Of Kids, Water, a Fence, and Chicks – the Kili Centre Orphanage

3 May 2013 by Raul 17 Comments

Going to Tanzania was not just about climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro though that consumed most of my energy pre-trip (and, heck DURING the trip!). I had done a hike in the Transylvanian Alps in Romania last summer with Trekking for Kids (TFK) and I was so impressed, not only with the excellent logistics planning for the hike, but also with the great care with which the orphanage had been selected and the projects chosen. So going to Kilimanjaro was also about having another opportunity to help improve the lives of orphaned children via TFK. Tanzania is far and doing this trek was a not-trivial use of my time and money (though TFK is much cheaper than many outfits who organize Kili hikes). But I understood that my efforts would really make a difference on these kids’ lives and that my hike would be safe and well-planned.

I have written a few posts about the planning of my trip and the hike itself (see links at the end of this post). So I wanted to focus this post on the orphanage we worked with in Moshi: the Kili Centre.

Kili Centre orphanage in Moshi, Tanzania

Kili Centre welcomes its visitors!

The Kili Centre orphanage

I posted in LinkedIn that I was going to hike Kili and work with this orphanage as part of the fundraising all trekkers commit to do (raise a minimum of $1,000). One of my connections replied that she had been there and that the Centre’s leader, Michael, was doing a great job with the orphanage and the kids. Though I know TFK does a thorough job vetting orphanages, it was still good to hear this. After finally meeting and spending time with Michael in Moshi, I have to agree with the assessment my connection had made. He had a great vision for the orphanage and the projects he had proposed were very well thought through in terms of sustainability, impact to the children and the future of the orphanage, and ability to demonstrate to the donors their money had been well spent.

The projects funded at the Kili Centre

The future site of the Kili Centre

The Kili Centre rents its current location but it is not adequate anymore for the needs of the orphanage or meeting its future plans to accept more children. Some of the changes that would make it more adequate may not be acceptable to the landlord so the Kili Centre needed to find, not only a new location, but a place where it can be owner of its domain, so to speak.

New Kili Centre location in Moshi, Tanzania

New Kili Centre location with Kilimanjaro covered by clouds (showing the new fence)

What’s in a fence?

So Michael was able to raise funds to buy a new lot (with a GREAT view of Kilimanjaro!! though maybe this is not hard in the area given its proximity to the mountain and the height of the mountain). But this lot sat empty and ran the risk of being taken over by others. In many places in Africa, having title to land is not enough. If people squat on it, or neighboring folks start farming it, at some point one runs the risk of losing it. In addition, I heard there are rules that a purchased lot has to have something built on it in a certain amount of or, otherwise, the government can take it back. So here came an opportunity for the first and main project funded by the trekkers’ fundraising and their generous donors: building a perimeter fence around the lot.

New fence on the Kili Centre's future home

TFK Executive Director Cindy Steuart and trekker Dave Hughart at the fence on our first visit

Guardhouse at the site of the new Kili Centre

Progress while we were there! The finished guardhouse (shown without a roof in the prior pic)

H20 – Water – A basic necessity we take for granted

Though not an immediate impact to the kids’ lives, it will clearly help the children eventually have a new place that will better serve their needs. For example the current location of the orphanage does not have running water. So water must be trucked in (at great expense due to the cost of the vehicle and gas). In the new location, not only did the project build the perimeter fence (and the gate/guardhouse) but it also connected the lot to the town’s water system!!

I was very excited to see the running water during my visit of the new site. Water is fundamental to progress in less developed locations as it is essential for good health. Without good health, the education of the children suffers. So having running water in their new location will be a real improvement in the quality of life at the Kili Centre.

One of the faucets installed connected to the water system – water, the stuff of life!

Clearly, just having a fence and running water will not be enough to give the Kili Centre its new home. However, the evidence that other donors saw the Kili Centre’s plan as solid will help it in fundraising to have the wherewithal to build the different structures that will be needed.

Chicks (not for free, contrary to what Dire Straits may say)

One of the Centre’s activities that provide both a food source and income is its chicken coop. However, the Centre had been forced to sell its chickens in order to pay for the schooling of the children. The chickens had been towards the end of their productive years so the decision to sell them for meat was a good one however, it set the chicken coop back. So, some of the budget TFK had for projects went to buy chicks to “replenish” the chicken coop and assure some income and food for the Centre.

Trekkers and kids given the thirsty chicks some water upon their arrival at the Kili Centre

Trekkers and kids given the thirsty chicks some water upon their arrival at the KC

The kids well-being

Another item on the project list was repairing the furniture in the kids’ rooms and getting them new mattresses with new mattress covers (to make them last longer) along with new blankets. Their rooms looked great!

Refinished bunk beds and cabinets

Focus on education

As alluded to, the Centre is focused on the children getting a good education. (I wonder if the children of the Centre are more “lucky” than the children outside the orphanage given the attention paid to their studies by the Centre’s staff.) The Centre had a computer lab with learning software but the PCs were ancient and they no longer were going to be good for supporting new/additional software. TFK’s funds supported the wholesale replacement of the computer lab!

Computer lab being set up at the Kili Centre

Computers being set up!

The focus on education does not stop at school and academics. The Centre had identified developing a sewing “program” to teach a potential income-earning skill to the girls at the orphanage. Once kids leave an orphanage, it is important to have given them education and skills to make it in life in terms of livelihood. So the Centre had proposed TFK fund a sewing room: from setting up the power outlets to the scissors and materials, and everything in between. With the funds provided, used sewing machines were acquired, brought up to par and installed in the new sewing room!

New sewing room

While these are not all the projects, I hope you can see why I was so pleased that my efforts to fundraise and my “investment” of my own time and money were well worth it. But enough about the projects and on to the great kids of the Kili Centre!!!

The children

The first time we got to the Kili Centre, the children were right there waiting for us. They surrounded our bus as we arrived for the first of 4 days we would spend with them (2 before and 2 after climbing Kilimanjaro).

Welcoming the visitors at the Kili Centre

Cheerful welcome!

That day, they had prepared a dance show for us. You could tell they loved dancing and putting on a show and, in us, they had an audience wanting to see all they had prepared. The kids who danced were definitely high energy and not shy!

Part of the welcome show put on for us!

Kili Centre kids show us traditional Masai dance at the Kili Centre in Moshi, Tanzania

Kids doing traditional Masai dance

Our time at the Centre was mostly spent with the kids. We had brought gifts for them (they are kids after all!) and it was a lot of fun giving each of them a backpack full of goodies and also distributing items like soccer balls, frisbees, and volleyballs. Of course, we then got to use many of those things in an afternoon of just “being.” I worked along with two kids and another trekker on a challenging jigsaw puzzle that, to this day, I hate not having had time to finishing!

One night, we ate at the orphanage during a party where again the children danced and neighbors of the orphanage were invited to come. I was so proud watching the kids’ manners. They lined up by section to go get the food, took everything back when they were done, etc. Just like I noticed in Romania, the children of this orphanage were very well taught by their staff. The staff was very much engaged with the kids and I do not recall any instance of the staff just bossing the kids around. All the engagement I noticed was warm and, at times, playful. It made me feel good this was the right orphanage to have invested myself in.

Trekking for Kids trekkers, Kili Centre staff and kids in Moshi, Tanzania

TFK photo of the entire group: Kili Centre kids and staff along with the trekkers!

One of the hardest moments in these trips is saying goodbye. You have developed, usually, a connection with some of the kids and you hate to leave. Unfortunately, the fourth day of being with the orphanage, I was bedridden with a nasty cold/infection that hit me once we came down from Kilimanjaro. I had forced myself on the third day to come along with the group but on the fourth day, I just slept all day. So I missed saying my goodbyes and I am saddened by that. However, I know the children now have a better home and are set up for an even better one in the future thanks to having been part of this trek.

To Michael and the staff at the Kili Centre: thank you for the great job you do with the kids and the Centre.

To TFK: thanks for another great opportunity to push myself (up a mountain) and to make a clear difference in childrens’ lives.

To my donors and supporters: thank you for your financial generosity and moral support to make this happen for the kids!

To the Kili Centre kids: keep studying hard, be good and stay cool!

Kids showing off their new backpacks and sunglasses!

——————————————————————————————————-

– Preparing for the hike is more than training and gear

– The Machame Route: our way up

– 7 things you will not see me without as I climb Kili

– Day 1 of the hike (starting the climb!)

– Day 2 of the hike (getting to Shira Camp)

– Day 3 of the hike (the Lava Tower and hail)

– Day 4 of the hike (Barranco Wall)

– Day 5 of the hike (getting to summit base camp, Barafu)

– Day 6 of the hike (the ascent to the summit – Uhuru Peak)

– Interview with fellow Kili climber and Ultimate Global Explorer

Filed Under: Africa, Tanzania Tagged With: Kilimanjaro, moshi, Tanzania, travel, trekking, voluntourism

Descending from Kilimanjaro’s Summit | Kilimanjaro Day 6 and 7

23 April 2013 by Raul 34 Comments

Descending from Kilimanjaro’s summit, Uhuru Peak – the roof of Africa, began around 20-30 minutes after we had arrived at the summit. Such is the story of ascending Kilimanjaro for many. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if you could picnic up there or, at least, at Stella Point and soak in the achievement taking it all in??

