Barafu Camp exists in a time warp. Were we there one night or two? Does summit night count as a night at Barafu, or because we left for the summit after midnight does that count as three days at Barafu? It’s like those vacation packages that advertise “one day, two nights deluxe accommodations.”

"I think we should hike up another 600 feet.." could have very well been the smartest words heard on Barafu. Thank you Ian Wade. That 600 vertical feet would have an added an hour to our climbing time on summit night. Darkness fell on Barafu and we waited high above the clouds, in the thin air. Was it nerves that hit a few us? Or the uncooked hotdogs that we made disappear with 6-day-old eggs and bread without crusts during breakfast. One thing is for sure, that was the best uncooked hotdog and 6-day-old egg and bread sandwich some of us ever ate. Oddly, a few stomachs couldn't have
disagreed at more inopportune time.

With darkness over us, with the southern cross visible, with more stars than we've ever seen, we emerged from our tents at just after 11 pm dressed and ready to toast each others naiveté that we could summit this thing “no problem”. Even though earlier that day, or was it the day before, we watched as porters helped a woman down. She seemed delirious. She seemed beaten. She seemed to be out of her element. She begged us for water.

As we gathered in the tent, plastic red and blue mugs were raised. Cheers to all of us! Cheers to Diamox! Cheers. What was ahead of us was discussed over tea, cookies and nerves. In front of us was 3000 some-odd feet of pitch-black darkness, 7 hours of scree shuffle, and one of seven summits.

The top of Kilimanjaro waited. There was no turning back. There was only one direction. Up. Way up.