Our goal was to try and make it to the summit by sunrise. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen. The path to the summit was crowded with people trying to make it to the top and because it’s narrow you can only hike as fast as the person in front of you. People were definitely living the “pole pole” (“slowly, slowly”) Kilimanjaro phrase for this leg of the hike.
Along the way we encountered man people who were sick from the altitude. The severity of symptoms ranged from people with headaches to people with bloody noses to people curled over vomiting. Seeing people intensely sick from the altitude made me nervous and Arnold telling me it was incredibly common made me scared I would be next.
Two and a half hours from the summit was when the hike began to take its toll on me. The frigid cold made it difficult to keep moving continuously, even though that is the only way to stay even slightly warm. Every seven to ten minutes our group would stop for a quick break because we were exhausted. Less breathable oxygen in the air due to the extreme altitude was most certainly the cause of our exhaustion.
When we stopped for breaks Arnold and Daniel would force us to drink water or hot chocolate that he brought in his pack. He would also take off our gloves and try to warm up our hands as well because they were practically numb. The last two hours of the hike Arnold gave me one of his jackets to wear because I was shivering uncontrollably.
On top of feeling numb and freezing cold, my headlamp battery burned out. Arnold took my by the arm and guided me up the mountain because I couldn’t see for myself. I have never been more thankful for having Arnold as a guide. He was so dependable, caring, and determined to help us to the summit. Without him I don’t know if our group would have even made it this far.
By 5 o’clock in the morning I was consumed with the thought of the sun rising. I could not think of anything else. To me, the sun rising meant warmth and that was all I wanted in that moment.
The sun rose between 6:15 and 6:30 and I have never seen such a stunning sunrise. There is nothing so beautiful as witnessing a sunrise at 18,000 feet from the side of a mountain where the clouds can’t even block your view. Unfortunately even when the sun did rise, the temperature was still incredibly low.
I was so out of breath by this point I started to question if I was going to make it to the summit. Every two steps I took, I would be gasping for air. My chest was tight. It was scary how downhill my physical condition had gone.
Arnold and Daniel supported Aaron, Rakhi and I. They traded turns allowing me to grasp their arm to stabilize myself. More importantly they gave us words of encouragement and continually reminded us how close we were.
As soon as we came over the crest of Gilman’s point, I found the nearest rock and laid down on it. Although I was happy to have made it this far, I was shivered uncontrollably and couldn’t feel my toes or fingers. Arnold and Rakhi worried for me, and kept adding layers of clothing on me. Rakhi went so far as to force feed me five or six bites of an energy bar even though the last thing I wanted to do was eat anything.
It was then that Arnold told our group I was on-set hypothermic and I shouldn’t go to the summit and needed to go down immediately. Uhuru peak was another 1000 feet which would take us 45 minutes, and he wasn’t sure I should attempt the trek.
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