Yes, it sure would be nice. Except the thin air would begin doing a number (a deadly number, potentially) on most people so it is not recommended. Being well-led, we began the descent from the summit of Kilimanjaro as soon as all the picture-taking at the summit was completed. All sorts of photos with the famous sign (since replaced from the one in my pics): individual photos, group photos, and best friends/couples photos. Our group and everyone else who had shown up at the summit at that time competed for the real estate in front of the sign but, it was orderly and people were considerate of those waiting. And those waiting were happy to have made it there so they were patient. All-around feel good moment for everyone on top of this massive rock!

Outline of the descent of Kilimanjaro

As I wrote this post, I struggled with what to name the post as I had been using “day X” in every post leading up to this moment in the hike. How should I count the days to properly cover the descent? I chose day 6 and 7 based on how things took place for the final push to the summit and the ensuing descent:

On day 5, we arrived at base camp in the early afternoon.
At midnight, or the very start of day 6, we left base camp to start the ascent towards the summit, Uhuru Peak.
In the early morning, we arrived at the summit.
Then, we started the descent from Kilimanjaro’s summit – still day 6.
The descent went on until we got to the final camp where we would stay at during this climb, Mweka Camp.
On day 7, we left Mweka Camp for the final stage of the entire adventure to get off the mountain.

So, this post covers the full descent – from leaving the summit until leaving the mountain, hence “Day 6 and 7” on the title.

How long does it take to come down Kilimanjaro?

In total, coming down from the summit was a process that would take us about eight hours that day 6. YES, that SAME day we had just walked up 8 hours without a full night’s sleep to each the summit.

Plus, add 3 to 4 hours the next day (day 7).

Think about it: 5 days and 8 hours to ascend to the summit but about 12 hours to come back down all the way.

In reality, altitude issue aside, Kilimanjaro can be climbed within a day or two if you are fit enough (like, you had been at the summit the day before!). But altitude acclimatization (and common sense to combat a Darwin award nomination) requires time if one wants not just to make it to the top, but to survive the experience to be able to tell (or blog!) about it.

Descending from Kilimanjaro’s summit is a bit like skiing

We passed Stella Point again on the way down but, this time, without much fanfare – or picture-taking; a case of been there, done that. We were now on a mission to lose altitude quickly and stop the brain cells from dying. And our guides REALLY meant “quickly”!! I had not been prepared for what came next (I probably missed the explanation during the prep talk the night before, a nightly thing with our guide to ready us for the following day).

We supposedly had crossed a field of scree (small pebbles) on the ascent (I mentioned not remembering that part; or perhaps there was another path up without scree? I doubt we walked on scree on the way up). Well, it was time to come DOWN the field of scree whether we had gone on it before or not. I was very unprepared on what technique was required here to succeed without injury. All I knew is that it was like skiing except you had to watch out to not pop out a knee (a terrifying thought, really).

So I began to walk down the scree, putting one foot down, using my hiking pole to stop its slide (as you step on the scree it shifts down, taking your footing with it), then moving the other foot and repeating the process. Well, this was taking quite a bit of time and other trekkers were passing me fast. After maybe five minutes of this, the same guide who had carried my daypack on summit night locked arms with me and proceeded to take me down the scree. Drive me down maybe is more like it. It was an exhilarating and scary ride!! We were going very fast and we were mainly sliding downhill, much as you would do when skiing.

At any given moment, either of us would lose his balance but Said, the guide, would ensure neither one of us fell. That continued to be true pretty much for the next 3 hours. With the exception of certain patches where there were rocks and the sliding paused for a stretch. The only people moving faster down that field was a trio consisting of a guide and two trekkers (husband and wife). One of them had begun to have severe nausea. So the other two were on either side of the trekker taking her down the mountain STAT in case it was a symptom of something worse. Thankfully, it was not and she was fine by the time we got to base camp for our lunch stop. They flew past us and continued the high-speed scree-field crossing at that very fast pace.

I have never experienced this mix of thrill and almost-panic at the same time. Looking back, it was rather fun and there was no risk to my knees – unless I had suffered a spectacular fall. If I were to do it again, I think I would see it as something fun and highly recommend you go with that perspective.

Our approach to Barafu Camp

Read more what about preceded descending from Kilimanjaro’s summit!

Want to start on day 1 of this hike? Start the series here.
Back to the night we climbed the summit? Click here.
Read about what to wear during this trek here.
And, check out the top 14 items to take on this hike here.

Coming down Kilimanjaro: a break at Barafu Camp, just a break

Soon enough we sighted Barafu Camp from where we had departed not quite 12 hours before. A break was coming! This was where we were going to have lunch, change out of the warm clothes we had worn for the ascent, replenish water bottles, etc. There was a little delay in the lunch being prepared so the stop was about an hour longer than expected. No complaints from me…

On my way down the scree, based on the drama of the descent, I failed to pay attention to my feet and two-thirds of the way down, I realized I had a blister and was at risk of acquiring two more. I stopped, got some duct tape, and took care of the potential blisters-to-be, as I learned from the Trekking for Kids lead when I hiked in Romania last summer. Duct tape over a burning sensation anywhere on the feet helps prevent further development of a blister – if caught on time.

Once I was at camp, a fellow trekker had some magical thing she had bought at REI and she SO kindly took care of fixing the blister I had developed. Whatever it is she had gotten at REI worked like magic (I have never had to use moleskin before but she said this was better). The remainder of the hike after lunch, I did not even feel my blister!! I felt awful a fellow trekker had to deal with my dirty feet but she said she sees worse every day at her job: she is a dental hygienist! Plus my feet don’t smell… 🙂

Taking care of a blister earned while climbing Kilimanjaro

Thanks, Melanie!!

Should I stay or should I go?

Though we were tired, we had to keep going to reach our camp for the evening: Mweka Camp. Mweka Camp is named for being the first camp on the same-named route for those who enter the Kilimanjaro through the Mweka Gate. Some were asking why we could not stay in Barafu that night and get some well-deserved rest. I was quite happy not staying for several reasons. Here are the reasons that I was OK not staying in the Barafu Camp:

We had arrived before noon. Staying would represent a loss of an entire afternoon of moving and getting closer to exit the mountain. While I needed rest, I figured we could knock out some distance.
Getting to a lower camp than Barafu meant that day 7, the last day on the mountain, would be a short one. A downhill hike of 3 or 4 hours and – bam! – off to the hotel, a great lunch, and most important: the first shower in a week!
But my most important reason not to want to stay at Barafu Camp was that I hated its inhospitable environment, being so rocky and so dusty. The latter bothered most of us the most. I was done with the dust. And didn’t want to have a fall like I almost had suffered the day before when I tripped on a tent cable while minding the uneven rock terrain I was trying to navigate.

So I was quite happy with moving on. If I had only known what was coming our way, I may have held a different opinion…

From Barafu Camp to Mweka Camp: a rocky road…

Pretty quickly after leaving Barafu Camp the second part of our descent from Kilimanjaro’s summit on day 6 became a nightmare of sorts. Though the views were great most of the time, the terrain was so rocky that you had to navigate carefully (at least for those of us not super experienced) and you could not really enjoy the vistas. Some of us started feeling that our knees were being hit hard (read: pummeled) and had to slow down some. My legs were extremely tired at this point. And my knees, though not hurting yet, were wearing out with every step.

The rocky way down that never seemed to end

A glimmer of hope!

After a couple of hours or more, we saw in the distance a colorful array of tents. Yessssss! We weren’t terribly far! As we cheered our good luck, our guide quickly (all too quickly…) replied: “That’s not our camp, that is base camp for the Mweka Route ascent and we are not allowed to stay there since we are no longer on the ascent. You see that piece of metal over there (he pointed to a structure far, far away)? That’s where we are going.” Our collective jaws dropped (and almost hit the rocks, I am sure). NO WAY, José! (OK, his name was Luis, not José.) That was a massive bummer.

Not quite a trail of tears but it may have been close at that moment

We continued our descent and, at times, it felt that that piece of metal was actually getting further away (I swear that it did look that way). A couple of times our path became a smooth dirt trail which would thrill us tremendously only to turn a corner and resume the very rocky terrain. It was an exhausting, frustrating, and demanding-on-the-knees 4.5 hours walk down.

I almost wished I were back in the Barafu Camp, resting and breathing dusty thin air at 15,000 ft+ altitude. But not quite. Remembering that helped me push forward knowing that what we were doing was the best approach and the camp we were going to was much better than Barafu.

Trekker in Kilimanjaro after 6 days of no shaving

Though exhausted, I trekked on. Or was I just considering jumping off the nearest cliff?? (This is what 6 days in the mountain look like!)

The most difficult part of MY climb – the descent from Uhuru Peak

Most of these 4.5 hours actually were the most mentally and physically difficult part for me of the entire 7 days. For sure, the accelerated heart rate on day 4 slowed me down and made me worry. Yes, on ascent night, I wondered if I would make it when I surrendered my backpack to my guide.

Yes, we were getting more and more oxygen on the descent as we went. To the point where, somewhere along these 4.5 hours, we must have reached an altitude to which our body had acclimatized to already. I am sure were not adjusted to 15,000 ft though we had spent part of the day on day 5 there so it was possible.

