Day Five

Common sense might make you think that descending is the easiest and most enjoyable part of the whole trip, but for me this was definitely not the case. I was extremely exhausted, i was having trouble breathing especially going uphill ( yes you do go uphill when descending!). And going down is when your shoes really start to rub your feet the wrong way, even though I had put band aid all over my feet, by the time I finally reached the gate I had huge blisters all over. After a short rest, and waiting for the rest of our team to descend those of us who reached Gilman's point and Uhuru Peak were awarded with certificates. Then we all got on our buss and returned to our Hotel in Arusha where had our first shower in five days!.

In hindsight I wish I had done more aerobic exercises to improve my lung power which has always been a problem for me. Before the climb I prepared for a few weeks by running a couple of kilometers on a treadmill, and I did a lot of walking outside 20 kilometers a few times a week, plus I was alreadyweight training, I think those things really helped get my muscles ready, and I felt very little muscle tiredness (if thats a word), but it was my lungs that let me down.