Kilimanjaro!
Trip Start
May 04, 2008
1
11
17
Trip End
Jul 03, 2008
Dar Es Salaam,
Tanzania
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
OK I'm going to finally try to write this blog entry. It is taking me a remarkably long time. I stayed up last night and wrote this long descriptive entry. I even proofread it and spell checked it. But when I went to send it I lost it. I was so mad because it was my fault so I just went to bed and pouted instead of writing it again. So here we go.
Kilimanjaro
We left Nairobi bright and early on Monday morning on a shuttle bus to Moshi
Before we started!
. It was a great time for Jessie and I to get to know each other. The ride was beautiful it was such a clear day. We could see Kili about half of the drive. It was our inspiration and excitement.When we arrived in Moshi we met our guide and got a debriefing about what the next week was going to hold for us. After we went and got some trekking poles which came in very handy, although looked totally nerdy. And I also found a water bottle with a map of Kili that was red and fantastic. It proved very handy for the skill testing questions that were to come later. I then unpacked my bag of all the stuff that I didn't want my poor porter carrying up the mountain, went for supper and had an early night.
In the morning we got up and ate breakfast, weighed our backpacks and were on our way. I was pretty excited that my pack lost 12 KG over night. The first day was relaxed and beautiful as we hiked through the rain forest. The best part was no RAIN. It always seems that it rains whenever I'm in the rain forest. I can't imagine why. We had the best lunch that day; Chips and Chicken. Followed by a carrot sandwich with the crusts cut off. We were really spoiled.
The next day we went through the Heather and Moorland area. It was really neat to see the changing vegetation. This is the day that I started getting a little bit nauseous. We arrived at Horombo hut where we would stay for our acclimatization day. Everyone told us that the next day we would just do a great little day hike to Zebra rocks. It was really funny because the next day I was all excited for this short little hike. But then it just kept on going up and up and up and up and up
Our little acclimitization hike the first day.
. I was so mentally unprepared and whiny. I know what a surprise. That was actually the day that I felt the worst. That night for supper our guide came to supervise and make sure that we were eating. I felt like a 3 year old child. I had to finish my meal before I got my mango I was so full after I could hardly sleep. The next day was summit day. Or....the day that never ended. We woke up early and started our 6 hour day. It was fairly flat, but challenging because of the altitude. It was funny because it was like walking around Wascana but way harder. We went so slowly. When we reached Kibo hut we had some tea and then it was time for a quick little nap. This was nice because the sun was still up so it wasn't very cold yet. After our nap it was time to get up and eat some supper and then back to bed in order to get rested for our 0000 departure to the summit. I went to bed about 1900 and woke up at 2040 freezing cold. I was convinced I was going to get hypothermia and die. Such a drama queen. But it was nothing a little candy and a trip to the bathroom couldn't fix. And then it was back to sleep for me. At 2300 we woke up, layered up had some tea and got ready for our trip to the summit.
The stars were fantastic it was like you could almost touch them. We put on our head lamps and followed our trusty leader Moses up the mountain. Every step was so precise and with purpose. I just looked at his feet and went step by step by step. Our first break I had to de-layer I was so warm when we finally got to that point. I also had to change my batteries in my headlamp because they just didn't quite make it. Then we continued on step by step. Zig zagging up the really steep scree. We continued on like this until got to some boulders where we had to start doing some scrambling
Me in a crater
. This is where I started to get really tired and nauseous we took a lot of breaks. And then all of a sudden we were at Gillman's point and everyone was singing and happy and giving us hugs and congratulating us. We were almost there the hardest part was over.After a quick little break, we headed to the summit. I felt so at home because we were hiking in the snow. After a little while the sun started to rise. It was beautiful the contrast between the snow and the clouds was amazing. Everywhere I looked was absolutely beautiful. We walked around the crater filled with snow to the peak. It was crazy to see so much snow and glaciers in Africa. We kept going until we reached the summit. At which point we took a few quick pictures and continued on our way. I had such a bad headache. I took some Advil and some Maxeran right away because I was like there is no way i'm hiking down this entire mountain with a migraine. Ha ha i knew less altitude would help but I just wasn't really willing to risk it. I looked a little like a druggy popping my pills with frozen lemonade at the top of Kili. The way down at first was beautiful it was just tromping through the snow I took so many pictures.
We then arrived at the worst downhill in life. We looked down and could see where we came from and it looked like we could just jump and get there but it was such a long way
The circus tree
. It was like skiing straight down on scree. By this time Jessie was starting to feel better and I was really grumpy. It was interesting how our moods always alternated. I was really happy that we went up to the summit at night because I would have never made it if I saw how hard it actually was. Once we FINALLY got back to the hut it was time for a nap. So I sort of crawled into my sleeping bag and had a quick nap before it was time to get up for lunch and hike some more. This part of the trail was the flat part though which seemed fantastic in comparison.
After one final night at Horombo hut we headed down the rest of the way to the end of the trail. It was really funny because I was trying to convince our guide that I could be on time and punctual. Ha Ha I know funny. So I was out to prove a point and I was ready at 730 sharp. European time not African time as were his words not mine. It's funny because I have been preparing my entire life for African time. I think I have it down pat. But for the day I got to be miss punctuality. That doesn't happen often.
When I got back and took off my mole skin that was covering my blisters I realized that they really hurt. They were huge. It was so nice to shower. I can't believe how much we stank. I didn't really realize until I had showered and walked by a pile of my dirty clothes.
I'm now a proud owner of a certificate that says I summated Mt. Kilimanjaro. I think I'm going to frame it and hang it by my degree! Potentially with this blog entry beside it because it took me a really long time to write. It is almost as much of an accomplishment!
