Day 3: Angry buffalo and gaining altitude

I slept perfectly though the night, luckily not disturbed by any rabies infected dogs or angry buffaloes. After breakfast, Alex led me out of camp following a steep incline. The altitude had already progressed to over 3000m which was clear with my elevated breathing. The mountain was quiet, with only one other team at the camp overnight. Alex would announce, "study time" when we encountered a new plant species and begin listing facts. Half way through his explaination of the "ostrich plant", we heard a loud rumbling sound up ahead, almost shaking the ground. I looked up ahead and a huge buffalo was heading right towards us, Alex immediately shouted "It's charging, RUN!" Adrenaline surged through my veins and I ran with Alex back down the slope, not daring to look behind. After a few metres Alex stopped ordering me to stand behind him as he put his arms out in a protective stance, the buffalo had retreated from it'scharge and Alex shouted loudly at it causing a further retreat. I peered cautiously around him, relieved as I saw the buffalo move on. "It's a mother" Alex explained, "She's protecting her young from us." He seemed completely unfazed by the whole ordeal as I looked at him with a stunned expression, shaking my head. We both burst out laughing simultaneously, as he reminded "I told you, Mount Kenya is crazy." He explained that they don't provide rangers on the mountain anymore, so we just have to protect ourselves. Luckily shortly after the trail flattened and I could slowly regain control of my breathing and heart rate.

We spoke about the geography of Mount Kenya, its volcanic history and the summits being named by the Masai. The route featured many steep rocky inclines but the scenery was stunning. We ate lunch on route, Samson had put a large brown paper bag in my pack and I was curious to see what it contained. There was everything you could imagine: 2 sandwiches, crisps, an apple, a banana, 2 boiled eggs and a carton of mango juice. As we ate the clouds descended and Alex suggested we save the rest of lunch for camp as "the weather is about to get serious." Just as he said that the heavens opened and the rain was torrential, we fully waterproofed ourselves and our packs and headed to camp with a greater sense of purpose. Porters passed us returning from the summit direction still looking cheerful and speaking in swahili to Alex. He translated "they are saying you'll definitely make the summit because you are smiling at the rain!" After the steepest incline of the day, we arrived at Shipton's camp following a 14km day. Alex explained he had good news and bad news. The good news: I'd arrived in record time beating his normal time by 1 hour. The bad news: the porters were behind us with my tent and my extra layers. There was a hut at camp and Alex used hot water from other team of porters to prepare me a cup of warm noodles in a broth and put his coat around my shoulders so I didn't get cold.

Around 30 minutes later Samson and the others arrived. Samson laughed loudly saying, "You beat us, that's not supposed to happen, wow" before rushing off to "prepare my home" even though I told him there was no rush. Within 5 minutes he returned saying, "The best client is welcome to her house warming party" leading me towards my tent . I dived inside, eager to rest and get cosy in my sleeping bag. Samson delivered a comically sized mountain of warm popcorn with an array of biscuits carefully arranged on top along with a flask of hot water, tea bags and hot chocolate. I was learning that I certainly wasn't going to go hungry or cold on this trip and felt incredibly well looked after by my Kenyan family.

The rain slowed and the clouds lifted a little to reveal a partial view of the summits up ahead. Mount Kenya is a vast mountain with 3 main summits: Nelion, Batian and Lenana. I took some photos and a curious little rock hyrax approached me, staring at me from about a metre away. I'd been so excited to meet these little friendly creatures and it felt perfect that I didn't have to go searching for one. His fur was dripping from the rain and his eyes were kind looking, I wanted to wrap him in a towel.

Samson called me over for dinner where I was served rice with green beans and carrot with a garlic and ginger sauce followed by one of Edwin's elaborately arranged fruit platters.

At dinner Alex wanted to discuss the coming days. Originally we were going to stay at the same camp for two nights, simply doing an acclimatisation hike tomorrow. But Alex suggested that we should attempt the summit the next day instead, saying "you are double strong for this I feel it, we can go tomorrow." I was a little worried about the rapid increase in altitude and although so far I was having no issues, I explained to him I sometimes suffer when I approach 5000m and don't want to decrease my chances. He explained the acclimatisation programme has little impact in his experience and only allows gain of 300m, reassuring me that if anything goes wrong we can descend to this camp and try again. He also said good weather windows are rare on Mount Kenya, so it is better to make the most of the current calm conditions before things could get risky. After a lengthy discussion I'd been convinced, after all he had years experience on the mountain and I was putting all my trust in him.

So then we were launched straight into the intensity of a summit night briefing, the classic topics: start time, layers to wear, expected duration, to think positively, to be open and honest about symptoms. He said teams usually get woken at 2.30am and set off at 3am where the summit push will take 3-4 hours, but if you are quick it means waiting the summit being blasted by cold wind awaiting the sunrise. He continued saying that for me the start time will be an hour later at 4am, I am prone to doubting myself in these environments but surely an hour later than normal was misplaced confidence. I reminded him of what sometimes happens to my body and at altitude so I may be slower, but he had decided already saying "This is the best option, I can't risk you being up there too early waiting for the view and being too cold, it's more dangerous."

I went to bed, my mind racing with the sudden change of plan but also feeling ready to give it a go. I was feeling strong, had built a rapport with Alex so I could trust him and the sooner I attempt the summit, the sooner I will be relieved of the apprehension. Alex also explained it means the final days we have more free time to visit lakes and waterfalls and see a lot more than the normal programme would allow for. There were only 2 other teams attempting the summit in the morning, a group of 3 men around my age from the Netherlands and a solo weathered looking American man in his early 50s. I felt an ounce of imposter syndrome surrounded by tall wirey looking mountaineer types, as I had to ask for help to hang my waterproof up to dry on a peg that was placed far too high. But from listening to their conversations with their guides, I had similar experience to them which helped my confidence.

I began my summit night ritual, a series of methodical tasks that I've perfected over the years. Organising the layers, putting fresh batteries the my headtorch, packing high energy snacks and medication to alleviate any possible symptom I may face. I seem to enter some form of trance, pure focus, seeking peace in the mitigation strategies ensuring I give myself the best chance to summit. At home if I have a simple task like sending an email, I will procrastinate wildly - firstly making a cup of tea, maybe a snack and slapping my thighs announcing "right" before I attempt the task. But here, doing this, my focus is intense as I'm acutely aware of the consequences if I get anything wrong. Samson deliverer 2 hot water bottles to my tent saying, "Cuddle one into you belly and the other one at your feet, our sister can't be cold." I felt warm and cosy and settled into an inevitably disturbed nights sleep as thoughts of the summit rattled through my mind.