version of goulash (macaroni noodles with beef and vegetables).  This was our last day for meat on the trip.  From here on out, we would all be vegetarians until we celebrated with hamburgers at the bottom of the mountain.  The reasoning behind no more meat was that the porters had to carry all the food and there was no refrigeration and therefore no guarantee that any uncooked meats would be safe to consume.

After dinner, it got cold very quickly.  By the time we made it into the tent that night, it was 0 degrees Celsius and due to get only colder.  I had learned the previous night to wear thermals to bed and actually felt fairly warm and toasty in my sleeping bag.  Despite fears of needing to run to the toilet tent all night, however, my body seemed to be adjusting to the diamox and I didn't get up a single time to use the bathroom.  Imogen, on the other hand, was not as lucky and her body seemed to be rejecting every ounce of water she consumed with at least 5 or 6 trips to the toilet tent that night.  Regardless, if it helped us make it to the Roof of Africa, it was worth minor inconveniences like this.