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DAY TWO -
Jimmys
thought for the day:
This journey has more to do with exploring
our own potential than exploring (Africa).
Sir Ernest Shackleton, explorer of Antarctica.
Our second
days march would take us over rugged country from the
Machame Hut campsite to a site at the Shira Caves camp. The
distance, according to Eligius, was about five kilometers, during
which we would gain 800 meters in altitude, roughly 2,600 feet.
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Harry
Wallfisch seeks shelter in a mountain snowstorm at the
Lava Tower Camp.
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As we set
off that morning, Eligius headed our column, and I was just
behind. He turned to me.
Wheres
arry (Harry Wallfisch)? he asked. I pointed backwards.
Harry had taken his accustomed position at the back of the line.
Come
on, Harry, Eligius said. Up front.
Our guide
had been watching the day before. He made a deliberate choice
to put Harry at the head of the column. The effect was that
Harry walked a bit faster than he might have otherwise. The
rest of us walked a bit slower.
The pace
was right for us. We also stayed together as a group, and conserved
our energy for the next several days of strenuous walking.
The climb
that second day lasted about five hours, and it was difficult.
As we neared the 12,000-foot level, it became increasingly difficult
to breathe. Also, there were moments as we scrambled over rocks
that we experienced what the climbing world calls exposure.
That means
a slip could result in injury and not just a scraped knee.
We broke
out over 12,000 feet after an especially difficult segment of
the climb. We found ourselves atop a rocky promontory, and it
began to rain. The rain was bone chillingly cold. For some reason,
the impervious Eligius chose that exposed spot for lunch.
I remember
trying to peel a boiled egg in the cold rain. My fingers were
too numb for the job. It was a cold and miserable moment.
The Shira
Caves campsite was a barren, rocky place. From it, we could
see the Shira Plateau just below us and, in the distance, Mt.
Meru, another volcanic peak. I called this spot inhospitable
in my journal. It seemed like the dark side of the moon at the
time.
Eligius
told us that if the cloudy skies cleared tomorrow, we could
see the peak of Kilimanjaro from the camp. Though we had been
climbing for two days, we had yet to see the peak we were trying
to reach. From the broad shoulders below, there are only a few
places where one can see the peak. It was usually shrouded in
clouds.
We did get
a glimpse of the peak briefly the next morning, but we didnt
get a good, long, satisfying look at the mountains top
until we came down from it.
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