Day 5 (which actually starts at then end of Day 4) is the longest, hardest, brutally challenging day of the climb. After 2 hrs sleep we were awakened at 11:00 PM and told to put on our gear. At 15,500 feet it was already well below freezing and with beautiful clear skies, it would get much colder. So I hoped I was ready. I had medium weight long underwear, then rain/wind proof ski pants, then my safari pants, I also had thick cotton hiking socks and wool socks, with wind/rain proof gaiters covering my socks, boot tops and the bottom of my pants. Upper wear started with a medium weight long john, a long sleeve shirt, a heavy duty cotton shirt, a fleece, a down vest, and a knee length rain/wind shell. For head covering I had a bacalava and the hood from my rain shell. We gathered for tea and biscuits, but no one was hungry we just wanted to go! Although I had headaches the previous nights from the high altitude, tonight I was headache free and felt good.
At 12:00 midnight we set out, it was "only" 2.5 miles to the summit and of course 4,000 feet up, how long could it take? Did we really need to leave so early?
We set out led for the first time by the chief guide, Freddy. Up to now he had been managing the porters, cooks, and making sure camp was set up and torn down properly, camp items were distributed to the porters evenly for transport, water was obtained, so he often joined us while hiking where he would walk in the back observing us carefully for endurance or altitude adjustment issues. Freddy decided to lightened the packs of some of the group by having a assistant guide in training come to carry the weight, I took the opportunity to have him take 1 of my 3 bottles of water, saving me from carrying an extra 2 lbs.
As we left camp Freddy seemed to setting a maddingly slow pace: step 20 inches, pause, step again. We all were wearing headlamps, so we could see in front of us clearly. Since the night was absolutely clear but with a recently risen half moon, when we looked up we could see the brighter stars, while the rest of the mountain was mostly grey. Since the trail was steep, the air thin, and it was bone chillingly cold with a modest head wind to boot, we all accepted that Freddy, who climbs to the summit 50 times a year!, we felt confident had the experience to set a pace that would give us a good chance to summit.
After an hour, I was feeling pretty good, at our slow pace I was breathing full breaths through my nose, but only when we did abrupt steps up large rocks did I feel the need to take extra breaths. It seemed my summer of training by biking over 1500 miles, and weekend hikes of over 125 had given me the capacity to "comfortably" keep pace. At this time my feet and legs were warm and comfortable, but my chest was too warm so I took off the down vest. Only my fingers were cold, my two layers of mittens were not enough. So occasionally I'd let go of my hiking poles and bring my fingers to my palm in the mitten to warm them. One of the other hikers worried about frostbite, but my fingers were not the cold.
Looking up we could see the largest glacier on Mt. Kilimanjaro shining white in the moonlight, we would pass a little to its left in our climb and after 3 hours of climbing, it seemed no closer! By now the air was even colder, around 15, and the wind had increased. Now my cheeks and nose were also cold but my core body remained warm. At this point I noticed an aching pain in my lower chest, I described the pain to Freddy and he said "don't worry", it was caused by the extremely cold dry air reaching my lower lungs. But I was fearful it might be sign of pulmonary edema, one of the effects of serious altitude sickness. However, since it did not hurt more when I took a deep breath, nor did the pain get worse as we climbed higher, I started to think Freddy was right.
After 4 hours we passed a hiker in distress bent over and puking, she was being helped by her guide, later we would see another hiker who seemed disoriented from the altitude. But happily, and amazingly, no one in our group of 6 had any significant altitude sickness effects.
After 5.5 hours I reached my lowest point, I was so tired every time we even paused I leaned on my trekking poles and closed my eyes, my fingers were very cold, and it took determination to take each step. Just at this time Freddy handed out small sweet tart like candies, and the sugar gave me energy boost. So on we went.
At 6:00 we watched the sun rise over the low clouds in the east, a quick sharp red line on the horizon. Since other climbing parties were above us, we were tracking their progress by following the glow of their headlamps. As sunrise started, we could see that some parties had reached the rim of crater at the top of the mountain. But we still had more to go.
By 6:30 the sun was shining on us, but it seemed to have little warmth.
Finally at about 7:00 we reached the end of the trail, we had reached Stella Peak and the edge of the crater left by Mt. Kilimanjaro's last eruption. It is considered dormant, not an extinct volcano. Indeed, it spewed some ash and steam about 100 yrs ago.
At Stella point we gave high 5's all around, thanked our guide, had a short break, and took pictures, of each other and the various views from the point. The crater was spectacular, bound on one side by a glacier, just to north we could now see the extent of the glacier we saw while climbing. It was massive, easily 50 feet thick, its layers of ice separated by variously thick lines of dust. According to Freddy, the glacier thickness has been increasing over the past 5 years, its thickness is closely monitored by climate scientists.
By reaching Stella Point the Tanzanian Park Service would award us Official Green Certificates for climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro. This is where about 40% of climbers turn back. But we voted unanimously to hike another mile along the rim to the true peak, Uhuru Peak. So off we went strangely energetic at a much faster pace climbing the final 500 feet, by 7:40 we were there! At the summit of the tallest peak in Africa, on the tallest freestanding mountain on the planet, Uhuru Peak, 19,340 feet above sea level!
We took more pictures, including 2 with my blackberry. But soon we were leaving trying to avoid any cellular damage where the oxygen pressure is only 49% as great as NJ. Indeed, although I felt fine, even exhilarated, I did notice two odd effects. 1) my brain was apparently not processing as fast: when I watched a person walk, their boot was just a blur, no longer a distinct object. 2) for a while when I looked at the face of a hiker in the sun, his face color shifted over a few seconds from white to red to flesh color, as if by brain couldn't figure it out.
By 9:00 AM it was time to leave the high altitude, and the quicker we returned to base camp the less chance we would have of any altitude induced injuries. So although it to 7+ hrs to climb, Freddy assured us we would be down in less than 2. He led us down scree, gravel and dust (lots of dust), showing us how to boot ski and use our poles for turns. It was quick, but still tiring and we (and every layer of clothing) ended up covered in volcanic dust.
By the time we reached base camp, I was a bit nauseous and had lost my appetite so I ate very little at lunch. We had about two hours of sleep then off we set for Mweka camp, another 5 miles down the mountain and 5000 feet lower in elevation. By the time we got to the camp I had been up 19 hrs, hiking for 14 hrs, I still was not hungry or thirsty, but we had dinner and I went to sleep, the longest sleep I've I had on the Mt.!