But, I just didn’t see an end to the rocky path on day 6 and the Mweka Camp kept looking very far away any time we spotted it. It was a true test of will power for me to finish that path. At this point, the group was not together. It had splintered some but always in small groups with one or two guides along them so never not-taken-care-of. I walked with a fellow trekker most of these last few hours and one or two guides (it varied). I took some Advils (ibuprofen) along the way to lower my knee pain and prevent it from getting worse. That helped with the physical part but I was mentally running out of gas.

Finally, camp!

But, all good things (ha!) come to an end, and we reached our destination for the day: Mweka Camp. It is certainly not the most amazing camp in the mountain. But, at that precise moment, it was heaven. The customary “signing of the guestbook to prove we had been there” done, we approached our tents for a final night of camping. Hot water was brought to us and I happily washed off my face and did what I could to clean myself before having dinner. One final night of dirty Raul. LOL…

Our mess tent was a palace that night!

That meal may not have been spectacular by most standards but we were exhausted and we loved sitting around that mess tent one last time on the mountain, eating and reflecting on what we had just done. The amazing feat and experience that was reaching the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro, of getting to the roof of Africa. I didn’t linger though, I was tired and wanted to get everything ready and go to bed.

Happiness in a tent

Getting off the mountain

On day 7, we woke up all ready to go: This was our freedom day! Don’t get me wrong, I was eager to climb Kilimanjaro and enjoy the mountain. But once we had reached the summit, we were ALL about getting to the hotel and a nice shower.

We trekked down for maybe about 3 hrs from an altitude of 10,000 ft or so to the Mweka Gate at an elevation of 6,000 ft (3,800 m). The climate zone went to full forest again, as we had experienced on day 1 and the moorlands were done. The clothing was lighter and so was our mood. Someone even rode the emergency stretcher that was laying about during one of our breaks…

I found my happy place: the Mweka Gate hut!

Finally, the sight we wanted and were ready to see. The Mweka Gate hut where we would sign in one last time. That signature proving we made it to that gate. The gate also being the place where we would sit around for an hour+ to wait for the certificates that would prove we HAD climbed Kilimanjaro (though there was no book to sign at Uhuru Peak…). We were not getting those certificates just yet as that took time. Our local outfitter, Zara Tours, would also be issuing us a certificate since their guides knew we did make it. We would receive both certificates that evening at the celebration with our guides and porters.

Exiting the Mweka Route trail to hiti Mweka Gate in Kilimanjaro

About to leave the trail!!! I found a happy place!

While waiting to leave the mountain, folks would come by selling us stuff but we knew we could get all that cheaper elsewhere.

At Mweka Gate waiting for our certificates for our climb of Kilimanjaro

Waiting leaning against the wall and sitting in the shade. With a beer in hand. Heavenly. (I am sitting to the right with the red t-shirt)

Trekkers from Utah wishing that the park was using a computerized system…

However, one of my fellow trekkers eyed a beer seller. He looked at me and, of course, I wouldn’t leave a buddy drinking on his own. Especially after a week of no alcohol and a hike of 3 hours… That’s when the first beer was bought. Others in the group looked at us like “really?” Fast forward 20 minutes and most everyone had a beer in their hand! And off we went to the bus, to get to the Springlands Hotel and back to being clean!!!

Trekkers leaving Mweka Gate after climbing Kilimanjaro

On the way to the hotel! (Photo courtesy of K. Shuman)

The descent, as you can see, was a mixed set of emotions and terrains. It is amazing how little time it takes to descend. The feeling of accomplishment once you get to the Mweka Gate is incredible. And so is the entire experience of spending seven days on this incredible mountain, home to the roof of Africa: Kilimanjaro!

If you are planning your own climb of Mt. Kilimanjaro, I would appreciate letting me know via the comments if the info here (or in my other posts about Kili) has been helpful or what else may help you dream of or plan for the hike! I have described what descending from Kilimanjaro’s summit felt like to me. Would really enjoy reading how that went and felt for others. I am sure there are different experiences!

One final look up at Kilimanjaro from the final stretch of the Mweka Route… I was up THERE!!!!

Looking down after the scree field crossing towards our former basecamp (Barafu Camp) where we would stop for lunch. Pin this image and stay focused on this as your goal after reaching the summit!

Filed Under: Africa, Hiking, Kilimanjaro, Tanzania Tagged With: ascent, climb, climbing, Descending from Kilimanjaro's Summit, descent, hike, hiking, Kilimanjaro, Mweka, summit, trekker, Uhuru Peak

Reaching Kilimanjaro’s Summit | Kilimanjaro Day 6

11 April 2013 by Raul 29 Comments

Here we go, the BIG day. Day 6 of the Mount Kilimanjaro climb! The day we hope to reach and pass Stella Point on the rim of Mount Kilimanjaro to get to Uhuru Peak, the highest point of the mountain – the highest point in Africa!!! Or, I should say, the day we attempt to reach and pass Stella Point to get to Uhuru Peak. I will do my best to convey how reaching Kilimanjaro’s summit climb feels like on day 6 but the physical and mental efforts are hard to put into words that do it justice and help anyone comprehend the experience well. But I will do my best as it is worth reading about it whether you are planning to do summit Kili or are just curious about it…

Why there are not a lot of photos from the summit attempt

You will notice how the middle of this post is devoid of photos. First, do not worry, there are pictures towards the last third of the post! Secondly, that matches what happened for me in the ascent. Much of what happened in the middle of summit night was not captured by a camera because I was too focused on going up and, for part of it, even my mind did not capture any images.

The goal: Uhuru Peak

Breaking down summit night

I will break down this most important of days during our climb of Mount Kilimanjaro to -hopefully- make it easier for me to organize myself and make sense. Day 6 consisted of four parts – it was to be one LONG day in chronological time and mental time. The four key parts are:

Going from Barafu Camp (base camp) to Stella Point (at the rim of the volcano that is Mount Kilimanjaro) – expected to be about 7 hours of trekking
Going from Stella Point to Uhuru Peak (the actual summit point of Kilimanjaro) – expected to be a short 45 mins to one hour fairly “flattish” walk
Coming down from Uhuru Peak back to our base camp (Barafu) for a brief rest, removing inner layers, and having lunch – about 3 hours
Arriving to Mweka Camp where we were to spend our last night on the mountain – about 4.5 hours of a downhill, easy walk.

I will cover in this post only the ascent on day 6 (#1 and 2 above) and not the descent that happened later that day. I will cover the descent on day 6 (#3 and 4) with the final descent of day 7…

Leaving Barafu Camp to reach Stella Point

Barafu Camp at 15,100 ft (4,600 m) was a hard camp to like. I write about it in my narrative for day 5. Yet, I could have stayed there a few more hours sleeping that night… Four of our group left at 11 PM to have an extra hour to reach the summit. The rest of us saw them leave camp, and then we finished prepping and ate a snack prior to heading out for our attempt at the summit. At midnight, we left the relative comfort of this camp to do what we came here to do: tame Uhuru Peak!

I was pumped even while wondering (and perhaps feeling a little nervous about) what would happen, how it would end 8 hours later. Ah, the fool… I was to learn the end was NOT reaching the summit, but reaching our camp for the night. More on that later…

What did I wear on the way to Kili’s summit?

I wrote about the particular items to wear for this climb here but a quick recap here. Though it was very cold at base camp given the altitude and the time of day we were leaving the camp, we were instructed to dress such that we were slightly cold upon setting out since we would warm up as we exercised during the climb – great tip as I would not have thought of it in that state of sleep-deprivation…

So, I wore my two tight woolen tops, then my merino wool light jacket, and my hard shell jacket (which protected me against wind and water though, mercifully, we did not have precipitation). The synthetic down jacket would wait until we took breaks (when, since you are at rest, you do not want to lose the heat your body has generated) or until it finally got too cold even while walking (which it did at some point). In terms of my legs, I wore my long wool underwear (all the wool layers by the skin helped wick moisture away from the skin) under my convertible hiking pants and then my hard shell pants.

Still, it was VERY cold on summit night in Kili!

The only place on my body where I felt really, really cold was my toes though I was wearing sock liners and the thickest wool socks I could find. It is amazing to think that it actually can be much colder than I experienced. We had milder temperatures than normal up there per what our guide told us. Ahead of the trek, I had been told I would be exceedingly cold and it did not quite feel that way (feet aside). Boy, am I glad that was the case on this particular night!

Time is a funny thing

During the climb up to Stella Point, it is amazing how time flowed – or how I felt it flowed… The hourly five to ten minute breaks we took (a lot shorter than the breaks we got to take on prior days) provided a little bit of rest from the effort and allowed for drinking some water, eating a little something, and handling nature calls. During one of those breaks, probably as we were beginning to zone out and wear out, they surprised us with hot tea – one of the happiest moments in those seven hours!

Handling nature calls was a little more of a pain than it had been other days of the climb because it was dark. But when nature calls, it calls. And no pee bottle here. In any case, I worked my way up by focusing on each hour’s walk, not on the totality of what was ahead of me. I was not looking at my watch at all but when the break came, I knew an hour had passed and that was an hour off the seven-hour count… Keep the focus on the next sixty minutes…

And who said it would be a piece of cake? No one. They were right.

