“Who’s the moose?” Mary Kate demanded as she entered the dining tent for breakfast. She had been awakened by loud snoring at three a.m.
“Drew!” answered the Penn State crew in unison.
He ducked his head in embarrassment. “I can’t help it. I’m supposed to have surgery this fall to fix it.”
“What were they going to do?” Kirby asked, picking up two of the dull knives Gilbert had laid out. “Because we might just do it here and save you some money.”
Mary Kate was glad she had saved the earplugs she used on the overnight flight from Atlanta. She would never have gotten back to sleep without them.
Addison entered the dining tent and went straight for the thermos containing hot tea. She hadn’t spoken a word all morning, which had Mary Kate worrying that she too had snored all night. No one had ever complained of that, but these circumstances were different from anything she had experienced.
“Good morning,” Addison finally said with surprising cheer. “Did anyone else hear that elephant singing last night?”
“It was Drew,” Nikki said, jerking her thumb in his direction.
“Couldn’t have been. It was like”—she waved a hand in the air—“nature’s symphony.”
“Very funny,” Drew said. “You think just because I’m wearing women’s underwear that gives you the right to torment me about a medical condition that’s clearly beyond my control.”
Addison made a sad face and pretended to play a violin. “You want us to feel sorry for you just because you’re wearing satin panties?”
Drew’s scowl dissolved immediately into a grin. “If you give me your satin panties, you can say anything you want.”
When Gilbert appeared with scrambled eggs, mangos and bread, Mary Kate joined the others in disregard of Courtney’s warning about not eating fruit. The dripping mango was too enticing to resist. Only Courtney abstained, gleefully warning them they would pay the ultimate price.
As the hikers ate, the porters efficiently dismantled the camp, folding up the tents and cooking equipment.
“Don’t look now, but I think breakfast is over,” Mary Kate said. She made a quick trip to the latrine and then waited while the others did the same. She had expected to be sore or tired from the hike yesterday, but she was neither. That was encouraging.
“We go to Shira Plateau,” Luke said as they lined up behind him. The air was crisp and damp, and the trail less steep than their climb to Big Tree.
Mary Kate lagged behind to walk next to Addison, who was chatting with Luke.
“…five years I work for Tom Muncie.”
“And how many trips have you made up this mountain?”
“This is one hundred three.”
“Wow,” Mary Kate said. “Have you always made it to the top?”
He shook his head. “Seven times no. I stayed behind with climbers who were sick.”
“That’s all? Only seven times? Everyone else made it to the top?”
“Oh, no. We have four guides who go to the summit. When climbers become sick, a guide returns with them to camp.”
“I get it,” Addison said. “So there were seven times when all the other guides had already turned back.”
“That is right.”
“So who led the other climbers when you turned back?”
“They went ahead from Stella Point. The trail to Uhuru is clear from there.”
Mary Kate had studied the map of the mountain and recognized Stella Point as being on the crater rim near the summit. When they stopped for their first break, she noticed Luke scribbling in a notebook. “Do you keep notes on every trip?”
He smiled wryly and nodded. “I watch you.”
“What do you mean you watch us?”
“I watch who drinks the water, who eats, who is very tired. It is my job.”
“What does that tell you, Luke?” Addison asked. “Can you guess who will get to the summit?”
“Usually. But the most important thing I cannot yet see. Who is confident? Who is determined?”
“Is that what it really takes?”
“The one who believes he can do it—or she can do it—is the one who has prepared. And the one who has prepared does not want to be disappointed.”
That made sense to Mary Kate. Most of the people in their group seemed fit, except Courtney, who was winded at every break and groaned each time they resumed. But Mary Kate had been surprised to learn the Penn State trio had booked this summit trek only a month ago, so even though Kirby and Rachel ran a few times a week, they had not trained for the climb the way the others had.
After an hour and a half of winding through the lush rainforest, they suddenly emerged. There was no gradual thinning of the thick green vegetation. They had simply walked through a door armed ranger bid them farewell with a wave, and Luke took the point.
The brush was still relatively thick on this new terrain, but unlike the lush foliage of the rainforest, it was dry. Only a few of the trees reached higher than ten feet. The canopy that had protected them from the morning sun was gone, and as soon as Luke called for a break, they peeled off their jackets and unzipped the pant legs on their convertibles. Mary Kate laughed inwardly at how she had thought herself so clever for finding all the best gear. Practically everyone else had managed to find the same things.
Late in the morning, the group stepped over a low ridge to discover their dining tent erected in a clearing, with the table and camp stools already set up inside. Gilbert and the porters had hurried ahead to prepare lunch. Courtney made do with peanut butter and bread, but the others—hungry and now confident their systems would withstand the change—devoured the fruits and vegetables too.
