Three days will pass

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Tuesday evening. Three days until I fly. Another visit to the familiarly bland launching pad of Heathrow on Friday evening. Land in Addis Ababa (Ethiopia) Saturday morning and then on to Kilimanjaro airport (Tanzania) by Saturday lunchtime. On to Marangu for the night in preparation for a drive up to Nale Moru (6,397ft) and hike up to 8,530ft for the first night's camping (Sunday 12th).

Hike up to Kikelewa Caves (11,811ft) for the second night (Monday 13th).
Hike up to Mawenzi Tarn (14,206ft) for the third night (Tuesday 14th).
Hike across the lunar desert of the saddle to Kibo to camp under the Kibo Crater wall (15,419ft) and try to grab any sleep possible before summit day.
Thursday 16th - summit day. Begin the ascent at midnight and march up through the moonlight aiming for the crater rim (Gilman's Point - 18,651ft) and wait for the sun to rise. Then raise the weary legs and hope to make it round the crater rim past the glaciers and ice cliffs to the summit of Uhuru Peak (19,340ft).

Descend to Kibo hut (15,419ft) for a rest before hiking down to Horombo (12,204ft) for the last night's camping. That, summit day, will be the longest day's hiking I have ever attempted and will take me a wee bit higher than I have ever been before.

Friday 17th - rise to discover I've completed another decade on the planet and it's the fourth one. Hike down the volcano and back to Marangu.

Saturday 18th - fly out to Addis Ababa and thence back to flatness of Heathrow by Sunday morning.

But three more days await before then...

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