Day 39 2/22/99: Sheffield Camp Day 2 (14,800')

Today we hiked and hiked for 3 hours and gained exactly ZERO feet in elevation. Okay, we actually spent another day and night at Sheffield camp in order to acclimatize to the high altitude. I was told that prior to last year when people spend only one day at Sheffield, the success rate of reaching the summit is about 95% using the Shira Plateau/West Breach Wall route. The success rate has climbed to 98% when people spend two days here. Incidentally, the success rate of people using the touristy routes, such as the Marangu (Coca-cola route), Mweka, and Umbwe, is less than 50%. I'm glad that we are on this route because of the much higher probability of success. However, it would be really humiliating and embarrassing if I happen to be among the 2% of people who don't make it to the top for whatever reasons. I wonder if I'll be in the 98% or the 2% group?

What's wrong with this picture? What's that white stuff on the tent and the ground? It snowed last night!

[Photo by Liza with my Canon EOS that I finally remembered to use in addition to my digital camera] Kibo is sweet. Why? Compared this photo with yesterday's photo of Kibo, you will notice all the powdered sugar on the slope--okay, they are snow. Thanks to Liza for taking a picture of me.

What's interesting about this picture? Yes, Liza had a nice smile. Yes, Liza was cold as she had a heavy down jacket, hats, and gloves on. When does water not fall to the ground if you tilt the basin? Of course, when the water is still frozen!

This is the alpine high dessert zone: intense radiation, high evaporation, and huge daily temperature fluctuations (nights below 0'C (32'F) and daytime over 35'C(95'F). Scarcity of water and soil thinning. No favorable conditions for plant life. Mosses, lichens, and few everlasting flowers. [From the "New Map of Kilimanjaro National Park"]

 

Here were the mosses and lichens.

We did not experience 95'F, but it was definitely below freezing last night. In fact, here was Theresa still sleeping at 7a.m.

An early morning look at Kibo before sunrise.

What a place to camp. We had a great view of Mt. Meru as well.

Below us is the city of Moshi. It was blanketed with cloud that morning. Isn't it cool? We actually camped above clouds! Last night when the sky was clear I could actually see the Moshi city lights below. However, it was much more dramatic to see the lightening storm that was occurring in the clouds below us. That's super cool!

Another postcard-perfect view of our tents at Sheffield camp.

Here is a two-frame panoramic shot of the Sheffield camp with our tents, the dining tent, and the women's bathroom. Where is the women's bathroom? I'll give you a hint: it's green.

After a good night sleep, we were all anxious for breakfast.

Yummy. Look at the steaming hot cereal. I had my share of hot cereal on this trip. After this vacation I vowed to not touch the stuff for 5 years. (Okay, I usually have cold cereal. :-)

This is a very easy day as we learned how to go uphill while doing the rest step. Rest step is basically a way to hike in high altitude without tiring due to low oxygen. It involves taking a small step, rest (~.25 second), and taking another step. When resting, keep the trailing knee straight but not locked. Samia does the best rest step. The best way to properly do the rest step is to keep the upper body upright (don't lean forward; don't lean backward), which can be easily done by folding the elbows. In fact, I was walking with my arms held behind my back--I kept my body upright, kept me steps small, and at the same time maximized my lung capacity! However, this was only possible for me because I have pretty good balance and was hiking without hiking poles. Another great thing about doing the rest step was that it's very easy on ankles and knees as it was very low impact.

Here was Theresa practicing her style of rest step with two hiking sticks in hand. It's a miracle that I never got hurt even though I was hiking behind her most of the time :-)

We practiced by going up some very steep slopes. Theresa had no problems zooming up the hill.

We were hiking on scree, which are small and loose volcanic rocks and pebbles. It was easy to slide back. However, using the rest step minimizes any sliding.

Here were Bruce and Ede practicing precision synchronized rest step with Lesley in the back taking a picture.

Remember I said that one of the trekkers climbed Kili in his Nike running shoes, which was used in a marathon just a month ago? Well, Bruce is the man. "Air Bruce, " I called him. Watch out, Tiger Woods and Michael Jordan, Air Bruce will be in the new Nike TV commercial: "Kilimanjaro: Just Climb it!" :-)

Here were Dolye and Lesley posting a photo for this WEB. Anne was sitting behind on the right. Looked like Liza was ready to take a nap any second now. :-)

On the top we were rewarded with some snacks: peanuts, raisins, potato chips, and trail mix. Actually we were served snack every day during our hike--I only took this picture now since I had become now a happy hiker who was enjoying the hike, the scenery, and was hungry all the time. I was so hungry in fact during lunch one day I ate crackers topped with mustard and relish. It was a virtual hot dog--without the hotdog, bun, sauerkraut, and ketchup! It was delicious, as my imagination and hunger worked in concert. :-)

What was the thing that concerned Theresa and me the most prior to the trip? Was I worried about getting sick, losing my passport, not making the connecting flight, twisting my ankles, losing our luggage, getting blisters, etc. The list can go on and on. I actually worried the most about Theresa being able to come down the mountain. I knew Theresa can make it up without problems. However, Theresa always has some troubles coming down, especially on slippery trails that have loose rocks. Alex was concerned after seeing Theresa. In fact, Samia was so worried and tried his best to privately tutor Theresa on the proper techniques of coming down. You have to wait a few days to find out whether Theresa was able to get down from Kibo in one piece. I'll give you a hint. Notice the first-aid kit that Samia was carrying? It was used for one of us who got hurt while coming down Kibo. Was it Theresa or Stephen that required minor surgery?

Samia's hints on going down scree: relax the knee and quad, don't be afraid of slipping, take comfortable stride, it's okay to slip and slide down, plant the heels first, and lace the boots tightly and in reverse (tie the last section of the lace going down rather than the normally up direction). Great hints. Later on we saw porters going down Kili by sprinting!

When it got really step, then it's time to side-step down the slope.

After our practice hike, it was rest time in the afternoon. After doing the rest step, it's time for Liza's rest sleep. :-)

Some of us ate, drank, and played cards.

While Alex and Samia played a serious game of Uno, Norman, Charito, Theresa, Liza, and I played Mah-Jong with these tiny little cards rather than the traditional tiles. We also played Mah-Jong the next afternoon at the Arrow Glacier camp with Alice, Brad, and even taught two porters how to play. Mah-Jong is fun and easy to learn; however, scoring the winning hand and mastering Maj-jong takes a lot of learning and experience.

For those who want to learn more about Mah-Jong or want to download a shareware version (free 60-days evaluation), you can go to ( http://www.4windsmj.com/ )

As you can see that we were now a relaxed group of hikers who have adjusted to life on the mountain.  Will there be a happy ending for everyone? Will the days get tougher, especially we were now just 36 hours away from the dreaded Western Breach Wall.