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All this getting up early is begging to wear on me. Its another 6.30am start again so I haul myself out of bed and head over to the Mess Tent. Breakfast is routine now, porridge to start with followed by water melon if you can stomach it. I didn't touch it after the first day. I couldn't eat the scrambled egg either, but I did eat the bacon which was lovely but not a lot of it. Definitly I'm feeling the appetite going with every day, but I'm still able to eat something all the time anyway so I have some energy left in the tank.
After brekkie, we start off up the Barranco Wall, which is about 300m high and a scramble. It was great. I much prefer scrambling to walking, and there was only one tricky corner to edge around..not the easiest with a SLR camera dangling from my neck! The guides help people out by pointing out the best footholds and handholds and lend a hand also if/when needed. After that short climb we stop for photos and a small rest stop. The last water stop is the Kanga Valley, so we fill up what we can, and the porters do likewise. After this there isn't any more streams to refill from.
Everyone seems to be in pretty good shape. Riad got up with no problems either so with the Barranco Wall out of the way , it was pretty much plain sailing for the rest of the day. Only down part was we arrived into camp at about 4.30pm, and we will be setting off for the summit attempt about 11pm so everyone is eager to just get dinner out of the way and get the heads down to grap some sleep.
Barrafu Campsite, is strewn amongst the boulders, it was rare for 2 tents to be at the same level. At least they were level and dry. The outhouses / long drops aren't getting any better, but the whole balancing - squatting lark is getting easier. Definitely not the hightlight of the trip though !
Dinner was lovely: Beans and Chips...it was gorgeous. I'd say virtually everyone had their plates polished, as this meal was such a refreshing change from the norm. As was the case with every dinner time, once it was finished Helen briefed us on the upcoming climb to the summit. She gets us to sort out our water supply, questions us on how we plan to keep our water from freezing and good advice on what to eat/not to eat...avoid cholcolate as at altitude you become lactose intolerant. Also avoid chewy bars as you will use up more moisture and be more likely to get dehydrated. Helen also recommends people to consider taking Immodium before the summit attempt, so you don't need to "go" while in the freexing temperatures! Riad announces that he won't be joining us for the last day. I think he has done great to get as far as he did carrying an injury and apart from that, he would have had no problems getting to the top.
Lying in the tent, I get into the thermal gear and try to get some sleep in the intervening hours. I can't remember getting much sleep, but half dose. I do another self assessment to check how I'm doing. Breathing fine - not short of breath, still no nausea, no headaches today also. I know I'm slowing down though as the legs are getting progressively heavier but apart from that I'm ok. 11pm rolls around and Helen rouses us from the tents. I still have an appetite of sorts, I eat the porridge and the bacon but leave everything else.
We throw on the extra layers, head into the Mess Tent to grab a bit of brekkie. I have my heavyweight dryflo as base layer followed by a lightweight dryflo. On top of this I have a light fleece. Then I put on the hydration system (small rucksack designed for carrying the platypus ).. Over this I put a windproof fleece and feed the hose of the platypus out the neck. The down jacket over this covers everything so I'm well wrapped up for the trip. I keep the GoreTex jacket in the bag if it gets windy.