By Isabelle Privé
Here's the second part of my article about our weekend on Mounts Jefferson and Washington.
Last night, after a huge meal, a lot of laughter and some great beer, we walked to the lodge at the foot of Mount Washington, ready for an early start. A quick shower then bed!
I'm up at 6h30 and join the others in the dining-room where a good breakfast awaits us. I realise that I'm not the only one to have discovered new muscles!
We're all a bit anxious as we still feel tired from yesterday. Although Mathieu our leader told us that the climb would be " less technical" than Mount Jefferson, I have a feeling "less technical" doesn't necessarily mean "easier".
Whatever .... we're off!
After walking for 10 minutes, we start to climb. Up and up and up! After a few hours, I start hearing muttering.... "I'm sick of climbing"...."Me too".... "I thought it was supposed to be easier"......"Sure"....
Happily, a few minutes later, we come on an incredible panorama!
Another half hour and it's the lunch break. What a magnificent view. Honestly, when you see all that, you feel privileged to be able to experience it with your friends.
Off again!
We take a rocky path, often on the edge of a precipice. We're still climbing but the path isn't as steep as Mount Jefferson. Our goal isn't to reach the top but, rather, to go round the ravine then come down. Nevertheless, it's a much longer hike than yesterday.
The sky is beginning to cloud over. Never mind, we're prepared, with our "Goretex" coats and pants. We're cheerful and optimistic. All is well.
Suddenly we come on an area covered with little piles of stones left by other hikers over the years. They're everywhere - it's magnificent. Yet again the scenery enchants us.
Then I hear... "I just felt a spot of rain"...."Me too" from someone else.
We don't have time to say any more before the rain pelts down. A real cloud burst! No time to put on our coats or pants. The wind has got up and buffets us mercilessly. In no time at all, my boots are full of water. The wind is so strong that we can't tell if it's rain or hail that's stinging our faces.
Important lesson: raincoats and pants should be easily accessible!
Mathieu doesn't hesitate and decides to turn back as we're on a part of the mountain that can be dangerous in bad conditions.
When the rain stops, we rest long enough to dry ourselves a bit, change our socks and put on a tuque (yes, a tuque) because the wind is strong and it's cold.
We take a shorter route for the return. Shorter also means steeper than the ascent and, unlike yesterday, the rocks are wet and much more difficult to negotiate.
We descend for about a kilometer, in groups of 4-5 again. We encourage, help and wait for each other and laugh in spite of everything, But we're finding it really hard.
At last, we get to more level ground along a dried-up river bed. We still have to be very careful on the large stones that go on for 5 km.
Personally, I find this part of our return harder than anything that went before. My muscles have had enough and my feet are so sore.
We're aching all over and the route seems endless. It's going on forever. The only thing that keeps me going is the company of my team-mates. I know I'm not alone. Special thanks to Lucie who sticks with me right to the end. And thanks to André who finds a spring to fill my water bottle.
I'm not ashamed to say that I broke down when I saw my friends who had arrived at the bottom already and were there to welcome us. The tears were spontaneous. Tears of exhaustion, of pride and of relief to have reached the end.
The second day was long.... and very wearing! But so very rewarding as well.
Later, Mathieu confided that we had just experienced something similar to the long days of walking that we'll be doing on Kilimanjaro.
Our adventure ended with another feast with the gang in a restaurant. We've passed our hardest test. Another successful step before the great adventure. The last important step before getting the plane to Tanzania.
I'm so happy to have been fortunate enough to have this experience and to have pushed myself beyond anything I thought possible. To have confronted my fears and to have surmounted them. To have seen such extraordinary scenery. And especially to have done it with my friends.
Kilimanjaro... here we come!
Translated by Pamela Gauvin