After the first hour of the climb, my heart rate starting racing and I was out of breath a lot like on day 4 after we had passed the Barranco Wall. We had been climbing bigger rocks (requiring big steps) which was exactly what had caused my troubles on day 4 – except now I was four or five thousand feet higher…

That issue was going to slow me down and, tonight, falling behind could mean being turned around. The guides had been clear with the first subgroup that if we got to Stella Point at the same time as them, they would have to turn back at Stella Point and head back to basecamp. It meant they would take a lot more than an hour reaching Uhuru and, having already been at that altitude an extra hour than us, it would have been too much time up there. So, I knew that if I fell behind too much in my own group, that I could miss getting to Uhuru. That realization really hit me hard.

Guide wisdom. Trust it. Don’t fight it.

One of guides, Said, told me to give him my daypack. My heart sank. Was that an early indicator that I would not make it to the top? As soon as the path became less “pronouncedly” rocky, I told Said I could take my daypack back because I was back to “normal.” He shook his head and said he would keep it. At first, with pride stepping in, I said no, I could take it. And then I realized that it may be the worst thing I could do. I needed to save every last drop of my energy for the big rocks ahead. I resumed my climb, “daypackless.” Boy, am I glad I did…

I believe I was the second or third person to lose their daypack in our group. I felt this would take away from the feat should I reach the summit. I had nothing to fear. Within a few hours, more than half (including the four guys in this subgroup) had lost their daypacks too, including our star athlete who had run across deserts and had been carrying a daypack every day of this climb loaded at 30-40 lbs. I have to digress and mention that this guy, a dentist from northwestern Canada, would carry all sorts of candy in his daypack and, all throughout the week’s hike, would pull out a DIFFERENT bag of candy (gummy bears, sour patches, etc.) to pass around at breaks. Needless to say, he became everyone’s friend fast!

It is worth pointing out how carefully our guides were watching each one of us even after we surrendered our daypacks. Clearly, ensuring no one exhibited dangerous signs of altitude sickness (the ones that represent life-threatening danger like cerebral edema). But they REALLY wanted us to make it to Uhuru Peak as long as we were not exhibiting any serious symptoms and did everything they could to assist us in reaching our objective. I felt very safe among these great men.

The lights are not always at the end of the tunnel…

Though we had a full moon, we still needed to illuminate the path ahead by wearing headlamps. I remember that I would look up ahead on the trail and see what was becoming a downer for me: a long trail of headlamps ahead of us zigzagging the slope of the mountain. And then you didn’t see any. That point would get closer and closer, and it felt good to know we were reaching a “milestone” of sorts. But once we reached the milestone, I would look up and see, yet again, another LONG trail of headlamps going all the way up to a point far up the mountain. After this, I decided not to look up anymore… It was disheartening!

Sleep and memory loss – all in a Kili climber’s night!

Maybe halfway up to Stella Point, I was dozing off. No, not during breaks. This was as I moved my feet up that mountain and as my arms moved the hiking poles. The lack of oxygen and being tired had everything to do with that. (Through chats post-facto, I learned others were also dozing off as they walked up.) It was insane.

I decided that I needed to occupy my mind but I was too tired to alphabetize countries or come up with some other mental activity. I was that exhausted and my brain was likely not able to function well. I want to say that the thought that I was reaching Kilimanjaro’s summit was very clearly driving me. I was so tired, I may have half forgotten why I was there.

Keeping my mind occupied

Looking at the Southern Cross, which someone pointed out, gave me something think about (or try to look at without tripping). Some folks had music in their portable devices but I had not brought mine. That was on purpose. I actually wanted to listen to the folks stepping on the mountain, focus on the quietness of the surroundings, not being cluttered with noise. I like not feeling “trapped” within myself when it comes to sounds and that felt more important to me that night.

Give it up, baby give it up

Towards the end of the third hour, our lead guide, Luis, told us that we needed to be sure we were not spending our every last drop of energy in the remaining part of the climb. I thought to myself “huh?”. He said that coming down would be very hard too. Therefore, it was crucial we managed our exertion level. I was not sure how we would do that. But then I started thinking maybe he was trying to subtly tell some people to give up their daypack…

A “happy” place. Say what?

Then, he said, “guys, the next few hours are going to be very hard; find your happy place because you are going to need it”. I remember thinking, in my tiredness, “my happy place? my happy place? what IS that?? a beach? no. wine? no, wine is not a place.” I had no energy to conjure a happy spot I didn’t have previously. And then, all of a sudden, the faces of my sister’s, cousins’ and friends’ kids came to mind. Their smiley, happy faces. So I started calling roster on all of them seeing those smiley faces. I had found my happy place. And it kept me distracted easily for another hour. I say “easily” because I think it is after an hour of that that my memory goes blank…

Yes, what happened in the last 2-3 hours prior to Stella Point are a big blank. I have no idea what happened, when we stopped, what was I thinking, nothing, nada, nil. Comparing notes with others later, I am not the only one to whom that happened. We had been told the last bit before reaching Stella Point would be scree (small pebbles). So for every step forward, there would be a step back. I have no recollection of scree, of steps forward, or steps back.

And then it happened… Steeeeeeeellllllaaaaa!

So I was in some zone when all of a sudden, to my right, I see a glimmer of light on the horizon. Sunrise is beginning! It was like an injection of adrenaline straight to my heart – and mind. Watching the sun rise and trying to take good pictures became the priority as we continued walking up. I was awake!

Sunrise from Kilimanjaro as we neared Stella Point

Glorious!

The sun finally broke through the horizon and we could see that Stella Point was just like 20 minutes away. It was one of THE most incredible moments in my life. You see, at that moment, I had no doubt I would make it. Though, how could I really tell how the higher altitude and serious lack of oxygen would hit me 20 mins later? It didn’t matter, I just knew I was A-OK!

We hit Stella Point and I couldn’t believe how quickly it came upon us. I don’t think I could see it from the final approach. This was unbelievable. I was at over 18,000 ft and would only have one more hour up to Uhuru Peak after a short break at Stella Point. We laughed, hugged, and even teared up some.

Some of the trekkers and guides at Stella Point on Kilimanjaro

Some of the trekkers and guides at Stella Point (I am on the far left)

The view around Kilimanjaro’s crater

My eyes couldn’t believe the view outside of the mountain and INTO the mountain. Remember the top of Mount Kilimanjaro is a crater from a long-extinct volcano.

Looking around the top of Kili

Immediately the picture-taking began in front of the brand-spanking-new green sign with yellow letters. TERRIBLE design… you had to be RIGHT IN FRONT OF IT for the letters to show well in a photo. Thankfully, they changed the sign since I summitted per the photos I see now.

In any case, pictures were taken and then we proceeded to get to Uhuru Peak… Time was of the essence. At that altitude, you do not want to linger despite the fact that we noticed tents in the crater. In any case, we had to mosey to the peak and we couldn’t dilly daddle. We had to move.

Reaching Kilimanjaro’s summit: Uhuru Peak

Mt. Kilimanjaro used to be covered in glaciers. Today, the glaciers are there but they are not as dominant as they must have been. Sadly, they are expected to disappear completely in a few decades. Still, seeing them from a distance was impressive with the African horizon behind them. Yes, a glacier in Africa. So mind-boggling. We knew we were close to meeting our objective of reaching Kilimanjaro’s summit !

The hour walk (or maybe 45 mins?) up to Uhuru was much easier and less steep than the prior few hours though we still went up 660 feet (200 m) or so to reach it.

Trekker and guide walking up to Uhuru Peak in Kilimanjaro

Said and I headed to Uhuru Peak

Everyone was in great spirits as we attempted reaching Kilimanjaro’s summit. And then, we saw it, the big green sign marking Uhuru Peak!!! WE WERE THERE! Laughter, smiles, even some jumping-for-joy all around. We caught up with the first group. It was so awesome to see all of us together at the peak. The probabilities were that they would be already on their way down when we got to Uhuru or that they wouldn’t reach it. Consequently, the fact that we all were there together, this group that had been together for about 10 days, was truly priceless.

One of the many celebratory photos taken: here with Liz and Len Stanmore

Immediately we got close to the sign to wait our turn to stand in front of it and capture the moment in a photo. Phenomenal moment of joy for all of us. And just as happy as we were, our guides were beaming that we had all make it – asante sana, guys!

And so reaching the summit of Kilimanjaro comes to an end

The story of the descent is for another post – and the descent was painful. However, I will share one reflection here about having reached the summit.

Even if I had surrendered my daypack no one moved my legs forward and upward for me, as Luis our lead guide told us once at base camp. Every step I took on that blessed mountain was my own. That is the real achievement here for each trekker: the strength of will and of body to push forward and upward. The strength when you think you don’t have it all together. When you feel the next big rock may be the one that tips the climb over for you and sends you back to camp. When you don’t know what is your “happy place”. I will treasure what I learned that early morning the rest of my life.

At Uhuru Peak, the summit of Kilimanjaro

A very happy trekker at Uhuru Peak!

Back to Day 5…

… On to the descent

Pin this image of us reaching Kilimanjaro’s summit to your own Pinterest board!

