Day 6 - If only it were this easy every day!

Mawenzi at sunrise

Mawenzi Tarn Hut Camp to Third Caves Camp
Distance: 11.6 km; altitude lost: 366m
Mawenzi Tarn Hut Camp - 4302 m (14,114 ft)
Third Caves Camp - 3936m (12,913 ft)

Wake-up call today was around 6 AM with breakfast being served around 6:40 AM.  As usual, we had porridge followed by my favorite eggs, toast and fruit.  The porridge today was more like a darker version of cream of wheat and I somehow managed to convince myself that the darker color made it taste chocolaty.  We were also given fair warning that this would be our last chance for coffee or milk.  This was because at higher elevations, coffee and milk were both difficult to process and all of our bodies' energy should be used for the summit attempt and not to break down complex foods. 

Shadows on Kilimanjaro

We were on the trail by 7:30 and were a bit sad to say farewell to the beautiful Mawenzi Tarn Hut camp, which offered us such marvelous views for the past 16 hours or so.  However, we quickly overcame our disappointment as we made our way over the first ridge and realized that we would be walking straight towards Kibo, our ultimate destination for the climb, with clear views of the famous peak the whole morning. 

Kili-bound Bridget

Ed and Bridget heading to Kibo

Felix, Bridget, Olivia, Ed, Patrick and Joshua heading to Kibo

Plane wreckage on the saddle of Kilimanjaro

Considering the altitude, the day was actually quite easy.  It was a gradual uphill climb from 4302 m to 4614 m (15,138 ft) for the first half of the trip across the saddle of the mountain between the Mawenzi peak and Kibo peak.  Walking across the saddle also meant it was quite windy, as this was the only place for the air to flow between the northern and southern faces of Kilimanjaro. With the wind and the sun (between being at the equator and 4000 m closer to the sun than usual), it was imperative for us to apply copious amounts of sunscreen and keep well-covered to prevent sun and wind burn. 

Along the saddle, we also walked by a small plane that had crashed on Kilimanjaro back in 2008, killing 4 passengers and seriously injuring the pilot.  With a clear view of Kibo ahead of us, we also took note of the School Huts Camp, our "base camp", on the face of the mountain, from where we would be making our summit attempt.  It did not look very high on the peak and I wondered how we were ever going to make it from the camp to the summit and half-way back down the mountain within a day's time.



Not long after this, we started to turn slightly to the right  and began to lose elevation as we headed north towards Third Caves Camp.  Every time we went downhill, it was difficult.  Not necessarily physically difficult (at least, not until after summit night), but difficult mentally because it only meant that we would have to make up that altitude later.  This is the biggest challenge with the "climb high, sleep low" philosophy in my opinion.  While it is completely necessary for acclimatization, it is frustrating knowing that the effort you just put in to climbing, say, 1000 ft, only to descend again, will have to re-exerted the next day. 

After 10 km, it DOES look closer...sort of...

Despite the loss of altitude, I was grateful for an easy day leading up to the summit attempt and we had only been on the trail about 3.5 hours when we arrived at camp around 11 AM.  Everyone was feeling great and from here we had an even clearer view of School Huts camp 5 km away.

Catherine, Ed and Imogen at Third Caves Camp

After arriving at camp, lunch was served.  Today we had minestrone soup with what the waiters called, "Swiss Roll", which was in actuality, a vegetable & cheese-filled crepe.  We found this quite entertaining, as neither of our Swiss residents in the group (Ed & Imogen) had ever heard of such a thing, at least not in this form. 

Washing hair at nearly 13,000 ft above sea level.
Not an easy feat!

We were instructed to actually relax this afternoon.  No acclimatization hikes.  So, Imogen and I decided that with the sun and wind on our side, this would be a good opportunity to attempt to wash our hair in the warm bowl of about 3 inches of water that we received each day to wash up.  The sun and wind would hopefully dry our hair before evening (and freezing temperatures) arrived.  All in all, it was a fair attempt and Olivia even offered up her washing water to help rinse. 

A reading spot with a view!

Once our hair was dried, Imogen and I spent most of the afternoon in the dining tent with Catherine, as the sun and wind were strong and most of us already had some degree of sunburn from prior days.  Ed and Olivia however, opted to enjoy the views of Kibo outside, despite the additional exposure to the elements.  Once it started raining that afternoon, Olivia settled down for a nap in our tent and Ed went to his tent to read while the rest of us played Uno.  We all acknowledged that we were thoroughly enjoying what would be our last relaxing day on the mountain. 

Not a bad place to camp!

A crew member leaving his mark on the mountain

That night after a dinner of leek soup and a HUGE plate of pasta with tuna and vegetables in a coconut sauce, Joshua (chief guide), gave us a briefing on what tomorrow's trip to base camp would entail.  At this point, the summit was on everyone's mind and I, in typical form, nervously peppered Joshua with questions about what to expect on our trek to base camp and summit night. 

Before parting ways for the night, Joshua gave us a message that had been posted to the Team Kilimanjaro blog. Each day, Joshua would post an online update on the Team Kilimanjaro website about how our group was doing and on this night, he said that there was a response on the blog from my sister, Megan.  Joshua said that her post read, "Keep going! You’re doing great!!! I’m so proud of you!"  After the fact, I found out that this was a post from a few days earlier, but no matter.  It was perfect timing for some motivating words from my sister to help make the final push!