Day 3

Hamed woke us up at 7:15, we went through the same routine of tea, hot water for wash and breakfast...which didn't change. Again, I just tried to force a few bites down. I'm a little worried because they say your appetite decreases the higher you go, that's not a good sign for Christine and I. We were finally on our way by 9:15. Our hike started out pretty level for a while, then we crossed over some streams and a river, which made it fairly muddy at times. Shabaz and Basil constantly reminded us to go 'pole pole' and don't you worry, I did. I read about how slow they take you up the mountain, but nothing really prepares you for it. I mean you go super slow, like take a step count to two, take another step count to two...and even that felt too fast at times. Yet again, our guides wanted to take us on a different route to help us acclimatize...they seem to know what's best for us, although I prefer the shorter routes. So what could have been a 3 hour day, wasn't.

Top of the Shira Towers

We headed up to the Shira Towers, which was a rocky, steep climb and a little dangerous at times. Man, it was hard to breath! But I kept  on going, I am definitely the slowest member of our group, the weakest link so to speak. Quite a few times I would have an image of this lady with short, red hair and glasses saying 'you are the weakest link, goodbye'. But I tried to ignore her, and just kept on going pole pole. The views at the top always make the hike worth it, so we had a short break before coming down, and then continued on to our camp.

Heading down

We got their by 2:15, and lunch was ready for us. Up until this point I haven't had much of an appetite, however as soon as I saw what was for lunch my mouth instantly started to water. It was a huge plate of french fries! Now, for those of you who know me well, know that I haven't eaten a french fry in over 10 years (due to french fry overload in my McD working days). So now I have this dilemma. Do I break my 10 year streak to satisfy my hunger? YES!! It really didn't take that long for me to come to that conclusion, I was hungry, they looked delicious, and so I ate them...and man they were good! I don't plan on eating fries when I go home, this was a mountain only exception to my rule.   

After lunch we were able to relax a bit, and take a nap. Then before long we were back in the mess tent for supper. Shabaz and Basil came in after supper for our Day 4 briefing. Shabaz said tomorrow will be a long, tough day as we are headed to the Lava towers at 4600m which will be another good acclimatization hike. We've heard that if you can make it to the lava towers, there's a good chance you're going all the way. So we'll see what tomorrow brings, makes me nervous thinking about it. Shabaz decided that it was time I started taking an extra diamox to help with the altitude. We were all taking a half pill morning, and night. But they wanted Christine and I to take another half pill at lunch as well, so tomorrow I'll start that. They said we're a good group and have no worries about us. Which is good to hear, however they may just say that to every group. We were in bed by 9pm to be up at 7 the next morning.