This morning I naturally woke up at 6:30am; I slept relatively well for camping and wasn't cold throughout the night, which was a bonus! We aim to drink 3 litres of water a day, which results in me requiring the use of a squatter rather a lot.

Breakfast was ready promptly at 7:30am. Over breakfast I couldn't stop thinking about family, I dreamt about them last night and they have constantly been on my mind since I left the lodge yesterday morning. Breakfast started with porridge, which was so runny it was more drinkable than edible. It didn't taste of much, just a bitter twinge to it and so I added sugar to it which made it a lot nicer. The others moaned at how bad it smelt and how they couldn't eat it, but we had been told that it was good fuel for the mountain, and knowing that today would be tough, I ate as much as I could stomach. After porridge was where the real breakfast was at.... Sausages, eggs and pancakes! As if I was being fed like a queen up a mountain!

Today our hike started shortly after 8:30am, we had been told last night that we would be cover a slightly higher increase in elevation but over the same period of time as yesterday, which was 4.5 hours. Today was going to be tough! The first 2.5 hours were an incline from 3000m to 4300m, when they said that it was going to be steep and tough, they weren't joking. We started the hike with Boss and a new guide, Ellia whom we call Chris Brown as he plays music all of the time. Rafiki was helping the porters pack away at the campsite and would catch us up later. We hit the incline straight away, right from the start, no gradual way of breaking in to this day. Today is segment 3, the moreland. There were a lot of bushes to start with but these slowly faded away until we were left with a sea of rocks. I felt like a rock climber. Limited walking involved, it was all about using your hands to gear yourself up from rock to rock. A constant decision of which rock would be best to step on and would provide the easiest route. Some of the group started to use their walking poles, I've never used walking poles and wanted to try and prevent using them until the descent, which is when the guides said that we would need them. Today I realised that physical preparation alone wqould not get you to the top of this mountain; you have to be mentally prepared, believe in yourself and have determination, that's the only way you will succeed. Today my body and my find fought a constant battle, my quads felt slightly pulled from the climbing but the rest of my body felt more than happy to go on, I had to battle with the fact that my mind was telling my body to stop. It was like my mind was split in two today; one part telling me to stop and the other part telling me to strive on through. A very strange mind set I was having today. The rocks got steepers, and as the minutes went by I could feel it getting more difficult to breath with every step that I took. The breathing got distinctively heavier and shorter the higher we climbed.

Eventually we made it to 4300m and started our descent to Shira Cave Camp at 3800m. To walk high and sleep low helps with acclimitisation. Although the guides said that we were descending, in order to do so, we had to ascend before we could descend and this was the pattern for two hours until we arrived at camp. Although there were fewer rocks, I still felt like a partial rock climber. A few instances occurred where the rocks became very narrow and were on the edge, if you were to slip then you would be gone forever. Not only was it steep, we were surrounded by fog, and so there was no way of telling what you would hit if you fell or when you'd stop falling. It was very scary, I felt my heart in my mouth, my family were constantly in my thoughts. Every step was slow and cautious, thinking carefully about which rock to step on next.

Around 20 minutes away from camp the ground flattened out and we actually started to descend without having to ascend, miracle! Shira Cave Camp is a lot more spacious than Machame Camp. it's very cold here, although the sun did come out for a short while. We arrived at camp at 1pm. I had a short nap until lunch time at 2:30pm. Lunch was chicken and chips. At first I sat staring at the chicken contemplating whether it was safe to eat it, wondering where had this chicken been kept since yesterday morning when we left the butchers. I decided that I had to see past this and eat it, besides, I was hungry! After lunch I had another nap, I felt slightly old with all of these naps, but they kept me energised, so I was lapping them up as often as I could. I slept through from lunch until 5:30pm, a good couple of hours.

Dinner was ready at 6:30pm; zucchini soup to start, which may have been nicer than yesterday's leek soup. Then came red meat and pasta. The pasta was not very nice and I shouldn't eat it, but no time to be fussy up here, need the energy and require the food. I didn't feel too hungry this evening as I had eaten a massive bag of Lays Salt and Vinegar (my new favourite crisps). This evening I drank hot water instead of tea as Rich had told me tea is a diuretic which could partially explain why I require so many trips to the squatter; altitude sickness tablets also make you require more trips to the squatter.

Parker went into a tent with Drew and Tyler straight from dinner. I established that she slept in there last night, and she will probably remain in there for the duration of tonight. It's absolutely freezing tonight, I have to pairs of socks on, pyjama bottoms, leggings, three tshirts, a cardigan a jumper and a coat yet I still find myself shivering.

I believe that the rock climbing today has done wonders for toning my legs and bum, hahaha! If that doesn't tone it, nothing will.

H