Worth Every Step

by K. G. MacGregor

  In the light of day, she saw his eyes, filled with blood from ruptured vessels. “Drew! Are you all right?”

  “It happens from the altitude,” Luke said, pointing to Neal. “His are red too. It is good they go back.” He signaled to Lazaro to escort them down the mountain. “The rest of you should try to go to Uhuru. I will wait here in case anyone else needs help.”

  Mary Kate and Addison began to pick their way along the icy path. After their brief stop at Stella Point, they were rejuvenated for the final push. “We’re going to make it, Addison.”

  “We both said we would.”

  Jim caught up with them. “That was good advice about Brad. I sometimes get caught up in wanting him to be perfect, and I lose sight of what a good kid he really is.”

  Addison stopped and gave him a stern look. “I bet he’d be really proud of himself if he made it as far as you did.”

  He looked at her quizzically. “You think I should turn back too?”

  “It’s pretty hard for a kid to grow up in the shadow of a father as successful as you. If he knows he’s never going to measure up, he’ll eventually quit trying.”

  Jim nodded as he weighed their words. “Maybe you’re right. So get us a good picture, okay?”

  Turning again toward the peak, they continued, stabbing their walking sticks into the hardened snow to gain footing along the slick path. Mary Kate was thrilled with how her body was handling the altitude. “I can’t believe this, Addison. I’m not feeling the thin air at all.”

  Not getting an answer, she turned to find Addison standing perfectly still, almost thirty yards back. As quickly as she could on the icy surface, she hurried back.

  “Addison?”

  “I’m fine. I just panicked or something because I couldn’t get air.”

  “Do you need to go back?” Forgetting the summit completely, Mary Kate prepared herself to turn back so she could see Addison to safety.

  “No, I’m fine. Really, I just freaked for a minute and I waited here until it passed. I feel okay physically. Let’s go.”

  “Do you swear?”

  “I swear.” Addison lowered her balaclava and shot her a confident smile.

  “Here, put one of your sticks away.” Mary Kate did the same and offered an elbow. They took the remainder of their steps in tandem, arriving before any of the others in their group. A brown wooden sign marked the summit.

  CONGRATULATIONS YOU ARE NOW AT UHURU PEAK, TANZANIA, 5895M. AMSL. AFRICA’S HIGHEST POINT WORLD’S HIGHEST FREE-STANDING MOUNTAIN ONE OF WORLD’S LARGEST VOLCANOES.

  WELCOME

  “I can’t believe we’re here.” Mary Kate felt a surge of excitement. This was by far the most exhilarating moment of her life. She thought back to the moment her plane had tilted to yield her first image of the mountain. Her spirit soared as she quietly celebrated the personal conquest of that most intimidating sight.

  Addison put an arm around her shoulder and gave her a congratulatory hug. “We made it, Mary Kate. All those hours of training, all that grief you put up with from everybody else, and this is the payoff.”

  “The top of Africa.”

  Addison dropped her backpack and took out a strip of cloth. “Can you take my picture with this? I need to prove I made it.” She pulled up her balaclava and stood before the marker with a small banner that showed the amount she raised for the Hunger Coalition.

  Mary Kate snapped the photo then removed her face coverings too and handed the camera to the guide Mohammed so she could stand with Addison before the sign. After a couple of shots, she posed alone and stepped out of the way for the others who arrived.

  “You’ll never believe who’s following me,” Ann said breathlessly as she reached the summit. “Nikki talked him into coming the rest of the way.”

  Nikki and Brad joined them, with Jim close on their heels.

  “We caught this old man sneaking back,” Brad said playfully. “He dragged my ass this far, so I dragged his the rest of the way.”

  Jim shook his head and bent over to grasp his knees. “I’m too old for this shit.”

  Mary Kate posed for one last group photo, and then tucked her balaclava into her jacket. Either the temperatures were climbing, or she had gotten used to the cold.

  “You ready to head back?” Addison asked.

