Today's hike started off on the cool side and we had our jackets on. However, 10 minutes into the hike, John told us to remove our jackets because it would get warm - he was right of course.

My knees were feeling alot better today, in fact, the soreness seemed to have disappeared. However, I still needed to make one stop to apply moleskin to my left heel, which was getting very sore.

The scenery was the same as yesterday, alot of scrub brush and small hills, until we reached the last watering point 2 hours later. . This spot is a major stopping point for everyone as porters collect water in drums to carry to Kibo Hut. Also, the weather became cold and windy and we were told, along with everyone else, to put on our wind gear. Past this watering point, we entered Kibo Saddle, a gently curved section between Kibo and Mawenzi peaks resembling a saddle. .

As we entered the Saddle, the vegetation changed abruptly from scrub to nothing. The terrain almost looked flat and was barren of plant life - definitely an alpine desert. A few small weed-like plants did exist, if you looked hard enough for them. Hiking on this flat terrain was easy and welcome, especially at this high an altitude. The Saddle is a huge area and it was hard to tell that we were on a mountain. Having never walked through an alpine desert before, the scenery seemed so strange and unreal.

There were 2 parallel dirt trails (one for each direction I assume) and made it look like vehicles had driven up this route. There was one strange sight I remember seeing. About 50 yards from a bend in the trail was this wooden picnic table. You could see it from quite a distance away, since the terrain was flat and barren, and I assumed people would stop and have lunch here (we didn't, and it is so windy here that I do not think many people do). At least I think there was a table in the middle of nowhere - its possible the altitude and the lack of oxygen was affecting my mind.

We did not see anyone returning from the summit until about 11 AM. Everyone we talked to who reached the top said the same basic thing, that the climb was extremely tough and you needed to take your time and not push yourself. My thoughts at the time were that I have been taking my time the entire hike so the advice did not seem to help at all (I would be wrong of course).

The entire hike, our guide John kept our pace slow to help us acclimatize to the altitude. Our lunch stop was at an outcropping of rocks to protect us from the wind. I was not hungry, and did not force myself to eat anything, especially after reading all those accounts about people doing so and then puking it back up later.

About 12:15 PM we spotted Kibo Hut in the distance, however, it would take over an hour to reach it. Kibo Hut is one large rock and wood cabin containing a small dining room and several rooms housing up to 8 people each. . There are 2 pit toilets behind a rock ledge. These toilets are like a 2 room wooden house built over a small ledge (reminds me of those houses on stilts on the sides of hills in San Francisco). It is not a pretty site.

The temperature is very cold here, especially inside the hut. There is not much to do except photograph the scenery , then find a space in the rocks away from the wind and in the sun to keep warm and maybe do some writing . I was tired, like most people, and at this altitude, you did not feel like doing much anyway.

At 2:30 PM tea was ready and it sure hit the spot. John told us that we should not stay out in the sun too long because that would give us a headache. About the same time, Felix arrived with my bag.

I noticed that Felix was the porter in charge of carrying my equipment up and down the mountain while Steve was in charge of Brian's stuff. Felix wished us, on behalf of all the porters, good luck on our climb tomorrow and then quickly departed. Felix is a nice mannered gentleman and a very likeable person. I immediately knew his wish was sincere, but, I also knew that the other porters probably had not even thought about wishing us luck. Obviously Felix knows how to get a bigger tip.

About 3:30 PM I arranged all the clothing I would wear for the summit tomorrow and then climbed into my sleeping bag. I wanted to try to get as much sleep as possible and told Brian that if I was asleep, not to wake me for dinner. I still had no appetite and had no intention of eating something that would end up coming back up during our climb tomorrow. Well, I never did fall asleep (due to the altitude) even though I was very tired, but, at least I was getting some rest (I think).

About 6 PM I heard Brian and John talking about tomorrow's hike so I got up and listened in. John said he would wake us for tea at midnight and then we would leave by 1 AM. Unfortunately, our 6 roommates were the German group who had a 11:30 PM wakeup call, and we knew we would be waking up at that time.

As John left, Phillipe joined us. Phillipe mentioned he was suffering from travellers diarrhea and how he was unprepared for the cold weather at the summit. I became a hero when I gave him a towel to wrap around his head and one of my Immodium tablets for his diarrhea.

Shortly after, we all turned in to get some sleep. I still had trouble falling asleep, and, to make matters worse, each person in the German group was taking turns getting up (quite noisily) every 15 minutes to go to the bathroom. I don't think I fell asleep until about 10 PM.