Kilimanjaro summit, climbing, Uhuru Peak

View from the top of Kilimanjaro on the way from Stella Pt. to Uhuru Peak

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Other posts about the Kilimanjaro trek:

– Preparing for the hike is more than training and gear

– The Machame Route: our way up

– 7 things you will not see me without as I climb Kili

– Day 1 of the hike (starting the climb!)

– Day 2 of the hike (getting to Shira Camp)

– Day 3 of the hike (the Lava Tower and hail)

– Day 4 of the hike (Barranco Wall)

– Interview with fellow Kili climber and Ultimate Global Explorer

Filed Under: Africa, Hiking, Kilimanjaro, Tanzania Tagged With: camp, climb Mount Kilimanjaro, hike, hiking, Kilimanjaro, Machame Route, reaching Kilimanjaro's summit, Stella Point, summit, sunrise, Uhuru Peak

Hike to Kilimanjaro Summit Base Camp | Kilimanjaro Day 5

4 April 2013 by Raul 18 Comments

Ah, the final day before summit, day 5. Very important, the day that would take us to the promised land: Kilimanjaro summit base camp on the Machame Route. And, not a day too soon. Sure, one more day of acclimatization would have only helped. But, after four spectacular days, now I was beginning to crave reaching the summit.

Day 5 begins at Karanga Camp

As usual, the day began as every day with the morning routines that set us up for the day’s hike. I took care of all the tedious, the necessary, and the helpful. Sidebar. Did I mention that after all these days of sleeping bags, tents, daypack, large backpack, jackets, zippable hiking pants, rain gear, etc. one gets REALLY tired of zippers? Velcro all the way, bay-bee!!! (Thanks, Sarah, for your help fixing zippers!)

Then, I was ready to leave Karanga Camp at 13,800 ft (4,200 m) with the group. The distance we were going to cover seemed to be just a short 3.7 miles (6 km) hike up to the Barafu Camp at 15,100 ft (4,600 m). But, remember, at that altitude, short walks are challenging.

Rocky terrain on the Machame Route headed to Barafu Camp on Day 5 of the Kilimanjaro climb

Me helpfully pointing the way, like a modern Columbus. Rock on trekkers, so to speak (Photo courtesy of K. Shuman)

Day 5 Headed to Barafu Camp on the Machame Route over rocky terrain in Mt. Kilimanjaro

Happy that I showed them the way (lol!), I trail with the stylish plastic bag over my daypack. Not sure why. Not a cloud on the sky. (Photo courtesy of K. Shuman)

On the Machame Route from Karanga Camp

Finally, on our way. At this altitude, the route was devoid of vegetation. Rocks everywhere. Small rocks though. Like debris almost. Like that helps, huh? However, there were some really neat views, as usual, on this mountain.

Great view of Mt. Meru, close to Mt. Kilimanjaro in Tanzania

Great view of Mt. Meru as the group treks on. (Photo courtesy of K. Shuman)

Mt. Mawenzi, one of the 3 peaks on Kilimanjaro; it peaks at over 16,000 ft.

Our time at the Barafu Camp

The Barafu Camp was a camp of sorts for us. OK, it is officially a camp. Though we were setting up as usual, we were NOT going to spend the full night at this camp. You see, at night, midnight specifically, we would be leaving this camp to head to summit. But that, my friends, is the story of day 6. And, guess what? Day 6 in Kili is out of scope for this post!

Approach to Barafu Camp in Mt. Kilimanjaro

Our final approach to Barafu Camp (Photo courtesy of K. Shuman)

At the camp hut to sign in. The stylish looking guy with a plastic bag, an orange jacket, a buff sipping water through a hose… That’s not me…

A painful camp

I so did not like this camp. You see, this camp was VERY rocky. I had to mind almost every single step to not trip or step on a rock that would give way from under me. To walk around our tent to reach the vestibule on the back (vestibule is a generous term; it was a place to put our bags zipped away and protected from any rain), we had to be extremely careful.

Believe me, no distance was too short for an accident. And, at this stage of the game, I was NOT going to twist my ankle. I walked very carefully even if it seemed like overdoing it to be so careful.

Me trying to make my way around all the darned rocks! (Photo courtesy of K. Shuman)

The latter part of the stay at Barafu Camp

Once it was dark, I woke up in the middle of one of my afternoon naps to go to the toilet-tent. It was a beautiful night. Though there was a full moon, while minding the rocks, I missed noticing the cable holding another tent down. Consequently, my face almost met a rock that would have likely broken my nose or jaw. And that would have ended my attempt of reaching the summit. Luckily, as I started falling, I caught my balance and didn’t hit the ground. BIG whew. And, added respect for the camp… A few hours were left before departed Kilimanjaro summit base camp and I was hoping I’d survive…

In any case, this camp was a little bit surreal because of the landscape. We were also on a steeper slope than we had been at any other camp (which also meant the tent’s “floor” was not flat (not that it was flat at most of the camps). However, and always looking for the bright side, some of us concluded that at least we were towards the “exit” of the camp on the way to the summit so we would save, oh, about 4 minutes once we started heading up to the summit… Gotta find happiness somehow!

Barafu Camp in Mt. Kilimanjaro's Machame Route

Barafu Camp – see what I mean about the slope??!!

Though we were not staying overnight, this camp was very important. We were to have a nice late lunch and then do two very important things:

1. Pack/Prepare for departing for the summit at midnight.

2. Resting/Sleeping whatever we could to have more energy for the climb that night and to also allow our bodies to get as used as possible to the higher altitude.

Three very happy -if tired- trekkers at Barafu. Myself with the awesome Laura and Kristin!

Spending time at Kilimanjaro summit base camp

While exercising at altitude helped get acclimatized to altitude, being active after getting to this camp was not the best thing to do. The reason? The body would not get to recover and it would be energy we would need in a few hours for summit night. So, our leads suggested that, whether we actually napped or not, that at least we lay down for as long as possible to conserve energy and rest. Not being one to ignore advice from experts, after lunch I did all I could do to prep for that night’s departure (we were stopping at this camp after coming down from the summit) and then proceeded to get comfy (or as comfy as I could) and lay down.

I was VERY pleased that I napped. Frankly, I can’t recall how long a nap but it was long. Not once, but twice. Fortunately, the final nap took me all the way to waking time around 10:30 PM – which was great. I was able to say bye to the first group of four from our group to depart. That is because they were leaving an hour early to be sure they had ample time to make it to the summit by sunrise. Afterwards, I took care of a few things before sitting back down at the same mess tent where I had just said goodbye to our first group, an hour before to wait for our own departure around midnight.

To be honest, I was beginning to get a little anxious. I couldn’t wait to get going and leave Kilimanjaro summit base camp. But, wait, that’s midnight so that story is part of day 6!

The summit beckons…

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If you enjoyed reading about what it was to be in Kilimanjaro summit base camp, you can go back or forward in my narrative of this wonderful experience!

Back to Day 4…

… on to Day 6 – summit night !

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Other posts about the Kilimanjaro trek:

– Preparing for the hike is more than training and gear

– The Machame Route: our way up

– 7 things you will not see me without as I climb Kili

– Day 1 of the hike

– Day 2 of the hike

– Day 3 of the hike

– Interview with fellow Kili climber and Ultimate Global Explorer

Pin this image to your board for your future climb and to remember Kilimanjaro summit base camp!

Filed Under: Africa, Hiking, Kilimanjaro, Tanzania Tagged With: Barafu Camp, climb, hike, hiking, Karanga, Kilimanjaro, Kilimanjaro summit base camp, Machame Route, summit

A Brief Visit to a Masai Village

24 March 2013 by Raul 17 Comments

The day we were to enter the Serengeti National Park in Tanzania, we first made a stop outside of the park at a Masai village. My image of the Masai before this visit was of tall, lean men wearing blue or red clothes holding a cane-like piece of wood. I knew they were a nomadic people and that they lived generally in both sides of the border between Kenya and Tanzania. However, that was the extent of my knowledge about them.

Visiting a Masai village is not the only time you can see the Masai as you see them in small towns as you traverse this part of Tanzania and as they may work in some of the places you may stay. You will also see them herding their cattle to take them to get water (like the ones we saw heading into the Ngorongoro Crater).

When we were taken to their village, I was not sure what was in it for them. I understood they lived off their cows and didn’t have many possessions since they are nomadic so I didn’t quite get it. I was not aware that some do make the best of the tourism in the area by making crafts to sell to visitors. Basically we were taken to their village so we could get a glimpse into their lives in return for the potential purchases we would make from their inventory of crafts. I am used to tours (big or small) always taking visitors to places for shopping and sometimes I can find that tedious (even if I do need to buy some gifts to bring back home). This time, I somehow did not mind.

Crafts for sale at a Masai village in Tanzania

Some of the crafts

First, they welcomed us with some chanting and by placing ornaments around the necks of the female visitors. They also proceeded to show how high they can jump and got one of our guys to try jumping higher than them – nope, could not do it!

Masai welcome at their village in Tanzania

The group welcoming us to their village

Masai women welcoming us to their village in Tanzania

Women greeting us

I found the short glimpse we got into their lifestyle very interesting. We were divided into smaller groups so we could each visit the small home of the Masai and there talk a little bit about how they live. The warrior into whose house we went offered good information and was generous in answering our questions.

