This was our acclimatization day, spent at Lava Tower Camp.  There are actually two camp sites at this location - the one we camped in is about 1/3 mile below Lava Tower, and the other camp is right next to the tower and seemed to be the windier camp.

We awoke at about 6:15 am and dealt with various bodily functions.  Barney beat Greg to the latrine, so Greg also dealt with various clothing challenges.  Then we had a nice cup of coffee and washed.  The wind was still up, but the temperature was climbing as we had our breakfast.  Ray suggested we wait for the wind to drop a little before our first acclimatization hike.  The other party in our camp was packing up for their walk to Arrow Glacier (they rested yesterday).  The porters were gathered together in a big circle and singing - we asked Ray what the words were.

"They are singing 'Lava Tower is cold, Lava Tower is hot!' - crazy!!"

"Ray, have you ever sung this song?"

"Yes, many times!"  Ray started as a porter, and progressed through camp crew, cook, assistant guide, and now guide.

After the wind had died down a little, we went for a short walk over lava and ash to about 15,300 feet.  We took our trekking poles, which turned out to be not very useful on the way up, but very useful on the way down to keep our balance on the loose material and permit a speedier descent.

After lunch we had another short excursion, this time to Lava Tower and up the 300 foot tower itself.  This was an actual climb - we had to use our hands.  It was not technically challenging, but in the wind and the cold was no piece of cake either.

We admired the view from the top of Lava Tower then moved into some shelter and made a couple of phone calls to Kathy and Anna.  Then we descended to the camp for dinner.