We started the 2nd day (13th July 2019), before the sunrise.
Jonas likes to leave early, so we walk slowly (pole pole) and arrive early to
the camp.
Today’s journey is long, around 7km long, and we will move from Mti
Mkubwa to Shira 1 camp and we will ascend from 2.650 m ASL to 3.610m ASL.
Distances and height are never precise, as different people will give you
different figures. Just ask you guide, they are a living GPS.
At 6:00 they come to wake you up and bring a small bucket with hot
water. That’s all: there are no lavatories or showers. As we say in Portuguese :
“banho à gato”, meaning cat baths, just wash where it smells bad. Best thing we
did was to rent our own toilet. When we took a walk around the camp, we could
feel the smell and we even took a pick to testify it. It’s disgusting. I do
encourage you to rent your own, best well spent money ever.
After waking up we you need to pack you stuff (including the sleeping
bag), and finally get into the mess for breakfast. Jonas comes in for tests,
and our SO and heart rate are very good. For now, I can’t feel any
symptoms of altitude sickness.
For breakfast, we had a maize porridge that we simply couldn’t eat, so
we just asked them to give the traditional tea, fruit and toasts. You have to
remember that there is nothing on the mountain. No shops, no drinking water…
the porters carry everything you need for the 8 days you stay on the mountain.
Don’t expect to eat mangoes and tomatoes during the whole trip, food becomes
more scarce in variety.
We took of around 7:1AM, and we were one of the first groups to leave
the camp, and it was freezing cold (according to Jonas 5ºC).
For me, it was the hardest trail. The only one where I felt short of
breath and tired. At this point, I was already feeling cold, not freezing cold,
but cold enough to wear a light fleece during the trekking. After a while I could
take off my jacket, but my hand remained cold for a long time.
There are lots of ups and downs, it’s a steep trail, and we were
overtaken by lots and lots of porters and some more experienced and well
trained trekkers.
Soon we found there are not many porter women, although it is encouraged
they say. I think it is really tough, not only for the weight you need to
carry, but also concerning the bad shape of the toilets and lack of minimum
hygiene conditions during the trek. Worse than that, is that you will not find
a women as leading guide during your trek. We saw one junior guide and our
guide mentioned a couple of them. But as you can see, they can name them
easily, as they are only a few.
The environment changes from Mountain Forest to Mooreland, as you get
higher. The landscape is breathtaking and you can perfectly see, for the first
time, mount Meru, and even little Meru, surrounded by its clouds cloth. It’s
beautiful. We can’t barely see any wild life, except small rats and lizards.it
is a very long walk today, so we stop many times along the way for toilet (meaning behind a tree), get
some rest and pictures.
There is no signal during the trek, except for one precise place where
everyone heads to. You can see the porters rushing into this place and putting
the luggage on the floor. It’s also time for a short rest. Jonas doesn’t like
to stop very often, but we have our own rhythm, as we are the ones setting the
pace. As you stop, and although it is forbidden in Tanzania, you will fell the
smell of weed. People seem to smoke it, as they also believe it is good for
heights.
We also called home. It’s heartbreaking to hear the voices of our
little ones, and it makes me miss them a lot.
The journey is long and rough. The weather is changing and dark clouds
cover the sky. There are no chances to perceive Kibu point. Where is it? Besides
walking slowly, to allow your body to adapt to the weather, the height, the
mountain and the physical strain, you must also drink lots of water and eat
your snacks. It is easy to forget to feed yourself, and you can get weak and
tired if you don’t it properly.
As we approach Shira 1 camp, we met the one and only park ranger in the
whole park. You don’t find them patrolling the park at all, they are all
confined in the camp site and It’s a shame.
The final track to Shira one is wonderful and beautiful, thus some rain
drops from the sky and it’s a bit chilly, it looks like you’re walking on the
Yellow Brick Road. We can see the camp from far.
As we always arrive early (it took us 5,5 h only (against 7 hours as
planned)), we proceeded to Kinapa office for registration.
When arriving to the camp were given
some hot water to wash ourselves. Again, don’t delude yourself: only enough to
wash your feet, your armpits, hands and face… We had a great light lunch: potato
soup and pizza (with minced meat). After lunch we are allowed to have a nap,
which I did for about 1,5h, and after I was ready for a new start, We had some
tea, and went for a walk to a water stream, where porters are charging jerry
cans with water to supply the camps. We also filled our own bottles with water
and add a little disinfection tab. It was wonderful. Later we were able to see
for the first time Kibu point, with what is left of the eternal snow. It was an
amazing view, I will never forget it.
We had dinner at 6:30 PM. The time goes by so slowly, we have enough
time for everything, not nothing to do. After dinner we went to bed. Again, I had
troubles sleeping, seems like I am struggling with the height and with cold.
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