The day for me started with strong trepidation... Not the best nights sleep... as often occurs in a tent with a stranger... Woke up before the sun needing to pee and found myself an actual toilet. (well as good as one gets out there anyways) Hilariously, comming out of the toilet a donkey was waiting at the door as if to say "Are you done yet?!?! Geez! I'm busting" which simultaniously scared the bejeezus outa me and totaly cracked me up.
Breakfast was a no go for me -altitude sickness still- so Grizzly and I set off as soon as we could to try and get a head start on the others. We started at around 6.45am and the others caught up around 7.15am. We had all been told that day 2 was the biggest day. Not the longest distance but the highest peak - Dead Women's Pass (ominous much?) was at its high point 4650m above sea level and we starting out from around 3100m ASL but we had to go down some more first. We were given little baggies with some musli bars and and orange and told lunch would be served around 3pm on the other side of the mountain.
I was going well - resigned to the fact that this would likely kill me and that I may as well get it over with (such a princess I know!) and despite the occasional hyperventilation considered myself to be making rather good progress. At midday i asked my guide "How are we going? how far is it to the peak from here?" His response will stay with me until the end of time....
"We are about half way to the halfways point"
My response - "you mean we are half way?"
His answer "no - we are half way to half way to the top... the top is halfway to the camp"
At midday we realised that we were less than a quarter of the way into our journey... my heart sank to my stomache, made me retch then into my aching knees down my pulsing calves and out through my swollen toes and jumped off the nearest cliff.... I... was.... totally.... fucked.
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