Well here we are again, after two weeks of being off line!
Kilimanjaro was a trying, exhausting, freezing, but rewarding experience. Day 1 we got picked up by our "Olympic Team" in Arusha and driven two hours to the entrance gate of Kilimanjaro. To say I was nervous would be an understatement. I wasn't sure whether I'd be able to make it up the mountain, or how far I would be able to get at all. I'd heard a lot of different stories about peoples' experiences on the mountain, and I wasn't sure what to expect for myself.
We arrived at the gate at 11:00 am and spent some time registering before we headed up the mountain around 11:30. Almost the entirety of the first day we spent trudging through mud in a rainforest-like environment, filled with low-hanging vines, greenery, and moisture. The walk was a little difficult because of the mud, but we felt good. Our guide, James, met up with us after a couple of hours of our assistant guide, Francis, leading us up the mountain, carrying a huge pack, a bag with our lunches, and a box full of bread. We had our lunch and continued on, hiking for about 6-7 hours that morning before we got to the first camp, which was nice, though small, and had latrines (which we would get used to quickly).
Day two was also fun; we woke up early, had porridge, toast, eggs, and "maji moto" (Swahilli for hot water) before we headed out for another 6-7 hour hike. The scenery was a little different from the first day as we climbed above 10,000 feet, and there was more dust and more prehistoric-looking plants. We had lunch on a big rock overlooking the trail, continued on, and made camp at the next campsite, having a soon-to-be-familiar dinner of starch (white rice, pasta, etc.) with veggie/meat sauce.
Day three was exhausting, at least for me. At this point, we were in the clouds almost the entire day, and the wind was cold and biting. The temperature was around 40-50 degrees fahrenheit, but with a strong wind and the wet pangs of moisture that you get walking through clouds. Within an hour, I was feeling exhausted and frustrated, but we continued on and made it through the long hike, making camp and having our familiar dinner yet again. One notable part of day three was the extra hour we added on to our hike -- in our guide's words, "for exercise", like we weren't getting enough of that as it was -- up above 15,000 feet to acclimatize. We were all fine, and took some great pictures and relaxed before heading down a couple thousand feet to sleep for the night. Here are our tents at the campsite --
Kilimanjaro was a trying, exhausting, freezing, but rewarding experience. Day 1 we got picked up by our "Olympic Team" in Arusha and driven two hours to the entrance gate of Kilimanjaro. To say I was nervous would be an understatement. I wasn't sure whether I'd be able to make it up the mountain, or how far I would be able to get at all. I'd heard a lot of different stories about peoples' experiences on the mountain, and I wasn't sure what to expect for myself.
We arrived at the gate at 11:00 am and spent some time registering before we headed up the mountain around 11:30. Almost the entirety of the first day we spent trudging through mud in a rainforest-like environment, filled with low-hanging vines, greenery, and moisture. The walk was a little difficult because of the mud, but we felt good. Our guide, James, met up with us after a couple of hours of our assistant guide, Francis, leading us up the mountain, carrying a huge pack, a bag with our lunches, and a box full of bread. We had our lunch and continued on, hiking for about 6-7 hours that morning before we got to the first camp, which was nice, though small, and had latrines (which we would get used to quickly).
Day two was also fun; we woke up early, had porridge, toast, eggs, and "maji moto" (Swahilli for hot water) before we headed out for another 6-7 hour hike. The scenery was a little different from the first day as we climbed above 10,000 feet, and there was more dust and more prehistoric-looking plants. We had lunch on a big rock overlooking the trail, continued on, and made camp at the next campsite, having a soon-to-be-familiar dinner of starch (white rice, pasta, etc.) with veggie/meat sauce.
Day three was exhausting, at least for me. At this point, we were in the clouds almost the entire day, and the wind was cold and biting. The temperature was around 40-50 degrees fahrenheit, but with a strong wind and the wet pangs of moisture that you get walking through clouds. Within an hour, I was feeling exhausted and frustrated, but we continued on and made it through the long hike, making camp and having our familiar dinner yet again. One notable part of day three was the extra hour we added on to our hike -- in our guide's words, "for exercise", like we weren't getting enough of that as it was -- up above 15,000 feet to acclimatize. We were all fine, and took some great pictures and relaxed before heading down a couple thousand feet to sleep for the night. Here are our tents at the campsite --
Days four and five were quite similar, with two short (3-4 hour) hikes in the desolate lunar landscape above 13,000 feet. The walks were relatively straightforward, unlike the hike of day 3 where we were clutching rocks and walking along the edge of a path with a precarious drop for a stumbling hiker. I had learned that I had seriously underestimated the mountain, thinking it would be a semi-steep walk uphill for five days. I found myself panting and, at times, gasping for breath as I did simple things (including walking to and from dinner, the latrines, etc.), and my heart rate monitor told me that my heart was beating at about 70-80% of its max heart rate most of the day.
Day six was, as promised, hell. We were woken up at 10:45 PM (technically, in the evening of day 5), fed a little bit of porridge (not too much, our guide warned us, since we'd likely puke the whole way up the mountain from altitude sicknses), and got dressed for the 6-7 hour hike to the summit. I wore: two pairs of wool socks, long underwear, fleece pants, goretex pants, a tank top, a t-shirt, a long-sleeved shirt, a hoodie, a down jacket, and a goretex jacket, plus gloves. I hit my headlamp and headed off to this nightmare hike.
The first four hours were uneventful, and I kept myself busy by singing to myself (it sounds nerdy, but it's hard to walk uphill at 16,000+ feet in total darkness when it's like 30 degrees outside). I had a few moments of exhaustion, but once it hit 4 am I felt like I was in trouble. The wind started blowing, and it was coming so quickly and so cold that it felt like it was taking the breath right out of my lungs. I had mockingly turned down the "ninja mask" (the hat that covers most of your face) which was a terrible decision. When we reached Shira Point (only about an hour from the summit), I sat down next to our guide, spent, and said "James, I'm so tired," not knowing how I was going to be able to make it the rest of the way up. After another hour (thankfully, it was relatively flat at this point), I saw the sign: "CONGRATULATIONS, you have reached Uhuru Peak". Pretty rewarding!
We headed back down almost immediately as we were developing headaches and the best cure for impending altitude sickness is a rapid descent. I managed to cut the 4-hour descent into an hour and 45 minutes (impressive, eh?), arriving back at camp around 9 am (surprising that you can do so many hours of hiking before most people are awake). We took a little nap and headed down to 10,000 feet (from 19,000+ feet at the summit), where we camped for the night. The next morning, with the stiffest knees and sorest muscles imaginable, we got back to the gate and headed back to Arusha.
I'm proud of myself for not giving up, especially early in the morning of day 6, and I'm glad that I spent the last few months getting in shape for this trip. The first shower after 7 days on the mountain, the first full breath of oxygen at the gate, and sending my clothes to laundry were the highlights of the last day. We had to get things done quickly before SAFARI!
More to come ...
Rach
4 comments:
Congrats! I am very impressed.
Very impressive! A major accomplishment! You are now entitled to call it "Kili." Everyone else still has to say "Mount Kilimanjaro."
Congratulations! That is so exciting - Sounds so much more difficult than I imagined, which makes it that much more rewarding! So glad to hear you are all well.
Way to go. What a great experience and a personal triumph.
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