  “Sure.” As they walked side by side down the gentle slope, she pored over what it had taken to get her here. There were the countless days in the gym getting her body fit for the climb, and the ten days she had rested a sore knee, worrying that it might keep her from going. The two thousand dollars from her Aunt Jean. The warm-up hike with Deb. Most of all, there was the fear about not reaching the top that had been her near constant companions for six months. Now all of the challenges had been met, and all of the rewards obtained.

  Luke was waiting as promised when they reached Stella Point. “We go back on this side.” He indicated a steep slope alongside the zigzag path they had climbed. The slope was topped with scree and extended for what looked like a couple of miles. There was no need for a guide, as the colored specks in the distance marked Barafu Hut.

  “We’re going to bust our asses all the way back,” Addison said as the hikers gathered at the top.

  “I do not know that expression, but other climbers have used it before.” The sly smile on his face suggested in fact that he knew the expression very well. “They also say they get little rocks up the…wazoo?”

  “Yippee,” Mary Kate said without enthusiasm. “Here goes nothing.”

  She started to walk slowly down the mountain, with Addison only a few steps back. Within twenty yards, her feet flew out from under her and she slid.

  “You okay?”

  “Yeah. Something tells me that’s the first of many.” The temperature had warmed considerably with the climbing sun, and she opened the underarm vents in her parka. Despite the heat, she was glad for the padding from the extra clothing.

  They stopped to lengthen their sticks for the descent, allowing Brad and Jim to pass. Mary Kate noticed the change in her gait immediately, because it took pressure off her knees.

  Three hours later, they entered the dining tent, sore from tumbling and sliding, their knees like jelly. Drew, Neal and Mei, all feeling better after their descent, were waiting with high fives and hugs. Luke then steered them to their tents to change into lightweight clothes so the porters could strike camp and hurry on ahead with their belongings.

  Gilbert delivered boiled potatoes and cabbage, along with the last of the stale bread and peanut butter. As soon as they finished eating, Luke lined them up and started their descent. What had been pole pole was now haraka, Swahili for fast.

  “It means get the hell off this mountain!” Neal said.

  The descent wasn’t steep, but for Mary Kate, it seemed relentless. The constant pounding took a fierce toll on her knees and lower back, and she struggled to find the best position for her backpack, which pulled on her shoulders and neck.

  It hadn’t occurred to her until now that the routes on and off the mountain seemed to be one-way, since they never met anyone coming from the other direction. During their first break, Luke explained that only the Marangu route, the most popular path for tourists, was used for both the climb and retreat. By park rules, their Millennium Route was for descending parties only. Unlike the trails toward the summit, this one was wide enough for pairs to walk abreast.

  “You still feeling good, Mary Kate?” Addison stepped up to walk beside her.

  “I can’t believe it.” She stopped and turned around to face the mountain. “I mean, look at that. We were all the way up there just a few hours ago.” The summit seemed even more daunting and farther away now than it had since it first came into view the day they hiked to Shira One. This angle showed more of the glacier, the most majestic view yet.

  “I know what you mean. It’s almost surreal.”

  “That’s a good word for it.” She was feeling tired from being up all night, but the sati
sfaction from reaching the peak kept her pumping.

  “This is probably going to sound corny, but I’m really glad I got the chance to do this with you. You made it special.”

  “It doesn’t sound corny at all.” In fact, the words warmed her so much she wished she could take Addison’s hand. Instead, she settled for a pat on the shoulder.

  “So what’s the first thing you’re going to do when we get back to the hotel tomorrow?”

  “You’re kidding, right?”

  “I mean after your bath,” Addison said with a chuckle.

  “Another bath. What about you?”

  “I’ll probably be picking the scree out of my wazoo.”

  Mary Kate grinned, stopping short of offering to help.

  “Imagine what hot water will feel like.”

  “Ha! Don’t get your hopes up. The first night I was at the View, we didn’t have any hot water. What do you think will happen when all nine of us try to turn it on at the same time?”

  “We could always double up,” Addison said, feigning innocence.

