Day 6, The Summit Summons (by Kelly)
This was written by Kelly, describing his ascent toward the summit on the last day. Make sure to look at the other “summit” blogs by Dave, James and Ryan.
February 22, 2010
Kelly Boyle:
After several days in the rain, my hopes for a clear summit day were low. But low and behold, upon our awaking at 11:45pm, Dave exclaimed, “I see stars!”. We all shook the cobwebs out of our head, exited our sleeping bags and put on the needed gear. To my delight, the temperatures were relatively warm and comfortable (especially as compared to the NW peaks of the USA). We clicked on our headlamps, grabbed our poles, and assembled to follow our trusty guide Emmanuel.
Throughout the trip, we enjoyed many laughs. But at this time of night, it’s no laughing matter. We had heard stories of altitude sickness and pulmonary edema. In my mind, I was as susceptible to these as anybody. I wasn’t sure what to expect. So we did what we knew best, and that is to put one foot in front of the other and start up the hill.
Because of the Polé Polé philosophy (slow, slow) my heart rate and breathing rate was within a comfortable level. My mind wandered from my family to my faith to the challenge ahead. Soon dawn began to break, and the next thing I knew, we were kickin’ the rock at Stella Point. A cup of hot tea prepared us for the final stretch. Now began my favorite part of the climb. As the sun began to rise so my spirit was lifted. I was praising the Lord for the beauty all around me. It’s hard to describe how magnificent it reallly is at the top of this mountain. It seemed like every tongue, tribe and nation was gathered at the summit. We high-fived and hugged and shot the obligatory photos.
I wondered at that point where Ryan and Emmanuel were. To my great surprise, we met up with them about a half mile from the summit. I will never forget the joy I felt to see Ryan, and then turn around and walk side by side with him back to the summit at Uhuru Peak. This adventure has got to be the most exhilarating of my life (that is until James comes up with something better).
