KILIMANJARO-CLIMB DAY 7

Day 7...22nd October 2012
OUT_CAUSE.. KILI-CANCER
Barafu to Millenium Camp
Altitude : 4673m to 3820 m
Hiking : 2 1/2 hrs
Distance : 4 1/2 km
Terrain : Descend through heavy scree and gravel.

After the summit ,

we had a long walk down..
What goes up must come down , that's the law of nature..
But this was actually more difficult than going up ..
We were told that we have to come down in the scree in a ski motion ...

Ha ha ha what's that ...

Anyway , all I can say is that , this walk down over rocks and scree, killed my knees..
They were abusing me..

Vikram leading the pack, and the stuffed black thing is me....

And I only continued because I was hungry and wanted to sleep ..
So walked and ski motioned down , with visions of my sleeping bag in my tent and Rashidi's food ...

When we reached "bribe-be-Barafu" ..there was no camp ..
We were told that , the camp had moved to Barafu ,that was further down , we could see the camp , from where we stood, and that we had to pack and continue down ...
Well I was thinking , God ..please infuse me with super-powers,because this was ridiculous...
Burnt faced and hungry , I continued ,like everyone else ,before and after me ...

So we have walked all night, we are still walking and by 10.30-11 am , we finally reach Barafu, and was greeted by Sistus and his broad smile and Samay and all the porters and was offered an orange drink ...
I gulped it down...
So all the porters knew that I cried because I thought my "fingers were falling off" ,,,,
Stop it guys, really, dont laugh, I was in serious pain...
But now, its really funny ha ha ha ...

I joined everyone already seated in the tent with a hungry look pasted on their face...
We laughed, talked about the climb,and how it was for each of us,laughed about the blizzard...

And then a few fell asleep right there on the chairs and the rest ..yakked...
Till some food was laid on the table..

We ate as fast as we could..
A better disappearing act I have not seen in a long time .....
And then we were told that we have a 1hr walk to Millenium camp..
We all got up and took off...

But after an hour we realised that this camp is nowhere in sight...
I just slowed down ..
I knew its going to be a long walk, my knees were begging for mercy..
Shallu, Shayamal and me just walked slowly ..
And then I stopped ..
I decided I will reach camp ,but I'm in no hurry ...
So I stopped along the way , just sat, said hello ,to the ones from other camps passing me by, took photographs of pretty flowers ..
And had conversations ,with the ones I have not talked to in a very long time ...
And by 2PM,  I think I reached camp ...

Tired ...
And my knees giving me bad-words, in a language I had yet to learn ha ha ha
I went into my tent, and just sat there...
Shallu had already reached ..

I had no intention of having a wet-tissue sponge, or changing my clothes..
That's it ..
I'm now a mountain -girl , and had come to terms with and was extremely happy with my hair that had not even been brushed for 8 days, not bathed 8 days, and today I did not want to change ..
Ha ha ha ...simple life .
It was cold, so there was no sweat, so happy with the lovely Kenzo on me ..
I proceeded to the eating tent,where I could hear chatting..
And it was wonderful, we sat there talking about food and slowly but surely, started eating up the , peanut butter , drinking up the milo..
Asked for bread ,that we devoured with chunks of butter and pickle..
We then asked Shallu to ask for food...
Because some how , we realised, our unruly bunch would be told , all supplies are over , and she would get cookies...so we made here ask for bread , and told her to tell them , she was very hungry and to please get lots...
So we called out to Sistus, and then Shallu in that soft sweet voice of hers, asked for bread, amidst us all saying , get lots , she is hungry, ha ha ha ...
Sistus just smiled , he did not believe this at all..
But after 15 minutes , there was bread on the table ...
That was jumped upon, while we talked about all the food we wanted to eat ...

We sat there at that table from 2.30 pm ,waiting for dinner that was going to be served at 6.30 ....ha ha h a
At 6 the cutlery started trickling in,with Sistus and Samay...
And finally dinner was served in candle light ....

I have never had a more fun enjoyable festive meal..
It could not have a better setting than at the feet of the mighty Kilimanjaro,that well finally made friends with...
Avocado with salsa...
Followed by a rice salad , and
Bananas and potatoes in a lovely gravy..
Banana fritters....

We devoured it all....
And had licked our lips like the cat who got the cream...
It was a happy meal ..
We were so happy for one another , and for ourselves that we all made it ..

We miss you Kabir..

We also decided that we are going to tell all our friends , that they all needed to do this, so that they could feel what we did..
All and everything...

So next morning we had a five hour walk to the gate ...
This is it ..
It's done ..
It's nearly over...
Think at around 8.30 most of us fell asleep  (dammit my kids don't sleep so early, No matter what I try)
Tom we wake up early to leave at 6 ...

Good night ...
I'm sleeping with a smile on my face , and immense love in my heart ...



NOTE FROM SHYAMAL...
FOUNDER OUT_CAUSE....
 
The OutCause Kili Cancer Team is supporting the Karunshraya Cancer Hospice.
Karunsharya means 'a compassionate abode' and that is exactly what the hospice is. Its a sanctuary that's offers support when a patient loses the comfort and security of a hospital as no further treatment is possible. They serve to bring peace and dignity to the patients life when the inevitable is close at hand. This institution that operates solely off the generosity of patrons such as yourselves,  have managed to help more than 12000 patients since their inception.

I am writing to you to humbly request that you and your close circle of friends please join the cause and help in the fight against cancer. The OutCause Team has pledged to raise money for this hospice so that they can continue their unbelievable work. Please reach out to family and friends and request that they be generous. All monies raised will go directly to the Karunshraya Cancer Hospice.
 
Patrons can make cheques out to the:
Bangalore Hospice Trust. 

The address for Karunashraya is:

Karunashraya
Old Airport-Varthur Main Road
Marathahalli,
Kundalahalli Gate,
Bangalore
560 037

You can address it to Archana Ganesh from Karunshraya.
Would like to request you to please mark OutCause Kili Cancer on the back off the cheque along with your name, address & PAN number.