We traveled from Algiers to Cairo to Nairobi to Kilimanjaro (total travel time of about 20 hours). This was right after the airport in Nairobi had burned so the transfer through there was interesting to say the least. There were huge tents set up outside to handle waiting passengers. Since we transferred through in the middle of the night, we were inside. Talk about high tech & high security...the connecting flights were written on a dry erase board and they had chains on the doors but the glass in the doors was broken out so you could just climb through the doors!
We stayed one night in a hotel in Moshi, Tanzania where we met the rest of our group (total of 11 of us) and prepared for our hike the next day. The hotel is probably what we would rate a one star in the states but it was considered one of the nicer ones there. We had to switch on the hot water heater 15 minutes before we wanted hot water and when we did take showers it was a drip! The hotel offered laundry service which consisted of the maids washing your clothes in a bucket and hanging them outside on bushes to dry in the sun.
We had a big buffet breakfast and then the porters piled our duffle bags onto the top of our bus, we piled into the bus with our backpacks and set off to the trail head. It was an interesting ride to say the least! I am amazed that the bus made it up those narrow, rutted, dirt roads to the trailhead! That was an adventure in itself!
We went through 5 different climate zones as we ascended. We chose an 8 day climb up the Lemosho route. This route allows you to acclimatize more gradually and have less chance of getting altitude sickness.
The first night at camp, the tents were very close and it was noisy. We listened to the monkeys chattering back & forth all night! We had Diamox to minimize the effects of altitude sickness but I unfortunately felt the effects that first night and they were not pleasant! Thank goodness we brought a first aid kit. Neither of us slept well the first night. We had to leave the tent several times to use the bathroom, which by the way, was a small tent with a 5 gallon bucket in it. At least there was a lid attached to the bucket! You can imagine how pleasant that tent was by morning after 11 people used
it all night.
Because of the symptoms of altitude sickness symptoms, breakfast was out of the question for me. Kirk was awesome & carried both backpacks for the morning hike ( his on his back and mine on his front)! After lunch & water, I was able to carry my pack for the rest of the day.
We had a guide named Chambo, 2 assistant guides, & about 40 porters with our team of 11. In the
morning, when we broke camp, we would take our backpacks loaded with all the gear we needed for the day and the porters would take our duffle bags and tents and dining equipment. The porters hiked the same trails we did and they passed us by quickly, loaded with equipment on their heads & backs, many of them wearing sneakers or sandals!
Each day, we were woken by one of the guides bringing hot tea and a bowl of hot water to wash up
with. We got dressed in the tents, packed up our gear for the porters and went to the dining tent
where we were served more hot tea, porridge, some form of eggs, some form of bread, and fruit. Our
water canteens were filled with boiled water before we headed out. We added water purification tablets just in case! It gave the water a metallic taste but when you are thirsty, you will drink it! We also brought Gatorade tablets and lemonade powder to give it some flavor. We had to drink about 4
liters a day.
Each day, we met up with the porters at lunch time for a hot lunch. They would set up the dining tent and the outhouse tent for us. We ate a hot soup (more like thin broth), bread, some meat, more fruit. Water bottles would be filled and off we would go for the afternoon hike. When we stopped to camp for the night, the porters had our tents set up with our sleeping bag mats. We were given another bowl of hot water to wash up with before eating. We were given tea and popcorn or cookies each day while dinner was cooked. Dinner was usually more soup, meat of some sort, bread or pasta (which was usually over cooked), fruit and tea. It was nothing to write home about but it was filling and very carb heavy to fuel us up for the hiking.
I have never been so DIRTY in all my life! No showers, no washing hair, dust everywhere. I gave up trying to stay clean...it was impossible! We learned to use our wipes at night to get clean before
getting into our bags & how to get our clothes warm before getting dressed in the morning. It was rather cold when the sun went down and got colder as we went higher.
Each day was a new adventure with different environments and different challenges. The first full day was the rain forest and we got just a sprinkling of rain for part of the day, just enough to put on our windbreakers & backpack covers. My favorite day was called "hugging the wall" at Baranco
wall. It was more like rock climbing than hiking.
Day 6 brought summit day. We had the afternoon to rest because we had to get up just before midnight to start the ascent to the top. We awoke to our usual hot tea at 1100 pm. We put on every layer we had and prepared our packs. We put our headlamps on, grabbed our trekking poles and set out for Uhuru Peak.
We started out at about 15,000 feet. I got slower & slower as we ascended. Our group split into 3 smaller groups after a couple of hours. We were physically prepared but you can't train for altitude! It was just step by step after a few hours, concentrating on just moving my feet. I have never been so cold in my life. I had ski gloves on but my hands were frozen before we got to the summit. Someone
had the instant hand warmers but they activate using oxygen & since there was not enough oxygen, we couldn't get them to work. My hands were literally frozen around my poles!
Also, as we ascended, my vision started getting blurry in my right eye. I kept feeling like I had
something in my eye but no one could see anything. I started to see with a brown haze through that eye. Luckily, we had some more experienced climbers in our group who said I was experiencing
altitude blindness in my right eye! I could barely see by the time we reached the glacier.
We reached the peak (finally) at 6:46 am (over 19,000 feet). We missed the sunrise but I was just happy that I made it. I have never felt that cold or tired!!! The sun shining off the glacier and the
tops of the clouds was absolutely breathtaking. Unfortunately, I was so cold I didn't enjoy it as much as I would have liked.
The descent was tough on our knees, thank goodness we had the trekking poles. I also had to hold onto Kirk's arm because I could only see out of my left eye! There was a lot of loose scree and rocks that we had to climb over. It was an interesting trip down! We made it, slowly but surely back to base camp but no rest for us. We had a meal and we had to pack up and continue descending for another 5 hours or so. The good news is that as we descended, my vision started returning to normal and because there was more oxygen, we were feeling much more energized.
We stopped to camp for the night, had a celebration dinner and spent our last night in the tent. (My vision was back to normal by this time.) We made it back to the bus the next day, checked in at the ranger station and headed back to Moshi to the hotel. It was so nice to shower even though we had
no water pressure! After we all got clean, we met in the hotel courtyard with our group to have a Kilamanjaro beer together ( yes the local beer is called Kilamanjaro....the motto is "If you can't climb it, drink it"). We did both! We received our certificates from our guide and we had the rest of the night to relax and prepare for our safari trip.
The hotel advertised massages & pedicures for those who returned from the climb. Kirk booked a massage & I booked a pedicure....we should have known better! The massage was in like a storage area outside and my pedicure consisted of someone putting my feet in a mop bucket and scrubbing with tools that I am sure have never been cleaned properly! Good thing I was up to date on my shots!
I will continue the safari story another day. :)
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