DAY 3
Horombo Hut Acclimatisation Day (3780 m)

This day helps to prepare you for the push to the summit. The path takes you close to Mt. Mawenzi. You then return to Horombo for dinner and overnight.
This extra day is highly recommended and can increase your chances of reaching the summit.

Today was our second day at Horombo Hut. We are quite high now and it was bitter cold at night! The huts in Horombo are built of wooden panels, with the door closed on a delicate bolt, but there are gaps on sides of the door. Some girls could not sleep because of the cold, but I was quite OK in my warm sleeping bag. And with woolen cap on my head :)
We could sleep an hour longer today, so we woke up at 7 AM, had our tea, warm water wash, and ate breakfast at 8 AM. Good, warm porridge is a must :)
The weather in the morning is beautiful, clear air with a wonderful view of Kibo summit.
After breakfast we got ready for the hike to Mawenzi Hut (4600m). Our porters have a day off from carring luggage today, as we will stay overnight in Horombo. We left only with our guides at 9AM and it took us about 1.5 hour to hike to Zebra Rock, one of nature's miracles. It's a peculiar collection of rocks, named mainly due to the alternate black and white stripes found on them. Then for another 2 hours, we have proceeded along in a northerly direction and reached the memorial of Loretta Mae Hendricks, who lost her life on the mountain in April 1979. From this point the views become very spectacular. Particularly eyecatching one is that of the Saddle and the south-eastern slopes of Kilimanjaro. We could see the trail for our tomorrow hike. Even the steep scree path ascending to Gillman's Point was clearly-visible. Looks incredible! This was the first time in my life I am reaching these heights, still feeling all right. I think it was a good idea to spend an extra day up the mountain and give the body time to aclimatize better. After almost reaching the foot of Mawenzi (ca 4400m) we returned to Horombo Hut for lunch and some afternoon rest. Some girls did the "tidiness day" - washing hair with dry shampoo or even with the liquid one. Water up here is so soft, that it is difficult to rinse the soap off well.

So, it was another sunny day, not very cold, but windy, the air is so dry up here. Last night my throat and lips were so dry that it woke me up several times during the night. I was coughing hard and so were my friends, it's from the never ending dust of the powder-like red or brown soil that we breathe in walking. So tonight I'm prepared with warm tea in my thermos. I haven't had any headache so far.

At 8 PM - dinner of vegetable soup, boiled potatoes, tuna stew, spinach, carrots, tomatoes&onions, fresh fruits, juices and tea. All of the food that the porters cook for us tastes just great!! No problems with stomach at all.

The sky has been so beautiful at night up here. The last night and tonight was so clear, there are more stars out than I have ever seen in my life, shimmering everywhere. I saw the Southern Cross for the first time. And looking down into the valley I could see the glittering lights of Moshi and other towns and villages.