The Lunar Desert

Day 4 Friday 21 June 2013

Our tents are encrusted with thick frost. The sunlight is grey, the air chilly. But the porters are optimistic and they have moved the tables out of the mess tent for an open-air breakfast. And by the time we are all up and our bags packed, it is warm and bright. Warm when wearing wooly hats and gloves, that is. There's a fine array of knitted bobbly hats on display. The hair-plaiting salon is also open for business. Our group vet does a fine line in French plaits, a stylish way (we hope) to counteract the lack of hair-washing.

After breakfast, there's time to brush teeth, make a loo stop, and pick up our water bottles. We carry about three litres of water each in our daypacks, and it's boiled and chlorinated each morning ready for us to collect. Tarn Camp is the final water point before the summit. Luckily the water isn't taken from the lake we're camping next to, which is a rather luminous shade of green, but another source slightly higher up. Still, it's double-strength chlorine by the taste of it. The porters will be carrying water for the next camp, enough for meals and to get us up to the summit and back. It seems like a lot of water to have to carry. Let's hope there's enough to go round.

Today's walk is mostly on the flat. The summit crater, Kibo, dominates the view now. Somehow, it's been hard to comprehend we're on a mountain up to this point – it's just so large. But this cone-shaped peak looks just like the classic idea of a mountain. And a steep one at that. As we walk closer to it, a narrow grey seam straight up the side becomes visible. That's our path for later on that evening. It seems best not to think about it too much.

The mood is buoyant, and several of the group members seem to be enjoying a rush of energy as they power across the open expanse. The backdrop of Kibo is perfect photo material, and halfway across we stop for group pictures, full of smiles. The Lunar Desert is exposed and windswept but the weather is obliging us with sun and no clouds. When we stop for a break, we're like lizards basking on the rocks. We share snacks. I've brought crystallised ginger, which, along with ginger tea, is a miracle cure for nausea. Hovering on the edge of sickness the whole time, it's nice to know there's something that will help alleviate it.

By lunchtime, we arrive at Kibo Camp, our base for attempting the summit. It's where the Marangu and Rongai routes meet. There are permanent huts here, rats (although I didn't see them), a lot of dust, and another signing-in point. All the way up the mountain we've had to sign in at each camp, adding our names, ages, nationalities and professions to the others already in the books. The camp is busier than expected, so our tents have been pitched at a lower level near a rocky outcrop below the permanent camp. It's probably barely 100 metres further down but in the thin air this seems like an extra mile. We have a great view of Mawenzi, though. One of my fellow trekkers is particularly happy at this: it's become a bit of an in-joke that although we're climbing Kibo, all she's going to have is photos of Mawenzi, from all angles, all times of day and night...

As well as the standard soup for lunch (to up our fluid intake), we're now on to the tinned food. Afterwards there's time for rest, for repacking of our day packs to minimise the weight for the final climb, and, for three of us, more card games. Dinner is at 5.30pm, and suddenly the summit climb seems scarily real. Our guides give us motivational speeches: that we're a strong group, that we can make it to the top. There's another Exodus group climbing the same route as us – we'd first met them at the airport – but I think we're feeling slightly smug that we've been walking faster than them the whole way. Hopefully pride won't come before a fall. We're already a guide down after one had to leave to get medical help for an unexplained swollen hand. A porter is going to step up to his place instead, in fact the porter who has had the crummy job of looking after the toilet the whole way up the mountain. We're saving a large tip for him.

It's straight to the tents for some kip after dinner. I'm sharing with two other women, and we're feeling a bit hyperactive – laughing away for a good half an hour. Apologies to anyone we kept awake. But I sleep eventually, and when the guides wake us up at 11pm (yes, that's 11pm) ready for breakfast and our attempt on the summit, I feel pretty positive and excited. It's time to head for the heights.

This is my fourth post about my trip-of-a-lifetime climbing Mount Kilimanjaro and going on safari in Tanzania. I'm raising money for Water Aid so if you would like to sponsor me, please click here.