Exterior of a Masai warrior's hut in Tanzania

Exterior of a Masai hut

Our host and some visitors at one of his wives’ hut

Among the things our warrior shared with us:

things are communal; they make crafts and the sales go to the entire group
they are polygamous
since their huts are so small, the house in which the warrior sleeps at night, any kids older than 4-5 get sent to another wife’s hut
the warriors’ job is the safety of the group; women have a long list of things they are responsible for like building the huts, cooking, fetching water, minding the children, etc.
some warriors get an education in a village or town so they can, for example, speak English and welcome tourists to their villages
life centers around the cattle on whose milk and blood they depend
they move every 2-3 months to a new place (where there is more grass for their cattle)
when someone dies, they leave the body out in the open to be nourishment for animals; they leave some marker so people know not to build their camp there; supposedly, a few months need to pass before the area can be used again
they live typically into their 100s (he also told us they don’t have illnesses).

After chatting with the warrior and checking out the crafts (and making purchases), we stopped at the tiny schoolhouse for their group. The kids were into showing they could read the words on the blackboard!

School building

The kids at school

I left with admiration for a people who seem to strike a workable balance between living according to their traditions while dealing with some of modern life with common sense (like taking advantage of the opportunity that visitors can provide in terms of extra income for the group). We gladly perused their crafts and, while certainly not offered very cheaply, we were happy with negotiating some but not as much as we had done in other settings.

Masai women with the containers to store cow’s milk and blood

Curious what else others know about the Masai. Leave a comment and share!

Filed Under: Africa, Tanzania Tagged With: crafts, Masai, serengeti, Tanzania, tourism, travel, village, warrior

Reaching the Lava Tower | Kilimanjaro Day 3

20 March 2013 by Raul 12 Comments

Day 3 would take us pretty high, to the Lava Tower of Kilimanjaro, and leave us at the base of the infamous Barranco Wall. We were greeted by the day at Shira Camp where we had arrived on day 2 of our climb of Mount Kilimanjaro. The day’s hike began around 8:45 AM to the famous. The climax of the day would be arriving at the famous (though, admittedly, I had not heard of it before I signed up to do this trek) Lava Tower. There, we would stop for lunch before continuing on to descend to the Barranco Camp. Barranco Camp would be out stop for the night before attempting the Barranco Wall on day 4…

Lava Tower, here we come

Excitement combined with anxiety that morning as I got ready to depart the awesome Shira Camp (my favorite of the entire climb). I was wondering how I would perform at the higher altitude we would get to that day. Prior to this trek, I had never climbed higher than 12,000+ ft.

Our hike on day 3 started at 12,600 ft (3,840 m) and would peak at the Lava Tower at 15,200 ft (4,630 m). I had not been that high before (airplanes aside!). The highest place I had ever gone to (whether climbing or by ski lift) was Pawnee Pass in the Colorado Rockies when I was in college, over twenty years earlier, and that was 50 ft shy of the starting altitude on day 3 on this trek… Day 3 would not bring the longest climb up to that point (that was on day 1 of the Machame Route) but given the altitude we would reach at the Lava Tower, I expected a challenge.

Climb high – and then come back down? Seriously?

So, the plan for the day was to go up to 15,200 ft. I remember reading the itinerary and thinking “wow, only 4,000 ft more to go to the summit!”. And then I read we would end the day at 12,700 ft, barely above our starting point, once we arrived at the Barranco Camp. “Say WHAT??!!!,” I asked myself. I quickly learned how smart this approach was to acclimatizing to the higher altitudes of Kilimanjaro.

The “climb high, sleep low” approach allows for the body to exert itself at higher altitudes where the air is “lighter” while allowing sleep at a lower altitude where more oxygen in the air would help the body recover from the day’s exertion. As I mentioned, this would help the body acclimatize to altitude better. I am not sure one fully adjusts to the altitude in the mountain but you are closer to that with this approach. That is, perhaps one reduces a little bit the probability that altitude will cause problems later on, especially summit night when one really does not want to suffer any serious condition (e.g., edema) from the body’s reaction to low oxygen levels…

Mt. Kilimanjaro with a beautiful blue sky and clouds

This view early on Day 3 certainly motivated us to tackle Day 3’s challenge

The way to the Lava Tower

So off we went, walking in semi-desert terrain, along an inclined or sloped trail that did not present any serious challenges, increasing altitude aside which did require a little slowing down (nothing extreme).

It is amazing how the terrain is so different every day of this climb. It keeps it interesting and me distracted! I had heard the Machame Route is the best in terms of seeing a diversity of landscapes and views and, as far as I could tell, it was definitely true of the route (though I cannot personally attest to the other routes). (I had also heard the initial part of this route would be a little less crowded than other options.)

Alpine desert in Mt. Kilimanjaro near the Lava Tower

Some little vegetation…

… gives way to no vegetation in no time!

Reaching the tower – and lunch!

As the day went on, the skies darkened and, at different times, fog or clouds passed us, like right after we arrived at the Lava Tower (around 1 PM). The Lava Tower, one can safely assume, is made from the rocks that the mountain spewed during its volcanic heyday. But for me, what was more important when we got there was the fact I had managed things OK to get to this altitude. “OK” does not mean piece of cake. But it does not mean “barely made it” either. I felt victorious enough to not mind the fog or the darkness it brought with it.

Clouds coming in to the Lava Tower camp area

Celebrating arriving at the Lava Tower with my hiking buddy for the day, Melanie

Making it to 15,200 ft is a celebration-worthy moment. For us, that meant a warm lunch in our dining tent. Just one word: awesome.

DIning tent while hiking Mt. Kilimanjaro

Our dining room on the mountain

Every day, our porters would set up the tent at camp and serve our dinners there. However, normally, lunch was taken on the trail during a break so seeing our dining tent set up for lunch at the Lava Tower was a nice tough and a welcome one to stay warm. I don’t know if the food was as good as I thought it was or if we were just starving from the exertion?? I think it was a little bit of both – and that’s OK by me!

Descending from the Lava Tower to the Barranco Camp – piece of cake

After having succeeded in climbing to over 15,000 ft and surviving the thinner air during the one-hour lunch break, it was time to go down to our camp for the night (and more oxygen density!). We felt at this point we had this covered. Everyone was in great spirits: talking and laughing as we left the Lava Tower. We exited the Lava Tower Camp area by going between two very large rock formations and proceeded to descend.

Exiting the Lava Tower Camp area

Well, Mother Nature had a new experience in store for these hikers. Just after we cleared the rock formations and had proceeded down the rocky terrain some, the weather turned. A little rain began to come down and we all got geared up (covering our daypacks, putting on the hard shell pants, etc.). I guess it was a good thing we had all these things handy. My stuff was the easy-put-on kind which did not require me taking my boots off, for example, to put the rain pants on (more on what I wore and why here).

The umbrella person was not one of ours, for the record. They may have just been blown away by the winds after this photo was taken…

Hail, not lava rained down

And then it started to hail. At first, we actually kind of liked it. Cool was the word. Until it started hailing harder.

Our collective recollection days later was that the average hail was the size of a small motorized vehicle. That day, if you had asked us, we would have said they were the size of mansions. Upon closer examination of the pictures taken, the hail was the size of small pellets. However, this group of trekkers had been spoiled -er, blessed- with awesome weather up to that point. So we can be forgiven for talking about this hailstorm for a day or two as if it had been a preamble to the Apocalypse. The Apocalypse in the slopes of Kilimanjaro. Toto just watched the rains down in Africa. We watched the Hail-calypse down in Africa.

See the MONSTROUS pieces of hail?? The humanity!

Camp. Finally. And a truth revealed.

We got to camp (still raining some) around 4:45 PM. Quite a few folks had to make a run for number one or number two since we had not made any stops during the hail/rain to get past it and to camp quickly. No one will forget our guide’s impression of one of our trekkers who was suffering more from an urgent number two run… As we discussed the day over dinner, we all kept talking about the storm. Until our guide, Luis, proceeded to tell us that the storm had lasted exactly 1 hr 47 mins. He then added that, on a scale of 1 to 10 in terms of bad weather in the mountain, this ranked as a 0.5. We pondered his point for a brief moment (surely self-pegging ourselves as wimps). Then, I believe, someone asked for the mango plate to be passed and the topic was nicely changed…

E.T., phone home

The Barranco Camp, where we were going to spend the night, was my second favorite camp after the Shira Camp. I think it was the sense of proximity to the summit combined with a nice setting (though not the expansive vistas of the Shira Camp).

One of our trekkers managed to get mobile network signal at this camp. She generously offered the phone for quick calls home for anyone interested. Having a Cuban mother, I decided I had to take advantage of the opportunity to tell her I was eating well and alive. I think those are her priorities for me, in that order! She was ECSTATIC to hear my voice, that I was eating food, and that I was alive. Thanks, Annie!!

The Barranco Wall the following day was in a lot of people’s minds for sure. The wall was expected by many to be super scary, super dangerous. But I think I speak for all or most in our group that just sitting there and soaking in the views of the summit reigned supreme in our minds that late afternoon / early evening until off to our sleeping bags we went to “sleep low” and give our bodies a good night’s sleep.

