10-30-17

Day 4 on Kilimanjaro (10/26)

A very nice morning...sunshine again! Posing with kind, Johnson before heading off on our day's hike.

Sadly, David developed pulmonary edema the previous night. When he woke he was coughing badly...with gurgling in his lungs. Ugh.

Raymond carried his pack while David struggled to get to the next camp. They even took a shortcut.

David's breathing was labored as his oxygen intake was dropping. When David arrived at Baranco Camp he was exhausted. :-( After supper David had to descend the mountain, no question. They hiked down in the middle of the night with portable oxygen to help him. It was a tough & scary time for David & we were worried about him too. David was in good hands with Goudance and 2 porters. David recovered quickly once down at lower elevations and with rest at the hotel the following days. By the time I returned to the hotel on day 6 he was doing great!

For the rest of us, our hike was going well today.

Love this photo of Goudance!

These 3 feeling great!

And feeling funny. :-)

Me feeling zen.

We continued on without David & Raymond towards Lava Tower.

As we gained elevation (near 15,000 ft) I wasn't feeling the best anymore. Goudance held my hand and walked with me towards Lava Tower.

Goudance is a quiet guy so I was really surprised & touched when he reached out to me. And just to add to this...a little later Leonard started singing to me. It was beautiful & made me cry. Leonard walked behind me and with a soft voice sang several songs in Swahili. 

My escorts up to Lava tower! Lucky me!!

And now THIS was the highest we had ever been; 15,200 feet. Wahoo!

Me in the same group pic looking like a rag-a-muffin. :-/

At Lava Tower our crew surprised us with our dining tent all set up. Waiting inside was a warm lunch & hot tea. These guys were hanging out in their cook tent next to ours. All smiles! Day 4 continues when we finish lunch and hike down to 13,000 ft @ Baranco Camp to spend the night. Those photos tomorrow. :-)