We left for the saddle hut at 8:00 a.m. and were given lunch to eat at 1/2 way. Well, we arrived at halfway at 10:00 a.m.. I really enjoyed the hiking this day because it was cool. We were pretty much under the canopy of trees and the early morning temperatures were very pleasant. There were a lot of stairs (wood slats) that made the steep uphills easier. We started in an old growth forest with tall trees which were spaced for easy viewing into the forest. The halfway point offered great views of the crater, lava cone, and peak. As we neared the saddle hut the tall trees were replaced by 6-7 foot shrubs. We saw some cool birds, including the turaco.
The saddle hut wasn't as nice as the first hut, as there was garbage and left over building materials in between the huts. I did some more chilling that afternoon while Tom, Dave, and Tyler hiked up to Little Meru. When they returned we had tea in the dining area which was attached to the huts, unlike the dining hall located with the first huts. We shared this small room, which was a tight squeeze with a great German couple, Torsten and Kathleen. Torsten is a economic consultant to the African Union and Kathleen is currently spending 3 months teaching at a Tanzanian primary school. We also met Hugo from Holland and the 7 of us played 3 hands of a charged game of 7 up/7 down... We tried to go to bed early as tomorrow is summit day and our wake up is at 4:00 a.m.
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