Saddle Hut – 18th February
With the trek up to the Saddle Hut only taking a few hours in the morning, followed by a veritable feast for lunch, there was just enough time for a quick snooze before the afternoon excursion up Little Meru.
It's just a quick after lunch stroll, honest!
Rising to 3,800m this subsidiary peak offers excellent views of the trail up to Rhino point (the start of the summit ridge) which is useful as it’s going to be near enough the middle of the night by the time we get there tomorrow!
However this vantage point offers excellent views in every direction including the Momela Lakes with their pink highlights (which are actually flocks of Flamingos) and the ever present Kilimanjaro looming on the horizon.
Momella Lakes, complete with pink highlights
But as great as the views are the primary reason for the 90 minute round trip is to provide a boost for the acclimatisation process and give your body a taste of what lies ahead tomorrow.
The Mt Meru Ash Cone
Although short, it’s a fairly steep grind to the top and for the first time I could feel my lungs battle against the thin air and my legs begin to burn.
However a few tactically timed photo stops along with the now familiar “Pole Pole” pace saw us make steady progress until we reached the top.
Spongbob chilling out at the summit
The views, as promised were spectacular and at the very least we were now all assured of at least a Little Meru certificate should we fail to make the summit tomorrow!
The summit cairns
Possibly one of the best outcomes from this excursion was the opportunity to get to know some of the other groups that we would be hoping to share the summit with.
The combination of excitement and apprehension e in the mess hut was tangible as we tucked in to an early dinner and for me there was an element of relief as my guide Wilfred arrived with news that my missing luggage had been retrieved.
Saddle Huts to Rhino Point, the first part of tomorrows trek...
And Rhino Point to the Summit (somewhere in the cloud)!
Feeling strong and ready now all I was hoping for was to grab as much sleep as possible before the 12:45am wakeup call and the push for the summit!
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