Kilimanjaro #3 of many

This blog used to be a place for me to rant and rave and write. It still is... but pictures do speak a thousand words and they also speak different words than I might choose to jot down. So, with two crossword puzzles completed this week (yes, the Monday and the Tuesday!) I'll leave more pictures than long-winded diatribes.

Day #2- We got out of the rainforest and into the high scrublands ecosystem. No cover, but still foliage that was taller than us. We gained a bit of altitude this day as we got above cloud-line (and stayed there for the rest of the trek). In the distance: Mt. Meru, another dormant (strata-?) volcano that makes up the northern Tanzanian border with Kenya. It is another peak to bag but there are few trails and you need an armed escort with you because of the potential animal encounters.

Dad, showing off his stature-enhancing, synthetic, breathable, (enter cool spec here) T-shirt!

More high sagebrush/ chaparral

I'm helping Jake with his water bottle as we take a break... the porters marched on with tremendous amounts of weight

Our first glimpse of Kili after getting up the trail.

Cool flower (w/ Kili super blurry in the background)

Us three before arriving at Shira 1 Camp. I was super hot this day. Turns out I had a fever of 100.7F from a nasty little virus. After vomiting (for the first time in over seven years) I was destroyed and told by one of the guides that I would be evacuating the next day. Having just re-certed my WFR I understood all too well about my precarious situation and felt content packing up and going back to the hotel. I wouldn't have made the journey being as sick as I was. I took an antibiotic and starting pumping fluids through my body (drinking Gatorade). As the hours wore on that night I got up to pee a lot and the stars were beautiful. I went to bed each time knowing that it just wasn't my time to climb. Or so I thought when I woke up in the morning with my fever reduced to 99.3! I felt (and apparently looked) much better. So we carried on to the next camp-- Shira 2. Having made it to camp and my health recovering, we all decided that I would continue with the expedition.

Though the sickness only a 24-hour ordeal, it put the entire trip into perspective for me. Every step became more critical, each breath more important. Every moment on the expedition was one to soak in to the fullest because it could end at any time. The mountain owes debts to no one and the altitude doesn't take humans into consideration. We are only guests in such harsh conditions and we must respect them. We must be vigilant of our health and that of our team. And we must move quickly, for at any moment the water could get us sick, the altitude could paralyze us, the cold can freeze us, or other conditions can end us. It was humbling for me and I appreciate/d each step of the journey even more as a result of having been ill.

Turns out this post was more words than I planned for!