More of the scenery

Barring the summit, my favorite vistas were coming to a close. That does not mean there were not going to be other great views. But the best views for me had been day 2 and day 3, in that order. Before you close this browser window, a couple more pictures of the scenery of day 3. Day 4 will be bringing the Barranco Wall – that story comes next (see below for the link forward!).

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Back to Day 2…

On to Day 4…

Pin one of these beautiful images from day 3!

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Other posts about the Kilimanjaro trek:

– Preparing for the hike is more than training and gear

– The Machame Route: our way up

– 7 things you will not see me without as I climb Kili

– Day 1 of the hike

– Interview with fellow Kili climber and Ultimate Global Explorer

Filed Under: Africa, Hiking, Kilimanjaro, Tanzania Tagged With: Barranco Camp, climb high sleep low, Kilimanjaro, kilimanjaro altitude acclimatizing, lava tower altitude, Shira Camp

The Moorlands and Shira Camp | Kilimanjaro Day 2

16 March 2013 by Raul 20 Comments

While the excitement of getting going on the climb of Mount Kilimanjaro made day 1 a great day, day 2 was no less exciting thanks to the moorlands and Shira Camp. For many of us in the Trekking for Kids group, that was mainly due to the change in the landscape we were to experience (and maybe having one day under our belt?). Day 1 on the Machame Route had us hike through the forest zone at the base of Mt. Kilimanjaro; nice but not terribly interesting (at least to me). We had heard day 1 could be tough if it were raining or had just rained with the mud, etc. But we had good luck on the weather front.

In any case, on day 2, we moved into what is called the moorlands. It was a landscape I really liked, offering interesting plants and great views as well. But before we got going on day 2, I took a look around when I got out of my tent at the Machame Camp (at 10,200 ft / 3,100 m) and this is what was waiting for me!

The summit of Kilimanjaro from Machame Camp — The top of Kili!

A moorland? What is that? Where at the moors?

I had no idea what moorlands were prior to the hike. So I looked the term up. It said it was a climate zone at elevation with low-growing vegetation and fog. In the end, the descriptions I had found didn’t really help me conjure a good mental picture though the Wikipedia article actually had a picture of Kili’s moorlands. No worries, I was about to spend a whole day hiking the moorlands of Kili. So I stopped trying to get that mental picture. And these are some of the sights of the moorlands! (Hope they give you a better sense of the moorlands than Wikipedia gave me.)

Plant in the moorlands terrain of Kilimanjaro with fog behind it — One of the most interesting plants we saw on the climb

Plant in the moorlands terrain of Kilimanjaro — Another interesting plant of the moorlands zone

Moorland terrain in Mt. Kilimanjaro — Great example of the terrain and sky that day! Here a guide walks in front of me

Great vistas were part of our reward on day 2!

After the morning routine was done (eating breakfast, filling up with water, packing up our bedding and other stuff, etc.), we left the Machame Camp. We departed early in the morning around 7:45 AM under a great and beautiful blue sky. As we left, we could see neighboring Mount Meru in the distance which served as a great backdrop to our photos of the scenery around us.

View of Mt. Meru from Mt. Kilimanjaro, Tanzania — Mt. Meru in the distance

View of Mt. Meru from Mt. Kilimanjaro — I told you it was a photo opp spot!

The trail that day was pretty rocky but not in an intense way as other days; not terribly hard, I’d say. “I can do this!,” I thought often, with a lot of relief. Some more unique-looking larger rocks set there by nature along the way also made for photo opps that the group did not let go to waste. (This group let NO photo opp go to waste!!)

Hikers on Mt. Kilimanjaro — Everyone trying to get their photo taken on this scenic spot

A beautiful place to spend the night: Shira Camp

We had had a great day but it was to get better after the 5.5 mile (9 km) hike: Shira Camp at 12,600 ft (3,840 m) (a gain of 2,400 ft in the day), where we were going to stay that night, was one of the most beautiful spots I saw on the entire climb. The Shira Camp overlooked a ridge (the Shira Ridge) and, if you turned 180 degrees around from admiring the ridge, you would find yourself facing the summit of Kilimanjaro.

The summit was breathtaking, especially at sunset. Three of us huddled together to take in that view, fully aware of how blessed we were to have the chance to enjoy it… We were also fortunate because we arrived to the camp (around 2 PM) about six hours after we started off which allowed us ample time to not only soak in the views but also to get good rest before the challenge of day 3.

Approaching Shira Camp on Mt. Kilimanjaro — When we first spotted the camp – notice the fog

Shira Camp in Mt. Kilimanjaro — We entered the camp and looked for the green tents of Zara Tours

Shira Camp in Mt. Kilimanjaro - Zara Tours tents — Found our tents and everyone proceeded to settle in. We had THE BEST location in camp!

One of our trekkers had brought, of all things, a couple of small kites, and it was neat to watch her and others fly them. I am not sure I know what made her think to bring some but I was so happy she did. I did not get to fly them but I think I enjoyed more watching the scene unfold in front of me than actually flying one of the kites… Myself? I joined fellow trekkers Olivia and Austin in doing some stretches after the long day of hiking – but enjoying the great views while stretching.

Flying kites in Mt. Kilimanjaro! — Kites on Kili

Cell phone signal on Kilimanjaro

One of the spots with the best view of the Shira Ridge was not only a great spot for a photo opp but it also seemed to be the best spot for a cellphone signal as a few guides would sit on the nearby rocks and text away for a while. This spot also happened to be like within 10 ft (3m) from the toilet-tent nearest to my sleeping tent; the toilet-tent being a place I would visit a couple of times during the night as Diamox (the med you take to help prevent altitude sickness) is a very effective diuretic…

The toilet situation on Kilimanjaro

One of the best pieces of advice we got pre-trip was to bring a so-called “pee bottle.” With this, one could relieve oneself within “the comfort” of one’s own tent… Easier for guys than gals, I am sure. However, I hear women have a tool called a “pee funnel.” This simple tool assists in the proper channeling of the liquid into the bottle. I never saw one or heard of anyone in our group using it. Of course, if the bottle runneth over or a case of bad aiming struck, neither would not be a good situation (not alluding to ANYONE in the group…) so care must be taken in the use of said bottle…

Sometimes, though, the bottle did not have enough capacity for a given night’s “production.” So one still had to go outside to the toilet-tent (“going” somewhere else in camp is a no-no). Going out in the middle of the night was a slight to moderate pain as one had to put on the shoes, maybe a jacket and long pants, find the headlamp, undo a few zippers, etc. But I never failed to fall asleep easily upon returning from these small nighttime outings, mercifully…

I am not sure how this post took such a turn, so I will bring myself back to the more pleasant topic of the hike… Since I have already brought the topic up, allow me to share a gratuitous photo. The portable toilet in the toilet-tent. (I know some of my friends and family are DYING to see a pic of one of these.) Are you glad I went “there”?

Toilet in a tent in Mt. Kilimanjaro — At least I made the picture smaller than the rest…

I will add that this tent and toilet combo was super clean. Our porters carried our toilet-tents from camp to camp. Additionally, they took great care to clean it and disinfect it very well. For this, we made sure to properly thank not only during the hike but at the end with a great tip!

Lunch during the day’s hike

So, quickly switching topic… On day 2 we had one of our many favorite lunches of the whole climb: grilled tomato, cheese and cucumber sandwiches! The picture below will not do these sandwiches justice. They were a real treat and we gobbled up all these babies up happily! We also likely were served a soup (we typically were in every meal). However, the type changed every time they served it and I did not jot down what accompanied these beauties below.

Grilled sandwiches during our Kilimanjaro trek — Grilled sandwich goodness!

When it is all said and done…

So the moorlands and Shira Camp, along with the great lunch, make for great memories. But below are the images that really capture the awesomeness of day 2 for me. I would happily head back to Kili simply to stay in this camp – and stay there a couple of days.

Sunset at Shira Camp with clouds going by hikers

Shira Camp with Mt. Kilimanjaro as its backdrop — A happy if tired hiker by his tent and the roof of Africa!

Back to Day 1…

On to Day 3…

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Other posts about the Kilimanjaro trek:

– Preparing for the hike is more than training and gear

– The Machame Route: our way up

– 7 things you will not see me without as I climb Kili

– Day 4 of the hike: the dreaded Barranco Wall

– Interview with fellow Kili climber and Ultimate Global Explorer

Filed Under: Africa, Hiking, Kilimanjaro, Tanzania Tagged With: flora Kilimanjaro, Kilimanjaro, moorlands, Mt. Meru, peeing on kilimanjaro, Trekking for Kids, vegetation, view Shira Camp

On the Machame Route | Kilimanjaro Day 1

12 March 2013 by Raul 21 Comments

Writing about my hike to the top of Mount Kilimanjaro along the Machame Route is no easy task. What to share? Clearly the “facts” of the route, camps, durations, altitude, acclimatization, weather, gear, the day-to-day routine, etc. are all important elements of the story. But the more I thought about how to write about this experience, the more I realized I wanted to share how it felt first and foremost. And also covering some of the elements listed earlier as they fit into the overall story, instead of making those the focus of each story, making this more a log of the climb. As I mentioned in another post, preparing for Kili is more than training and gear. I hope that you will see, over the series of writeups, that an emotional element also applies to actually doing the climb. Let’s get going with day 1!

