Day by day diary

Day 2 - 29th June 2000 - Machame Hut (3050m) to Shira Hut (3800m)

We are woken with tea at 0700 in our tent. Peering outside the weather is a little clearer, but not much. Views reach as far as the neighbouring heather covered ridge some 200m away. Looking straight up the sky looks a little brighter. Breakfast at 0730 is porridge followed by sausage and omelet with copious quantities of tea. Our reading before the trip highlighted the need for hydration to ease the effects of altitude. Recommendations vary between 4 to 6 litres per day. We aim for 6, but probably achieve 5. The cook provides about 4 litres of boiled stream water for us to carry on the treks and also produces numerous cups of tea at the camps.

Toilet habits seem to become a conversation point on trips like this (or is it just us ?). Reports such as 'clear and copious' or 'the going is good to firm' followed every trip to a convenient bush or 'loo with a view'. Each camp has several well-placed toilet huts in varying degrees of disrepair. An advantage of their ramshackled appearance however is that users can peer through the various gaps and holes while using the 'facilities'. Usually these views from the 'loo' were spectacular, which seems to help nature take its course. Most of the huts are similar but seemed to vary in two important respects that dictated to their usability. They all consist of a small, square area with a hole cut in the floor. The size of this hole and the consequent aiming requirements varied considerably. Some required careful shuffling into position, adjustment, attempt and often readjustment before the user can relax into the process. The cleanliness of the surrounding floor also seems to be a function of the hole size. The second important variable is the length of drop. This drop being the distance from the floor to the resultant pile of unmentionable deposits some distance below. Some short drops ran the risk of material passing up as well as down, a worrying thought when in a prone position. The longer drops, some even reached a few metres, allowed the user the luxury of the occasional nasal breath. All in all the 'dunies' are an interesting part of the Kili experience.

We leave camp at 0850 climbing a steep path winding back and forth across a narrowing rocky ridge. The path twists and scrambles among the rocks and blackened heather. Some three years ago a huge area on the south side of the mountain burned out of control for many days. The evidence of this fire is still all around. As we climb a disc of brightness appears through the remaining thin cloud. Surprisingly quickly we emerge from the roof of the surrounding cloud. In every direction away from the mountain a soft horizontal expanse of cloud stretches as far as the eye can see. Clear blue skies are above us with some of Kibo's glaciers visible through the isolated, patchy cloud around the summit. Mt Meru, some 60 km away, juts majestically through the sea of cloud. It is an exhilarating, memorable moment.

 Towards midday we reach a short rock step that opens out on top to 'Picnic Rock', the normal lunch stop on route to Shira. We are treated to fantastic views towards the eroded peaks of Shira with whispy edges of the cloud sea breaking on the ridges and valleys. After our pack lunch we traverse diagonally left up towards the shira ridge above. We are now into the moorland zone with giant lobilia and groundsel appearing around us. Heather is still present although much more normal in size now.

We apply sun cream and don sunglasses and hats as the temperature rises. At the top of the Shira ridge we reach our highest point for the day of 3840m before the path flattens and drops slightly towards Shira Camp. We arrive at our Shira Cave campsite but carry on 20 minutes or so to Shira Hut to sign into the National Park visitor's book. We then walk the level path back to the cave campsite where our tent has been erected for us and tea and biscuits are nearly ready.

Today's trek involved 915m of ascent and took 5h 25mins. As the afternoon passes the clouds around Kibo's summit start to disperse, occasionally offering tantalising views through gaps here and there. Eventually around dinnertime the final clouds disappear and we get the first view of our goal picked out in the golden rays of the low sun. We have fantastic views in every direction; shira's peaks and plateau, Meru and a golden sea of soft cloud with the setting sun glinting off Kibo's icefields. Dinner is soup followed by chicken, rice and vegetables with sauce. To this point we have no ill effects from the altitude although Jon has the slightest of headaches for a short while.

After dinner we chat to Ben who tells us tomorrow's programme. He has been climbing Kilimanjaro for 8 years starting as a porter for two years before becoming an assistant guide for a further year. Since then, following a course with the Park Service, he has been a guide for 5 years most of which has been spent working for Zara. Over the years he has climbed Kibo over 100 times averaging 2 trips a month during the trekking season. He seems well qualified !!

The day ends lying in the tent looking out over the clouds towards Mt Meru after the sun has set over Shira. As the sun sets the temperature drops rapidly under the clear skies. When the skies are fully dark the stars are apparent in their full glory. With little air pollution the stars are fantastically bright with the Milky Way clearly bisecting the sky. The stars stretch right down to the horizon, where they are more usually obscured by pollution, giving the impression of being in a huge bowl. The unfamiliar constellations confirm we are in the Southern Hemisphere and with Kibo silhouetted against the sky the spectacle is quite awesome.