Addison had the hot tea to herself once Gilbert delivered a tin of cocoa powder called Milo. “I bet that stuff has cocaine in it. That’s why you’re all craving it,” she said.
“Speaking of drugs…” Drew pulled a small bottle from his pocket. “Is anyone taking Diamox?”
Diamox was a medication that facilitated the oxygen exchange in the blood in case the body didn’t adjust on its own to the altitude. Tom had mentioned it in the guide as something climbers had used for years, but he stopped short of recommending it, insisting that going up slowly and drinking a lot of water was sufficient for most.
Mary Kate had gotten a prescription just to cover all her bases. “I brought some, but I haven’t taken it yet. I haven’t really noticed any effects of the altitude.”
“We started it as soon as we got to Moshi,” Courtney said. “My doctor said it needed to be in your system two days before it would take effect, so you might want to go ahead and start.”
“What are you going to do, Addison?” Mary Kate asked as they geared up to start the afternoon hike.
“I hadn’t planned on taking it. I was hoping the water would be enough.”
“But by the time you need it, it might be too late to do any good.”
Addison shrugged. “It’s a moot point. I didn’t bring any.”
Mary Kate read the directions on her bottle and washed down her first pill. Addison was right about the water, but the Diamox wouldn’t hurt. She wanted every advantage. “I have fourteen pills. I’ll share if you want some.”
“Nah, I’ll take my chances.”
Luke loaded up his pack and waited for them to line up. “Before our next break, I promise you a spectacular sight.”
Mary Kate shifted her position in the line until she was behind Addison. Though they had few things in common, she liked thinking they might end up with a friendship that lasted beyond this trip. It would be nice to have a close friend who was so different from the people she knew back home, or even from the other small town girls at Savannah State. Ironic that so many of her close friends were—
“Everyone stop!” Luke yelled. When he had their attention, he turned and pointed to the top of the ridge they were climbing. Beyond its crest was a slim band of white. “The mountain.”
Mary Kate whipped out her camera and zoomed in on the sight. Given the direction of the trail, it was clear the entire mountain would come into view once they crested the ridge. Here, with only its snowcapped peak visible in the distance, it was tantalizing.
With every step toward the top of the ridge, the mountain grew exponentially larger as it revealed itself. When she finally got her first full view of Kilimanjaro, Mary Kate was awed beyond words.
“Like he said, spectacular,” Addison said.
“No kidding.” Completely devoid of vegetation, the mountain was gray, its glacier top like icing on a cupcake.
“And it’s almost ten thousand more feet to the top”
Luke clicked a series of photos of the group with the mountain in the background, and Mary Kate traded cameras with Addison to get a solo shot.
“Come stand with me,” Addison said. “Hey, Drew. Make yourself useful.” She handed him her camera and slung her arm over Mary Kate’s shoulder.
“I want one of these with my camera too.”
“Save your battery. I’ll send it to you.”
Mary Kate smiled broadly as the camera clicked, practically giddy that Addison was already talking about staying in touch after this trip.
They hoisted their packs and lined up again, but Luke held back, pointing to a cluster of colorful dots about a mile ahead on the plateau. “That is our camp, Shira One.”
The remainder of their afternoon hike was easy, and they entered the open flat camp just before three. Mary Kate was glad to get there, but felt good about her stamina. Two days of hiking had gained them six thousand feet in altitude—about seven thousand feet higher than she had ever been in her lifetime—and she wasn’t feeling any effects so far. In the next three days, they would hike about fifteen miles, but climb only three thousand feet. Tom had said the slow ascent would be their greatest ally for acclimatization.
“I’m whipped,” Ann said, dropping her backpack underneath her rain guard. “I might catch a nap.”
“Go ahead. I’ll do the water,” Nikki said. She joined Mary Kate at the water station. “My aunt was up most of the night. It’s going to take her a couple of days to adjust.”
Mary Kate nodded with understanding. “I think I slept about ten hours last night, so I should be caught up now.” She and Nikki held the water bladders and filter as Drew filled them from the jug Gilbert had provided.
“Hey, Mary Kate! You want your sleeping bag out?” Addison and the others had spread their bags across the tops of the tents to dry the condensation that had gathered overnight.
“Sure, thanks.” She liked the camaraderie of their teamwork. Though they each brought their own experiences to bear, all were novices on the mountain, and their inclination to help each other gave her a sense of security.
Gilbert appeared again and proudly presented them with freshly popped popcorn, which disappeared almost as soon as he set down the enormous bowl. Retreating to the cook tent, he fired up the stove to make more.
“Man, that water’s freezing!” Kirby said, rubbing his hands together briskly as he returned from the creek that crossed directly between their campsite and the mountain.
