Day 3 - Shira Camp to Moir Camp
The simple pleasure of morning coffee "in bed" or at least "in tent".
A field of cairns, made my human hands, but seemingly pulled toward Mount Kilimanjaro.
A young lobelia exhibits its symmetry. Its leaves seem well shaped to capture either the dew or the melting frost.
Old Man's Beard Lichens on the Trees in the Kilimanjaro Moorlands. I've seen these lichens before but never with colors such as these and as dense as they are just filling entire bushes and trees.
Our feet held up well on the mountain, but here our guides Manny (right) and Sigha (middle) assist Mike in dealing with a blister.
The moon is about to rise and we're going to bed in Moir Camp
Strava Map of the Route from Shira Camp to Moir Camp.
The days are falling into a routine already and a rather structured routine at that. Our camp waiter, Juve, knocks on our tent every morning at 5:30am. He is always punctual and goes to Mike’s tent first. I later learned it was because Mike set his alarm a little earlier, so he was always up and had a flashlight on. Juve asks us each how we slept and then, oh yes, then, he asks us if we want coffee or tea brought to our tents.
One of life’s simple pleasures but punctuated with a bit of elegance, is coffee and we get our first cup of coffee served to us while we’re still waking up and at least partial warm in our sleeping bags. We have an hour to get ready, pack up our belongings, go to the bathroom, and brush our teeth before breakfast is served at 6:30am. By 6:30, we’re in the dining tent and Juve is dishing us up breakfast. I’m impressed with all our staff’s ability to speak English along with a few other languages. Juve has this endearing habit of saying “your welcome” before we can thank him. I try to beat him too it, but he usually gets it out first.
Our guide’s stated goal is to be hiking by 7am. I don’t think we ever hit that goal, but we were almost always starting by 7:10am. We apologize and then get the ubiquitous response, “hakuna matata” or “no worries”. While we’re eating breakfast, the porters take down our tents and some have already started carrying the camp gear to the next campsite. They, however, wait to tear down both the dining tent and the toilet tent until we’re starting our hike. That is, of course, very much appreciated.
Our hike today is 10km mostly in moorland with about 2200 feet in elevation gain. Moir Camp is at almost 13,500 feet. I’m pretty sure its higher than I’ve ever been and definitely higher than I’ve ever slept. The link to today's hike on Strava is here.
Our evening ritual is also rather structured. Teatime at 4pm and dinner at 6pm. The staff is flexible but both Mike and I seem to like a later dinner and have settled on 6pm for our dinner time. Culturally, Tanzanians aren’t big on dessert, but we are always offered some dessert, even fruit at the end of the meal. I’ll enjoy another cup of tea or even a cup of hot water as a nod to one of my modern environmental heroes, Doug Tompkins, how later in life having given up alcohol and caffeine enjoyed a cup of hot water sometimes with lemon and at times without.
By 7:30pm we and the staff are in our sleeping bags. The staff usually talks for a quite a bit before settling in for the night, but Mike and I both attempt to read, but usually drift off to sleep rather fast. While sleep comes fast, it usually doesn’t last though the night. The Diamox that is helping us adapt to the altitude it is a strong diuretic. Its inevitable that a few trips to the bathroom are necessary. A pee bottle is something to strongly consider.