  Before Mary Kate could respond, Brad suddenly dropped his backpack and darted off the trail to the left.

  “You little shit!” Jim dropped his pack also, running in pursuit as the rest of the group tried to figure out what was happening.

  In moments, father and son were rolling on the ground, laughing hysterically until Brad finally cried “Uncle!” It was a welcome sight after four days of tension between the two. Finally, they returned to pick up their packs, still laughing, but not sharing what had triggered the chase.

  “Drew said there was an Internet café in Moshi,” Addison said when they picked up their pace again.

  “Yeah, there is. In fact, I want to go send a note to Deb and let her know I made it.”

  “Sure. I can send a note to my dad, and to my friends back in Miami. You’re not going to write your family?”

  “Nobody has e-mail. I’ll shoot Bobby a quick note and he’ll tell them.” It suddenly struck her that she hadn’t thought of Bobby all day.

  “I bet he’ll be proud of you.”

  “Pffft.” She waved her hand dismissively. “That’ll last about eight seconds. Then he’ll be ready to forget all about it.”

  “We break,” Luke said. They had been hiking for almost two hours straight and were on the fringe of the rainforest.

  A dark green hut stood to the side of the clearing, and Jim made his way over to investigate. A moment later he let out a whoop.

  A window in the hut was propped open to reveal a cooler stocked with ice-cold Coca-Cola. Luke laughed as he watched their eyes light up at the sight. One American dollar bought two Cokes, thus Jim’s twenty-dollar bill bought a round for the hikers and each of the porters as they straggled through.

  Still using Addison’s camera, Mary Kate got a spectacular picture of all of the hikers sitting side by side on a long bench with their Cokes, the mountain looming in the distant background. Luke then took their cameras and snapped pictures of the whole group.

  “This is the after picture,” Ann said, reminding them of when they had gathered at Londorossi Gate.

  Mary Kate handed the camera to Nikki. “Would you mind getting a picture of Addison and me?” In what had become their customary stance, they posed with their arms around each other.

  “Okay, say…peeing outside.”

  They laughed just as she snapped the photo.

  Brad and Drew went back for seconds and treated everyone to a burping serenade. The collective mood was celebratory, with everyone still riding high from their overnight hike.

  Refreshed and rested, they hiked another hour and a half into the rainforest before reaching Millennium Hut, by far the muddiest camp they had seen on this trek. All five of their tents were huddled together—way too close to the latrine for Mary Kate’s liking—underneath a stand of wispy trees with branches that brushed the rain guards. Exhaustion washed over her as she noted the cold drizzle.

  Poor Gilbert got barely a greeting when he brought out the potatoes and soup. After a quiet dinner, they retreated one last time to their tents.

  It occurred to Mary Kate that she had been up for thirty-six hours straight, and that Addison had slept only five hours since Barranco. They quickly changed into their long johns, which they had shed after lunch at Barafu.

  “I can’t believe it’s this cold here,” Addison grumbled.

  “I know. I expected it to be a lot warmer too.” Mary Kate got into her bag and, without waiting for an invitation, scooted next to Addison, rolling onto her side to mold their bodies together.

  Chapter Twenty

  Addison smiled to herself to feel Mary Kate alongside her. Neither of them had moved an inch all night. Her mind drifted to pleasant thoughts of how relaxed they might be in this same position, but without the restricting bags. Thanks to the casual affection Mary Kate had shown since the Karanga Valley, she had given herself permission to speculate about where they might go from here. Sharing a room on the safari might lead them to share even more.

  “Hi,” Mary Kate whispered as she raised her head for a moment. “You have a dirty face.”

  Addison smiled. “I hate to be the one to tell you this, but so do you.”

  Mary Kate chuckled and dropped her head back on Addison’s shoulder. “I have a dirty everything.”

  “There’s ice inside our tent,” Addison remarked drearily, peering through the hole in her sleeping bag at the frozen condensation.

  “Do you realize that when we crawl out this morning, we won’t ever have to go back in?”

