May 28, 2012
Just woke up at 6:30 again. I hard a hard time sleeping last night. Not because of the cold, the hot water bottle fixed that problem, but because of this cold weather sleeping bag! I have my black liner in the blue down mummy bag that zips above the shoulders. I can't turn in it, curl my legs or change my position at all. When camping I can never stay long on one side because my hip begins to hurt, so every hour or so I had to wake up to readjust. Good thing I went to bed at 8:30! I think i still got 7 hours or so in. Now it's time to put on a cold pair of pants and start Day 3!
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We made it to Mawenzi in about 2 1/2 hours. I kept a relatively quick pace considering the point in the journey that I am at. Today was a considerable amount steeper than the first two days. We climbed over ridge after ridge and are now at the base of the Mawenzi Peak. It kind of looks like Night on Bald Mountain should be playing. Vegetation has weaned, only a few patches of grass here and there. The streaked little birds and ravens are still hanging in there. For most of this morning's hike the clouds were at bay allowing for views of Mawenzi and Kibo along with Kenya and endless rocky, steep hills. My legs still aren't fatigued, I think the hiking poles are actually a huge help. I was breathing pretty heavy today, though. Not bad enough to need an inhaler or a break, but pretty loudly the whole day. My only complains are sunburned pointer fingers, a splinter and it's cold out. Still no headache or nausea. And I'm still finishing my meals (today's lunch was potato pancake, cucumbers and green peppers) so my appetite is still intact. The camp here has potential to be interesting, but the clouds are so heavy you can't see too far ahead of you. Finding the bathroom was a quest all of its own! Once in a while the clouds pass for a minute and it's actually pretty neat. I hope it clears in the evening to do some exploring. For the first time since I left I am among other people. There is a big group here staying another night to acclimatize. It's weird though. I arrived and it looked like an abandoned settlement. Lots of tents and a few porters ambling about but not a single hiker in sight. Not even noise coming from the tents. When lunch was served people emerged. They're just so quiet for a big group. I'm guessing the added night means some aren't faring well. Probably why they're so quiet.
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Since the sun came out and an hour nap is plenty I decided to go outside the tent for a bit. I explored the cairns above the camp and sat up there for a few minutes. It wasn't all that high up but I couldn't hear a single sound coming from the noisy camp below. It was peaceful, but I was scared the heavy fog would roll in and complicate the way back down to camp. I saw on a rock near the tarn with the sun beating on my back waiting for the brief moment when the clouds would be just so and I could take an up close photo of Mawenzi. As I sat, Samuel joined me (I haven't seen anyone else talk to a Tanzanian all day) for story time. I asked him to tell me about his life growing up in TZ. I expected football and school but instead I got a tragic story that nearly had me in tears. He grew up in southwestern TZ with 2 older sisters and a younger brother. His father's parents lived with them since he was their youngest son. They had some land on which they grew maize and beans and also raised cattle. When Samuel was 4 his mom became ill, and when he was 7 she died at the hospital, a bus ride away. Samuel's father went to collect her body so they could have the burial at home. On the way to the hospital the bus was going quickly downhill in the rain and crashed. Days later they heard of the accident in the village and realized the father had died. The youngest kids didn't understand so they had the funeral still, 6 days after the mother died and 4 after the father had died. Not knowing what to do with 4orphaned children, the grandparents called Samuel's aunts and uncles for support. They only agreed to help if they were given a piece of the kids' land. They agreed. A year later the aunts and uncles said it wasn't enough and demanded more land. Samuel's oldest sister thought this wasn't fair and asked the grandmother to give the kids land instead. They hired workers and used the profit from the corps to pay for school fees. This worked for two years. Then the aunts and uncles came back into play. The grandfather had passed away by this time, and the grandmother needed to be taken care of. The aunts and uncles wouldn't take the grandmother in unless she gave them the land. So Samuel's sister approached their mother's sister. She offered to take them in despite having 3 children of her own. The grandmother said the kids couldn't leave her, there was no way the aunts and uncles would take care of her now. So, instead, the mother's sister sent money. This wasn't enough, so Samuel's sisters needed to get married. They went off to be maids for rich people and kept some money and sent the rest to Samuel and his brother. Samuel was a great athlete so to continue school to high levels he competed in national races. His performances paid off considerably. He was admitted to Teacher's College, but really didn't want to teach and didn't see the point in going. He started doing carpentry work. The guy he was working for saw Samuel was unhappy and could do more. He told him to go across the country to Kilimanjaro where his brother worked. Samuel went, but he was afraid he was being led astray. He got to Kilimanjaro and took courses to be a park ranger. After his exams the board said that top scorers could be trained as guides instead of rangers. Zara was short on guides, so after some time training on the mountain as an assistant guide, his 6 year contract began. A few years later one of his hikers took a special interest in him. If Samuel agreed to save money for expenses, the man from Minnesota would pay for university. He went to university in Moshi at a school that attracts students from all over Africa and other parts of the world. His school took him all over the continent. He graduated last year. He still works for Zara, but is hoping something better comes along. Most orphans get left behind. Samuel kind of did, too. But with crazy ambition and good karma he beat what probably was inevitable. Such a sad, but motivating and beautiful story. when he finished he looked at me and said 'remembering how bad my life was and losing my parents doesn't make me sad. It makes me feel lucky to be where I am and to have finally met kind people.' Wow.
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The clouds cleared up before dinner. Mawenzi looks much more bad ass among them. Now it's just big sharp rocks. The sunset was blocked by the ridges we walked over today, the pinky blues make a cool background to the cairns on the wall behind the camp, though. I would have taken a photo but I had a panic attack today that the battery will die before the end. I'd rather have photos of everything than a lot of the first half of the hike indifferent lighting.
Dinner tonight was the best yet. cucumber soup, crispy chicken, rice, veggie sauce, green beans, orange slices and pancakes. I miss being the only party at camp. Big group = lots of porters = lots of shouting. Also they are very us vs them and it's kind of sad. Samuel came in for tomorrow's briefing, same as te last few days. He said he was too cold for a bedtime story. Tomorrow he'll tell me of TZ culture. I still feel healthy and chipper. Bar anything crazy I'm gettign to the top tomorrow. Even Samuel is being less calming and more feeding into my excitement. Bring it on.
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Woke up at 3:30am for the bathroom. So hard to get out of bed but I couldn't wait another 3 hours. When I finally got the strength to leave the tent the air was biting. My tent had a layer of frosty ice and the bathroom was far away. I could only stop to look at the stars for a few seconds before I retreated back to my two twisted sleeping bags. And it's only going to get colder.
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