The Heather Moorland – Day 2 Kilimanjaro

   

   

(Below: Andrew’s Post)

We made a friend on the mountain! Her name is Molly and she’s from Auckland and she’s really nice. Glad to have some company here on the mountain since the days are often cold and damp. As we woke this morning we had high hopes for the weather since we saw some sunlight as we first we’re getting up in the morning. Unfortunately that didn’t last through breakfast. As we munched away at a humble breakfast of porridge, fruit, and eggs we saw the rain start to fall in sheets. Even more unfortunate than that was the fact we’d be leaving the cover of the rainforest and entering the Moreland area where we would have absolutely no protection from the rain. As we set out that turned out to be exactly the case. As we exited the forest cover we were bombarded with a continual sheet of rain. It was cold, constant and not very pleasant. Several times I would wrong my soft later gloves out only to have them soaked by the process itself. The hike was long and wet. There was no sight of the summit or really anything beyond 100m ahead of you which made motivation a real obstacle to our progression. Kylie who has long hair had the worst of it as her gloves were drenched and her hair was wet. All in all, she was not a happy camper. We finally made it into camp earlier than expected which turned out to be a tremendous blessing. We dried some of our gear (partially dried) and settled in for a cold night. We were definitely blessed though as the cloud later broke to reveal bright, warm sunshine. That lasted only for a little but it gave us a tremendous boost in confidence and hope. Our poor porters had all their gear drenched. Wearing nothing more than thin socks and regular shoes I don’t know how they do it. Sleep came quickly for two weary bodies, tired from an emotionally and physically draining day.