July 3, 2009

We are all up at 4am at Barfu Camp. It is freezing. I have slept in my hiking clothes minus my last layer. I slowly put on my last layer and pack everything but my sleeping pad. Sonal will not be climbing with us to the summit today as she is feeling bad. She will go down to high camp (millennium camp) when she gets up. We have breakfast of porridge and eggs. I can barely eat as I have not slept much at all. We leave camp at 5:30am. It is hard to climb in the dark. I see some head lights ahead of us and wonder how we are to make it up there. My head is hurting from the lamp itself. We are huffing and puffing in the dark as we climb over rocks. it is about 5 degrees in the dark.

It is dawn now and it is about 6 am. we turn our lights off at about 6:15am. It is getting warmer and the temperature climbs to 15 degrees by 6:30am. We are all climbing with partners. Ranjana and Bonnie in the lead, Pradeep and Paul, Hashim and I , and finally Dhaval and Alfred. They are also carrying our packs. I take some Motrin at daylight to help with the headache. Dhaval and Ranjana each take 500mg of Tylenol.

We are all a little dehydrated. Ranjana and I have had to go to the bathroom (behind rocks) but Pradeep and Dhaval are still dehydrated. Everyone is moving slowly. We all take frequent breaks and are sleepy (due to lack of oxygen). Our guides keep us moving despite the tiredness. I am dazed and not sure of what is going on. Everyone looks up and are told that we are close to the ridge. We get to the ridge and are told that 100 meters ahead is Stella point (summit on the crater at 5773 meters). I am winded and confused. Dhaval, Ranjana and Pradeep make it to Stella Point. I am 20 steps away and can't move. Hashim and Alfred pull me up after threatening me that they will leave me where I am standing if I don't move.

At 2pm, we all make it to Stella Point. We sit behind the Rock to block the wind and for the first time we are all hot and happy. We have summited the mountain but we are not at the highest point on the crater. The highest point, Uhuru Peak, is 5895 meters and roughly 120 meters higher and 2 hours away from where we are. The guides tell Dhaval and Ranjana that they will make it if they try. I am told not to even try. Pradeep is wheezing and is told not to try. We take photos for 20 minutes here.

That is Marwanze in the back ground. Around 4600m, it is a sister peak of Kili.

Pradeep decides to move on. He is going to go to Uhuru Peak. We all tell him not to go but he decides to go with Paul and ask the guides to stop him if he does not look capable. Bonnie follows them with the oxygen in case. I give Pradeep my stickers of "A School Bell Rings" and "Kids4Kids360".

Ranjana, Dhaval and I all descend down. We are in Scree the whole way down. It is like skiing on rocks. About 1.5 hours down, I start throwing up, and get dizzy. Alfred helps me down, and Hashim buckles on to me to help me down. I am dry heaving after my tummy is emptied. I am crying and asking to get off the mountain. I am so done!!! I just want off the mountain and away from here. Ranjana is left to climb down on her own behind us. Dhaval becomes ataxic and is helped by Alfred. Two thirds of the way down, Hashim calls for porters to come help us down. He also calls Paul and Bonnie to see how they are doing. They do not answer, so we are told they should be fine. I am helped by a porter, two porters help Dhaval and one helps Ranjana.

We make it to Barafu at 5:30pm. We are told that camp will wrap up here and we must move on to High camp. There is no water here for us and we are unable to stay here. I am still sick and Dhaval is very tired. We both tell Hashim that we are packed (he only had to pack my pad) and that we are not coming into camo, but rather want to leave to the High Camp from here. This will save us the energy of going down and coming up. Ranjana must go down to pack and she is worried about Pradeep. We look up at 6pm and see some people coming down the mountain. Also we are informed of porters being hailed to go up to help them bring Pradeep down. He did make it to Uhuru peak but was very tired and needed help.

Dhaval and I leave with Alfred and my pack to High Camp. Dhaval's pack is with a porter and is not to be located. He may have moved on. We set out at 6:15pm. We realize that the sun is going down and we have no head lamps. My headlamp is in Ranjana's pack and Dhaval's in his. I have a small flash light. We turn it on as soon as it gets dark. It works for about 15 minutes and then we are in the dark guided by only the moon light. Our own porters pass us by in the dark. Alfred finally hails one who stays with us and shows us the way as Alfred does not know the way.

For the first time, I fall about 2 hours into the hike. I hyperextend my right leg and it hurts really badly. We continue slowly until one of the other porters finds us and we realize he has Dhaval's pack. Dhaval finds two lights in there so we both put one on and descend another 30 minutes to find our camp. We arrive at 8:45pm. We are cold and tired. Sonal is feeling well and helps both of us change and eat something. I had 4 bites of rice and that is it. Dhaval actually eats a full meal. I hear Ranjana come in about 45 minutes after us with no idea of how Pradeep is. Hashim comes in and informs us that Pradeep is not well and will be stretchered down. I am tired and turn in to go to sleep as Ranjana makes it to the mess tent. As I am falling asleep, I hear Pradeep come in huffing and puffing, totally out of breath. HE HAS HAD NO EMERGENCY STRETCHER OR OXYGEN. He is wheezing badly and informs us he has taken 60 mg of OraPred. Dhaval is also wheezing and he take 60mg of Orapred. They both have HAPE.

They are all talking in the back ground as I fall asleep. Wakeup time is 8am tomorrow.