  In an odd way, that realization made Addison sad. She surely wouldn’t miss the hard ground, or the cold, or the dirt that pervaded everything she owned. But she had enjoyed sharing the small space with Mary Kate, especially all the hours they had talked into the night.

  “And you won’t have a tent mate sleeping on top of you every night,” Mary Kate added.

  “I haven’t minded that at all. In case you forgot, I like sleeping close to women.”

  Mary Kate burrowed against her. “Lucky for you.”

  A sudden giggling from an adjacent tent broke their intense gaze.

  “Hey, everybody! Last one to the bus is a rotten egg!” It was Nikki’s voice.

  “That’s appropriate, since we all smell like rotten eggs,” Drew yelled from inside his own tent.

  “I’m running off this mountain so fast you guys will be eating my dust!” Brad said.

  Ann corrected him. “It’s all mud, Brad. There is no dust.”

  The banter continued between tents for another ten minutes before Mei finally ventured out. “Shit!”

  “What?” several voices asked.

  “Everything out here’s covered in ice, even the stuff under the rain guard.”

  Addison unzipped their tent to find a thin layer of ice covering their boots and Summit bags. A peek outside the rain guard revealed more. Ice coated the ground and hung from the trees. “I’m ready to get the hell off this mountain,” she said with a groan.

  “I’m right behind you. One more day of this, and we’ll all be weaving baskets.”

  Breakfast was hard-boiled eggs, delivered to the camp by the same transport that ferried Coca-Cola to the ranger station they had passed on the way down. Mary Kate shared her hand sanitizer, and everyone made the best of it. They packed only one liter of water each, as they no longer needed to worry about acclimatization. Luke guessed they would be off the mountain in three hours.

  The exit through the rainforest was somewhat treacherous, since the damp moss growing across the rocks made for slippery passage. Nonetheless, they were making good time. Nikki had positioned herself directly behind Luke today, determined to be the first on the waiting bus.

  After their first break, the trail became somewhat muddier. Addison helped Mary Kate navigate the mucky parts, lending a hand to ensure that she didn’t lose her footing. Both were glad they had brought two walking sticks. Those with only one were st
ruggling for balance.

  “So we’re almost there, Luke?” Ann asked. They had been slogging for more than two hours now.

  “I think we are…half.” He looked at them grimly. “The rain has made the trail difficult. It is certain to get much worse.”

  The runoff from last night’s chilling drizzle had spread through the jungle like a delta, and soon they had no choice but to trudge right through the middle of it. It was miserable and seemed as though it might never end.

  The jovial camaraderie of the day before was gone, and all were quiet in their misery. Each had fallen in the mud, most more than once.

  Luke stopped them again when they came upon a log that had fallen across the path. It seemed as good a place to break as any.

  “Hey, Luke,” Brad said. “It isn’t like this in the movies. The African guide is supposed to walk ahead and chop down the branches with a machete so the tourists can walk through without any trouble. They don’t have mud like this.”

  Luke shrugged. “I have never seen a movie.”

  Addison spotted Mary Kate slumped at the end of the sloping log, her back to the others in the group. She gingerly crept over and touched her on the back. “How are you doing?”

  Mary Kate shook her head. “Not so good.”

  It was clear the grueling slog had taken its toll on her spirit. “We’ll be out of this soon.”

  “I sure hope so, because if I thought the next two hours were going to be like the last, I’d just sit here and cry.” As the words left her lips, her eyes filled with tears.

  “Hey, it’s okay.” Addison kneeled against the log and drew Mary Kate to her chest. “It’s just for a little while longer. I promise you, that feeling you had yesterday morning will be back as soon as we get down.”

  Mary Kate tried to smile through her tears. She gave Addison a tight squeeze around the waist and whispered her thanks.

  Addison looked over her shoulder to see Neal comforting Mei, who was covered with mud past her hips. Ann sat dejected on a muddy rock. Their misery today seemed magnified by the contrast from their elation at the summit.