Shira Camp

Day 2
Machame Camp (2850m) - Shira Camp (3810m)

We were told in the morning that this would be a very steep day - something that worried me a lot as I'd thought that the previous day had been very steep! I prepared myself for a practically vertical ascent. We were also told that we may get signs of altitude sickness later on in the day or overnight.

So although it was steep, the day was really fun! I enjoyed it so much! There was a lot of scrambling up rocks, which some of the group didn't like at all but I loved it. Unlike walking up steps, scrambling up rocks gives me something to concentrate on - I had to be careful where I put my feet, Some people were using walking poles which I really couldn't understand - it was much easier to use your hands to push/pull yourself up.

I stayed at the front of the 'train' of people today, and felt this motivated me even more as the previous day I'd been stuck in the middle pausing every 10 minutes because someone needed a break. Today I could carry on at my own pace (which I was pretty impressed with) without getting stuck in amongst everyone. There were plenty of guides with us, so soon the group had spilt into about 4 sections each with their own guide.

My little group at the front had so much fun along the way - taking photos, general chatting, playing games such as name all the counties beginning with A, B, C ...etc. Although it sounds trivial, it kept us all in high spirits just to have a laugh.

Shira camp was very rocky compared to Machame camp - i had to remove some big boulders that were underneath my tent.

We saw a gorgeous sunset, and then once it had got dark I set about some night photography - the sky was so clear now that we were above the clouds, you could see so many stars! It was absolutely beautiful. A couple of people joined me in taking night shots, and we all exchanged tips from our experiences which was great.

Again, I only got about an hour of sleep that night even though I was truly exhausted. I just couldn't sleep.

There were so many possible blips for today, but I feel drawn to this one in some way - I feel it's very atmospheric.