Day 10: Trek Day 8-Summit Day!
Wednesday, September 16
Crater Camp —> Mweka Camp 8 miles
18,800 ft. —> 19,341 ft. 541 ft. UP to the summit, then
19,341 ft. —> 10,040 ft. 9,301 ft. DOWN to camp!!
5:20am —> 5:30pm 12+ hours
We made it!!!
4:00 Coffee - 4:20 Breakfast & Bags out - 5:20 Hiking!
It was a cold and windy night! I’m not sure how much sleep we got! We did our best to eat something for breakfast, but our appetite is waning. With all our layers on, handwarmers in my mittens, headlamps on, we started out. Obe is carrying my pack for me again. We headed straight up the wall of the crater behind the camp. Pole, Pole (Swahili for slowly, slowly). It wasn’t long before the sun came up and we had a spectacular view down into the crater at our camp below as the porters were taking the tents down.
The path steep switchbacks of loose rocks for most of the climb, and then at the top there were more rocks and boulders to scramble up and over.
After almost two hours, we got to the top of the rock was / rim; and from there we could look up a relatively mild incline on more solid ground to see the sign at the summit! And tired as I was, the joy of having made it energized those last minutes as we made our way to join the crowd gathered around the summit sign. (Though Mike and I stopped just short of it for a private moment of tears and hugs!)
There was quite a crowd at the summit sign vying for their turn for a photo - solo hikers, groups, groups with their flags etc. It was quite chaotic! Our guide, Bona, finally took charge and got everyone to pause the rush to the sign so our group could gather for our photo.
Then Mike and I, and our friends Pete and Kelli, slipped aside for a private moment. Mike and I had brought ashes: my father (Marvin) who’d died in 2001, and Mike’s stepfather (Chuck McCall) who died June 29. So without much ceremony, but with deep affection for these two men who meant the world to us, we flung their ashes to the winds.
There wasn’t much time for lingering or reflection, because right away, it was time to go DOWN! 9,000 feet DOWN! It was brutal. At first the terrain was gravelly switchbacks with rocks and boulders, open parched scree with no vegetation.
We stopped after a bit to shed layers, “sippy sippy,” and snack.
Our goal was lunch, which was on the far side of Barafu Camp. Barafu is a LARGE camp where most of the other routes camp the night before they summit. It sits 4,000 feet below the summit. Groups staying here, get up at midnight and hike their summit climb for 7 hours in the dark. No thank you! (Which is why we chose the Northern Circuit.) And just to get from one end of the camp to the other took an hour of walking with a spicy rock scramble in the middle of it!
When we arrived at our dining tent, our team had chairs out for us to sit on to take our boots off and our duffels available to us so we could pack away our cold weather gear and change clothes if we wanted. Mike and I were so spent. I had no energy to take off my boots and the 2 layers of long underwear pants I was wearing. Mike was at his lowest; this was a tough moment for us both. I don’t even remember what we had for lunch.
After lunch the terrain began to change. There was vegetation - the familiar plants, flowers, and shrubs that had accompanied our ascent greeted us again!
As we went down, we stopped as we could for water breaks and to shed more and more layers as the temperature rose. While our quads felt the burn as the descent was relentless, I definitely felt the increase in oxygen as we descended. Breathing was easier, even as my legs turned to jelly! (And our toes were “jamming” against the front of our boots!)
Our next “landmark” was Millennium Camp (12,500 ft.), which was an eerie place. It has no water, so few people stay there. A fire had swept through a couple of years ago, and it still held the remnants of the devastation. The trees were tall (8-10’) but we could still see the char on everything. The dirt was near black and very dry and dusty, almost the consistency of ash. It was quiet and we were happy to just walk on through.
Two more hours of hiking took us down into the clouds and mist and to our camp. We took the obligatory photos at the sign and collapsed into our tent!
We rested and washed up before dinner at 7:00.
A pretty great meal to finish a grueling day!
It’s really hard to believe how much ground we covered today - literally and figuratively!
Writing this now, just over 2 weeks later, I am aware that with the exhaustion of it all, there really wasn’t any time to reflect on the accomplishment in the moment. I do remember saying “I can’t believe we did it!” a LOT. The physical pain (legs & toes for me) was significant enough to keep our minds focused on what was needed to get through the next day. And as much as we felt as if the goal had been accomplished, we still had to get down the mountain the next day!
And now, here’s AllTrails!
Tomorrow: Our last day on the mountain. And the muddiest hiking any of us had ever done!