Kilimanjaro Day 2

My guide came to wake me up at 6:30 AM with a bucket of warm water for washing my face and hands. Breakfast was at 7 AM. I was seated next to another group, and I quickly struck up a conversation with them. There were two guys from England and a couple from Hong Kong. They were around my age, and the conversation flowed easily, so I suggested we form a group. They were all on board, so I dashed out to ask my guide if that was okay. He was totally up for it! The group with the Austrians the day before hadn’t been ideal since they were quite a bit older and all knew each other. This new group, however, didn’t have that dynamic, making it much easier to fit in. We started around 8:30 AM, heading up to 2,700 meters where the Horombo hut is located. It was a really great group to be in, and we all got along well. The hike took about 7 hours, so we arrived around 3:30 PM. Everyone else in the group was doing Kilimanjaro in 5 days without an extra acclimatization day, so today was the only day I could hike with them. The pace was extremely slow, but that’s how it should be to help the body adjust to the altitude. It meant taking small steps. Another crucial thing is to drink plenty of fluids, which we made sure to do. When we finally reached the Horombo hut at 3,700 meters, I started to feel a bit of altitude sickness. I had a slight headache, but that’s pretty normal. We got settled into the huts. I was sharing with a couple from Austria who were relatively close in age to me. After dinner at 5:30 PM, we hit the hay around 8:30 PM. The Austrian couple was heading up to the Kibo hut at 4,800 meters, so we needed a good night’s sleep. I was all for it since it would improve my chances of reaching the summit.