Lava Tower Camp

We start hiking at 8 a.m. and reach camp at 12:20 p.m. Lingarevo and Lemetu meet Christina and me, taking our packs and showing us to our tents. Sometimes when I'm really tired, Lingarevo will unsnap my pack and lift it from my back. While it seems like a very personal thing for Lingarevo to do, I'm always extremely grateful. Fatigue makes simple things like unhooking a backpack very difficult. Because we're in camp early today, we have time to acclimate at 14,500 feet. Clouds followed us on the climb. We crossed the moors covered with giant Heather and will soon be in the Alpine desert zone. We gained 2,000 feet, but walked pole pole and rested frequently. Even at such a slow pace, I could feel the four hours of climbing in my thighs. Our 3-sided toilets are totally exposed, facing away from camp.

I'm sitting on a lava rock, facing camp and Kili--though the mountain is covered by clouds. Two porters just went to a nearby stream for water. They're returning with the five-gallon jugs. Everyone else is in their tents. Neal is not feeling well--his stomach is upset. Neal is a 49-year-old engineer and his wife, Joanne, is a 44-year-old tax attorney for an insurance company in Connecticut. They are both extremely nice.

The porters and cooks stay busy in camp, playing cards in the mess tent, listening to the radio, filtering water, washing dishes. Some of them are relaxing on huge boulders, sitting 20 and 30 feet up. I fell asleep after lunch for about 20 minutes--but time doesn't matter and I'm not wearing a watch. It looks like a moonscape here. Rocks of all sizes, from boulders to pebbles. Rocks everywhere, so we must be careful when walking. Every step is well thought out, due to rocks and breathing. Clouds roll in with a cold breeze from both directions and cover camp. There is snow near the camp, perhaps 500 feet up Kili. We'll certainly be walking in snow tomorrow.