“Water?” Addison ducked inside their tent and returned a few moments later with several items rolled up inside a towel. “I’m feeling kind of grungy. I think I’ll try to find a wide spot in this creek and catch a quick bath. Anyone else game?” She locked eyes with Drew and stuck out her tongue. “Besides you.”
“Wait for me!” Mary Kate stowed her water and went into their tent for her things.
The other women, all but Ann, also collected towels and a change of clothes, and fell in as Addison led the way.
“What about me?” Drew whined. “I’m grungy too.”
“That’s right,” Neal said. “You stink and you snore. And the naked women don’t want anything to do with you.”
After ten minutes of hiking downstream across the rocky terrain, they found the perfect spot, a clear, shallow pool about ten feet across, well out of sight of the camp. The pool was fed by a small waterfall above and emptied through a narrow channel at the bottom. The sloping sides gave them a place to sit partially submerged as they washed.
Mary Kate wasn’t sure what the others had in mind, but she had spent enough time in locker rooms to be comfortable changing in front of others, but only if they were changing too.
“This was my idea, wasn’t it?” Addison said as she eyed the water skeptically. Then she pulled off her boots, socks, pants and shirt. “In for a penny, in for a pound.” To that pile, she quickly added her briefs and sports bra, squatting tentatively to slip waist deep into the water’s edge.
“How is it?”
“F-f-fine,” she answered. “Quite warm, in fact.”
“Jesus Christ!” Rachel said as she dipped a toe. “Addison lies.”
Studying Addison from behind, Mary Kate was mesmerized by the contrast of the sinewy muscles of her upper body and the curve of her hips. The lesbians she knew who played basketball were either wiry or broad and muscular. Addison had the best combination of all, a body that was both fit and feminine. If Mary Kate were ever going to be attracted to another woman, it would be someone like Addison.
Courtney and Rachel took off their shirts and pants and sat on the rocks next to the water, opting for a sponge bath away from the icy flow. Nikki and Mei gamely stripped down to join Addison in the water, both slinking wide-eyed and gasping into the edge of the frigid pool.
“Be careful,” Mei said. “These rocks are slick.”
Mary Kate eyed a slab of rock across from Addison that would allow her to sit waist deep like the others. She dropped her towel and change of clothes nearby and bravely shed every stitch, dreading the first touch of the water. Addison echoed Mei’s warning as she cautiously inched down the slight incline. Just as her feet settled into the icy flow, they sailed out from under her and she plunged full force to the deepest part of the pool.
“Oh, shit!” she screamed, gasping to draw breath into her frozen lungs. “Oh, shit. Oh, shit. Oh, shit.” The slippery incline offered no traction as she tried frantically to pull herself out. She grasped Addison’s outstretched hand and noticed that her other hand was covering her mouth. “I can’t believe you’re laughing at me. What did I tell you about paybacks?”
“I can’t help it.”
Mary Kate scooted up to sit next to her. She took the offered bar of soap and rubbed it briskly over her tingling skin. “For all you know, I could be injured.”
“Are you?”
“No, but that’s not the point.” She couldn’t maintain her serious tone with everyone on the verge of laughter. “Go ahead and laugh, all of you. But if I see a bug going into your water bottle tomorrow, you can bet your sweet asses I won’t be filtering it out.”
Nikki hurriedly dried her skin and pulled on her fresh clothes. “I have to hurry back to camp now so I can write all of this in my journal while the picture is still fresh in my mind.”
“Very funny!” Mary Kate shouted.
Mei, Courtney and Rachel followed close behind, leaving her alone with Addison.
“Seriously, are you all right? You didn’t hurt yourself, did you?” All traces of teasing were gone. Addison had pulled on her pants and shirt and was standing barefoot.
“It’s too late to be nice to me now, Addison. I predict your air mattress will spring a leak tonight.” Mary Kate finished rinsing and hastily dried her legs. Despite her invigorating plunge, she reveled in the special satisfaction that only being clean could bring. As she stood to pull on fresh panties, she was surprised by the touch of a towel to her back.
“There you go,” Addison said, dabbing at the drops of water.
“Thanks.” Mary Kate took the towel and dried her front, feeling ridiculous at her sudden rush of self-consciousness. Sure, she had admired Addison’s body when she was nude, but she had been discreet about it. Addison didn’t even pretend not to look.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to get so personal.” Addison winced. “I just thought you’d want your back dried.”
“It’s okay. I appreciate it,” she said, embarrassed to hear the quiver in her voice. She was relieved when Addison sat down to put on her boots, and she used the opportunity to quickly pull on the top to her long johns.
“I’m kind of a touchy-feely person with all my friends. If that makes you uncomfortable, don’t be afraid to say so, and I’ll shove my hands in my pockets or something.”
Mary Kate chuckled, trying to shake the tension. “I told you already. It’s too late to be nice to me. I’m poking a hole in your air mattress.”