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Day 2
After Camp 1, the next camp was in the direction of the Mawenzi peak, which was designed to allow us several days to acclimatize at 14000 feet. Camp 2 was located by the Kikelewa caves at 12,070 feet. The hike on day 2 involved a 3400 ft climb followed by a long traverse to the east toward the camp. We stopped for a lunch break at the “Second Cave” – a volcanic vent that lifted the ground up and created a sizeable overhang that could hold a number of people. The afternoon traverse was hot and was our first entry into the higher alpine scrub terrain. During the climb we were going to target 3 liters of fluid intake per day for the kids and 4-5 for the adults. Hydration is critical at high altitude and in climbing. Dehydration is a significant risk factor for both acute mountain sickness and hypothermia so we were intent on getting everyone into the habit of drinking regularly. Vicki was our timekeeper during the climb, and every 30 minutes, we would stop to drink and perhaps have a small snack. Late in the afternoon, Daniel started feeling poorly from a developing gastroenteritis and late that evening brought up his dinner then felt better by morning. We were concerned it could be altitude illness but he had no other signs and we were not at a very high altitude yet.
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