A DAY ON KILI

Spent 6 nights in a 2-person tent, trying to sleep (Dave succeeded and I mostly did not), stay warm and not be too daunted by the pounding rain/thunder and snow.  At 6 am, a porter knocks on our tent door to bring us tea.  We wake, try to put the tea in a spot where it will not spill, and change to our layers of thermals, wick-away tops, fleece, down jackets and socks.  Some of the clothes were inside our sleeping bags, getting them dry with our body heat.  We are also drinking a liter of water as we dress to prevent altitude sickness.  Inevitably, some clothing cannot be found or has gotten wet during the night--that slows us down.

We have to pee and since it's raining or snowing outside, we got quite skilled at using a pee bottle, just like those Everest guys!   By now it's 6:30 am and our porter calls out "washy-washy" and leaves two bowls of hot, clean water jst outside our tent.  I missed washy-washy the first few days--too slow.  After 4 days, my timing improved and I washed my face and even put on some makeup!  All the rain made the entrance muddy--had to watch undoing washy-washy!

Next, we put everything into our duffle bags for the porters to carry on their heads and filled our daypacks with clothing, energy bars for the day.  Rain doubled this effort because we had to make sure all our gear and clothing stayed dry inside our bags and packs.  We used garbage bags, but by nightfall, sleeping bags and clothing was still wet. 

Breakfast was at 7:30, but I don't think I arrived until 8 am most days.  Since we started off on the trail at 8:30 am, I charged through breakfast:  porridge with honey, eggs and bacon, fruit and toast.  It was important to eat as much as possible, for the calories and to counter loss of appetite at higher elevations.  We also had to bring our empty 3 liters of water bottles/camelbak for the porters to fill. 

Hiked for hours to our lunch spot or, on short days, to our camping spot.  Lunch was always amazing:  hot soup, followed by rice or potatoes (fries one day!), a stew-like casserole and tea or hot chocolate.  The hot soups were different every day:  broccoli, zucchini, carrot, leek, etc.  I drank 2-3 bowls--very warming and yummy.

Dinner was around 7 pm, preceded by washy-washy and trying to get organized inside the tent, despite the rain and cold.  Sundown happened quickly at 7 pm, so we all had to remember to bring out headlamps to the mess tent so we could find our way back to our tent.  Once, I almost climbed into the wrong tent!

After dinner our leader Mark gave a talk about what to expect on the trail the next day.  As the rain/cold/snow never let up, Mark's talks became both supportive and sobering. 

Dave and  I squeezed into our tents, took off our soaking/muddy boots and organized clothing and gear for the next day, using our headlamps.  Bed around 9 pm or later, depending on how many things could not be found.