The afternoon of day five. We are at camp and just got fitted for our helmets. We begin hiking at 5 am tomorrow morning – it will be the toughest day. We start early because the rocks are frozen to the surface and there is less chance of getting beaned in the head. Once it warms up then sometimes rocks fall and hit you, so early is better.

This morning was warm even though we were at 15,000 feet because there was no breeze and the sun was shining bright. So I took advantage and washed my hair with a bowl of hot water. Probably the most luxurious thing I ever felt. All the girls were jealous. Thus an advantage of short hair.

The altitude makes me ditzier than usual. I was in a panic looking for my backpack after a break. “Help Susan, I can’t find my pack!!”

“You mean the one on your back,” she asked?

Oh well, another typical Kelly moment. There have been many.

I’m at 16,000′ now and still not suffering from altitude sickness. I just have to walk slow slow slow. Imagine trying to mimic someone running in slow motion and that is how we all walk around here. Plus everyone’s sense of modesty went out the window by the afternoon of day two. There are no toilets along the trail so every so often the women yell “potty break” and that means the men walk ahead of us and we all find the tallest rock possible and squat. When we pop up we look like one of those “pop a weasel” games. At camp, we carry long conversations with each other while on the toilet, talking to the folks waiting for their turn. Nobody has performance anxiety any longer. Dinner conversations always include the state of your lower GI tract and whether you are the one or two folks that puked during the night. I know it sounds awful but it is truly a wonderful trip.

Categories: Africa

Tags: Africa