Buffalo Ridge Camp – 25th February
Thankfully we still have a full team as everybody who was struggling with AMS yesterday have woken up with clear enough heads to continue.
Another morning another beautiful sunrise.
Poor old Emma looks as though she has been 10 rounds with…..well, the mountain, but it really is a herculean effort after what she went through yesterday and along with an overwhelming sense of relief there is a renewed energy amongst the group.
Mich & Coops admiring the cloud inversion over the Shira plateau.
Although there is minimal height gain during today’s walk the first part of our walk takes us back up and past the base of Little Lent Hill so those that didn’t make the excursion yesterday afternoon left slightly earlier in order to reach the summit.
The early risers on top of Little Lent (but only if you look REALLY closely).
As usual it didn’t take the porters long to catch up, overtake and disappear into the distance as we puffed our way back up to the crest of the ridge we had already climbed yesterday.
You really do have to pause with amazement as these guys pass carrying the kind of loads that make your shoulders ache just looking at them, yet they almost always have a smile and a cheery “Jambo” as they motor past!
The porters, having caught up and overtaken us, continue on their relentless march!
Whilst initially spectacular, several hours making our way across the same featureless landscape has become, dare I say, a bit tedious.
Couple this with decent fog, denying us any of the breathtaking vistas we had enjoyed over the previous days it’s perhaps not surprising that the early morning enthusiasm had dissipated by the time we stopped for lunch.
However after lunch we began losing height and quickly found ourselves back amongst the moorland zone characterised by it’s more prolific plant life.
There were even occasions when the cloud broke long enough to afford us a glimpse across the border into Kenya a view a tiny fraction of the visitors to Kili get to see as the majority of routes shun the North side of the mountain.
Looking into Kenya.
Having reached the traditional spot for the Buffalo Ridge camps we carried on for another 45 mins for our campsite in a more sheltered location and once again our porters had done us proud pitching our tent on possibly the flattest area within the site!
The fog that had been a persistent feature of the day began to clear shortly before dinner and there was a brief moment when we were treated to a spectacular “double ended” rainbow.
One rainbow, two ends and not a pot of gold in sight!
It may be the drop in temperature and I’m sure the “forced” slouch of the camping chairs hasn’t helped but my back has felt a little tight today (I’m absolutely certain it’s nothing to do with carting that rock up Little Lent yesterday).
However despite having felt a little “woolly” at times today my head is now clear and my legs are feeling strong which is great because by the end of tomorrow we will have finished our traverse and gearing up for our attempt on the summit.
The undoubted star of the day, Emma still going after her run in with AMS
and even managing the occassional smile!
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