We passed the night without disturbance, and rose with the sun. Mount Kenya’s peaks glitterd superbly in the sky. It was a good night’s sleep except for a slight disturbance around 3am when another party headed off to attempt Point Lenena but I can’t really recall falling back to sleep to wake up at 7.00am! I am out of bed quickly and wake up the helpers. Preparations for breakfast start immediately and by 8.00am breakfast is ready and the table is set outside the bunk house so that the climbers enjoy breakfast with a perfect view of the main peaks. I then show the climbers to their breakfast table. As they settle down to have their breakfast I get a health update. It’s been a good night for everyone it seems.
The climbers hear about my sleep-in from the helpers and give me a hard time! It’s good fun. We have been getting closer as a group since yesterday. Lots of questions and answers about the Mountain and about Kenya. Everyone is interested in our political system and they want to know about my family and my people, the Kikuyu. I like that. They tell me about themselves and sometimes they share things with each other that other friends in the group did not know.
As it gets sunny, the rock hyrax start emerging from their hideouts and we see them all around camp although they keep their distance. For better acclimmatisation we make this day a rest day. For those who are interested we climb to Oblong and Hausberg Turns gaining an elevation of 370m before returning to camp for lunch. Climbing high and sleeping low is excellent for acclimatisation. However, lazing around camp and basking in the sun is equally good!
Before dinner I brief everyone on next day particularly the early rise to do the peak circuit traverse. I make sure that everything is well consolidated and that the climbers maintain their psychological alertness and keep their motivation high. After dinner everybody retire to bed early.