A Climbers Diary

Day 9 - 01/03/09             
Recovering - As remembered at 12.00hrs
Moivaro Lodge - 1450m

 Firstly an apology. Yesterday was such a blur of walking, travelling, packing, unpacking and scrubbing clean that my memory of the day may be warped but probably improved by the passage of time. Yesterday started at 06.00hrs with a smiling porter at the door once again enquiring “tea or coffee”. It was my first night on my own and nice to have some space. Stan had his own tent due to his “problem” but we kept and eye and ear on his breathing all night. The double jeopardy of HAPE (which although he had descended over 2000m from the summit) and the trots was actually getting worse and causing him more problems especially in the underwear dept. His HAPE, which clearly he was playing on, was now upgraded to “award winning” strength as a result of the sympathy it was generating him.

The whole group was buoyant but sore and pleased to be going down the mountain on our final part of the trek. David in particular seemed very bouncy and full of praise and support.  As we trekked the last 9k down through the rain forest on the Coca Cola route he took some stunning shots of us in action. It must be very difficult for him, firstly having had his own nightmare descent whilst suffering from AMS and having to trek 9k some of which was in the dark, but also to then have the disappointment of failure exacerbated by the elation of our success.

I want to touch on the group here and what a great bunch of guys they all were. I include the guides Elsemeh, Pascoe and Naiman in this group as well as they were as much part of our trek as we were.  We were all thrown together as an eclectic mix of personalities not knowing each other beforehand and riding the emotional roller-coaster which is high altitude trekking. Being forced to live together in such close proximity, reliant to a degree on each others support and success brought  a very strong camaraderie between us that was commented upon by Naiman. We fed off each others emotions, and one person being down could drag the group with it but instead the others lifted the person up again. Having had such an intense time together it seems strange that we are unlikely ever to see each other again after this trek. Indeed as I write there is only me, Mossy, Dave and Stan left at Moivaro, everyone else having now followed the rest of their individual itinerary.

Back to the trek memory and it was more of a trot down to the Mandara Huts for lunch spotting some Colobus and Blue monkeys on the way down as well as Mossy in his native environment , the rain forest. One of the engaging sights at Mandara was our first glimpse of porcelain for a week complete with flusher and real plumbing. The trek track was ridden with stumps and roots which were a pest and we ended up tripping all of the time, partly through exhaustion and partly through  our keenness to get down.  As we came down the mountainside the flora increased in size from moor land “veg” to large trees in just a few hours. It was getting hot again and although quite long, it was nothing like the long trek across the blazing saddle. We came across some kids jumping onto a plunge pool on a small river and Kate had some kendal mint cake to share out to them. She got absolutely mobbed and Pascoe had to come to the rescue, but it was lovely to see a bit of civilisation again.

Naiman and Pascoe were told that they would be going straight back up the mountain with the Comic Relief team tomorrow after they had dropped us off and it shows how tough these guys are. Naiman is a Masai, tall and very dark plus as fit as anything. Pascoe is a Chagga, shorter and very very strong, The Masai are plains people  from the Serengetti, and the Chagga are the mountain fold from around Kili. I take my hat off to them and all of their fellow porters and staff for the job they do. We need at least a weeks rest and some of the team are off to Zanzibar for some R + R. On the last morning on the mountain the porter crew sang us a couple of mountain songs and on behalf of the group I said a few words of thanks and issued them with their tips as well as arranging a collection of clothing and leftover sweets for them. It was another moving experience and was like saying goodbye to some good friends.

Finally we arrived at the gate to Marangu gate to Kili National Park and were given our certificates after signing out of the park, then it was off to the coach and back to the hotel. On the way, and only in Africa, had an overhead power linehad been brought down by a truck and no high sided vehicles could get through, causing a big traffic jam. Eventually some bright spark decided to prop it up with a stick and we dashed through like whacky races before it fell back down and electrocuted someone. The coach was rather “personal” with climbers, guides, porters and day packs all crammed in. Fortunately Stan couldn’t add to it through fear of any wind not being just wind!

We were all more than relieved to get back to the hotel and Stan and I tossed a coin for first crack at the shower. I was fortunate enough to win and it was a good job as well as Stan’s constitution could not hold out and when he did eventually get in the shower the shower basin was the victim this time around.

After a clean up it was time for a beer or two (the first for both me and Stan since 31st Dec, the first for Mossy for about 4 hours) before a meal of Moivaro T Bone steak which is not to be recommended as it is the consistency of “porters boot”. The drinking, war stories and joviality went on for a while as did the beers before we all crashed out exhausted once again.

Morning dawned cloudy and our day by the pool recuperating looked in jeopardy. The sun came out mid morning and we commandeered a sun lounger or two (there were no Germans at Moivaro) for a bit of a chill out. Of the rest of the team some left early to get home and get back to work, whilst others were off to the beach on Zanzibar for a few days rest on the second leg of their trip. For us it was time to contemplate our adventure, rest our weary bones, and soak up a few rays before the flight. Dave went off to Church again and as I write still hasn’t been seen since. Mossy went for a wander around the lodge grounds only to disturb a swarm of bees and have to run for his life and save his bacon. Dave eventually came back uplifted having been back to the pastors house for lunch. He has really climbed his own mountain on this trip physically, mentally and spiritually and has made a big connection with himself and also this area. I have no doubt he will be back. Stan is chilling and still feeling a little rough but on the way to recovery. Trev is now already back at home having got a flight back to UK a few days ago.

As for me it’s a strange feeling at the moment. Physically there is an underlying tiredness and a stiffness in the legs that manifests itself when I sit still. Emotionally there is the feeling of satisfaction and pride of having made it but also a feeling of disappointment and almost anti-climax that it has come to an end. I’m desperate to get home and see the wife, kids and mother as it seems like it was such a long time ago that we were starting this adventure despite the fact that it was only a week or so ago.

It’s time to go very soon as the taxi is outside. The clouds are slate grey around the lodge and the valley is rumbling with the sound of thunder. It’s raining again and I’m not relishing the thought of a trip across African roads in a storm.

As for the trek it’s been great. Challenging, thought provoking, given us some great company and we’ve had our laughs along the way, but it’s also been character building and quite emotional at times.  I’m generally fairly level headed but I feel I will be leaving Tanzania a stronger person both physically and mentally as a result of this expedition. Before I started I thought it was going to be physical and put all of my efforts into that side of things. Now I know that it is 20% physical and 80% mental attitude. Just like anything in life if you want it enough you can do it

As they say round here………Hakuna Matata.

Rob Hughes
01/03/09