The Machame Route and the climb

One second… before getting into the hike itself, a quick word about the route that we took for this climb. Our group went up the Machame Route, known for its vistas and for not being as crowded as other routes. Also, the Machame Route is a route with a higher likelihood of success than the so-called “Coca-Cola Route” (the Marangu Route). That is because it offers better altitude adjustment or acclimatization to the ever higher elevations the trek would face (climb high, sleep low; 6 days of ascent; etc.).

The climb itself is to Uhuru Peak. Mt. Kilimanjaro actually refers to the entire mountain, the tallest free-standing mountain in the world. Uhuru Peak is the highest point on the mountain and, therefore, in Africa! Whereas Uhuru Peak is the goal, the entry point to the goal on the Machame Route is called Stella Point. Once you get to Stella Point, there is about one more hour before reaching the actual summit. Making to Stella Point, though, is no guarantee that one will reach Uhuru Peak though… More on summit night in another post. Let’s go back to day 1 itself.

Starting day 1: waiting at the Machame Gate

Day 1 starts full of anticipation. The trekkers finish prepping the daypack they will carry on their backs. And packing the other piece of luggage that will be taken from camp to camp by the porters accompanying our group.

Backpacks ready to go up Mt. Kilimanjaro

Daypacks waiting for their trekkers!

We got up at the crack of dawn to head from our hotel (the awesome Honey Badger Lodge) to the hotel from which the mountain trek would leave, the Springlands Hotel, home base of Zara Tours who Trekking for Kids had hired to do our trek. So add 20-30 minutes to the lead time… (I would have rather stayed at Springlands the night before but I imagine it was booked since there were a few buses loading that morning to go to the mountain.)

The ride to the Machame Gate, entry point to the Machame Route, could not start quickly enough. As with many things, one gets ready and then one waits. After we finished leaving some of our non-trek stuff in storage at the Springlands, our bus arrived and the process of loading up our trek bags began. Finally -and not soon enough- we were on our way to the Machame Gate. It seemed to take forever but it couldn’t have been more than 1 hour or hour-and-a-half. We were just so ready to get the climb going!

At the Machame Gate

Once we arrived at the Machame Gate, we proceeded to, you guessed it perhaps, sit and wait for about an hour. The reason, though, was quite simple: the permits had to be purchased by the lead guides. This process takes time as we were not the only ones there (fancy that!). This would be a reality throughout the trek: others are there with you. Not that we expected to be alone, mind you. Just that one never stops to consider that fact until one gets to this departure gate. While it could have been chaotic, it really was not; everything was fairly orderly. We proceeded to eat our boxed lunches while we waited and took a few pictures to commemorate the start of our climb.

ilivetotravel doing the obligatory photo at the Machame Gate, looking ready and clean!

Another thing you can do while you wait is read the few signs posted with instructions and warnings for those starting to climb Kili. Good reading.

We cheered when we saw our guide come over with paperwork – it meant we were ready to go. The funny thing is that we saw other guides come out around the same moment with their papers. You would think the first-come, first-serve approach would have led to guides coming out gradually and sequentially. Nope. It seems all permits were issued almost at the same time for all the groups waiting! That meant, everyone got going at the same time creating a little bottleneck at the entrance gate. We got to pass quickly through without waiting long so we were FINALLY on our way!!

The hike on day 1

Day 1 was mainly going through a forest habitat starting at 6,000 ft (1,830 m) and ending at the Machame Camp at 10,200 ft (3,100 m).

Day 1 of the Machame Route of Kilimanjaro

Typical of the day 1 Machame Route. Notice the porters on the trail.

It may have been the built-up anticipation but, for the most part, I didn’t feel the altitude wear on me as the day went on. We were fortunate it did not rain that day. So, the gaiters were not really needed (those green things I am wearing on my legs in the earlier photo to help prevent mud or pebbles from getting into our boots). This part of the trail is about the nicest one with some work done to create a good trail for part of the way.

Arrival at the Machame Camp

Our arrival at camp was about 4:30 PM, five hours after we started that day. We were thrilled at having completed our first day of 6 to get to the summit. While we knew we still had a lot of challenges ahead, it felt SO good to have one day under our belt! At this point we did our first book signing to show we were there. This is a key requirement if we wanted to be issued an official completion certificate at the end of the hike.

The Machame Camp sits in an area with plenty of vegetation. This means we had more smaller animal life than we would have higher up; read, mice. Key here is to keep the tent zipped up when not coming and going! The Machame Camp has a toilet building that is pretty new. I heard it had both Western toilets and Turkish toilets, if those are the proper names for the fixture types. We also had a pair of portable toilets-tents and I preferred those… (less smelly).

In any case, getting to camp means setting up the sleeping tents and the mess hall tent. Normally the porters who carry these items and set them up get there ahead of the trekkers and the guides but on day 1 we got there at the same time. So this day we got to watch them at work.

Setting up camp

Wrapping up our first day on the mountain

Once the tents were set up and before dinner was ready, I, like some of the other trekkers, got organized by washing up, taking out the items needed for the night (headlamp, etc.), and preparing the daypack for the next day. Oh, and the getting drinking water and treating it (Steripen worked wonderfully!) – a staple of the every day life on the mountain!

Yours truly getting ready for my first night camping ever!

We enjoyed a beautiful sunset that night before heading to the mess hall tent for dinner. I took advantage of an early bedtime so I could be well-rested for day 2 – NICE! Dinner included a hot soup, potatoes, fried fish, vegetables, and small bananas along with tea and hot chocolate. On to my first night camping ever and day 2!

Tents at Machame Camp during sunset in Kilimanjaro

Our tents with a beautiful backdrop courtesy of the African sunset

On to Day 2 on the Machame Route…

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Other posts about the Kilimanjaro trek:

– Preparing for the hike is more than training and gear

– The Machame Route: our way up

– Day 3 of the hike

– Day 4 of the hike

– Day 5 of the hike

– Day 6 of the hike (summit night)

– 7 things you will not see me without as I climb Kili

– Interview with fellow Kili climber and Ultimate Global Explorer

Filed Under: Africa, Hiking, Kilimanjaro, Tanzania Tagged With: climb, hiking, Kilimanjaro, Kilimanjaro route, Machame gate, starting machame route, Tanzania, Uhuru

Tanzania’s Lake Manyara: A Cool and Easy Safari

9 March 2013 by Raul 11 Comments

After our climb of Mt. Kilimanjaro, some of the group had signed up for a safari in Tanzania taking advantage of having spent the time and money to travel so far from home already. I had been to the Serengeti six years before on a day trip in from the west side since I had been working in Mwanza and only had one day off. I remember how neat it had been but also how rushed it had been. I only got to see a lion perched atop a large rock. I had also done a one day trip into the Pilanesberg Game Reserve close to Pretoria, South Africa after attending a work conference in Johannesburg.

I had been left wanting a proper safari. However, as I had at least been to these places, a proper safari was not at the top of my bucket list. The opportunity to return to Tanzania for the Kili climb set up my chance to do a safari proper.

Our safari began with our departure from our hotel in Moshi, Tanzania (just east of Arusha) with all our belongings since we would not return to that town prior to our departure back home days later. And the first target for our safari was the Lake Manyara National Park in the Great Rift Valley area of Tanzania.

Getting to Lake Manyara NP

As you can see in the first map below, it neighbors the Serengeti National Park and the Ngorongoro Conservation Area to the southeast. You can also see how much smaller it is than those two, making it quite doable in a short afternoon. I cannot recall exactly how long it took us from Moshi but I want to say about 3 hours.

Tanzania Map Serengeti Lake Manyara — Map showing Lake Manyara in relation to the rest of the country (Source: www.globalsojourns.com)

As you can see on the next map, the park mainly sits on the western side of Lake Manyara. We entered from the north and traveled along the main road until we exited to head to the town of Karatu where we were going to stay for the night before heading into the Serengeti. The road to Lake Manyara NP is mostly paved or in the process of being paved. The latter made for a dusty ride but mercifully it was only in certain places. And, hopefully, it will be completely paved in the near future. Good job, Tanzania, on investing in the infrastructure that will support your tourism industry!

Map of Lake Manyara Tanzania in relation to Ngorongoro — Detail of the Lake Manyara National Park (Source: www.safarilands.org)

Baboon welcome to Lake Manyara NP

Lake Manyara felt very different to what I remembered of the Serengeti. Of course, entering the Serengeti the next day confirmed for me that it was not just a matter of me forgetting how the Serengeti had looked on my visit 6 years before. The Lake Manyara NP, which occupies about 127 sq miles (330 sq km) of which 60% is the lake itself, is very lush with trees providing a different setting for the animals than the Serengeti. It is compact yet offers a microcosm of what the Serengeti and the Ngorongoro area will later offer us. The lake seemed to be on the dry side when we were there. In the following picture, you can barely even see the lake from a slightly higher vantage point on the road out of the park.

Baboons quickly makes themselves the first animals we see.

Baboons in Lake Manyara, Tanzania during safari

They are everywhere eating grasses, picking lice or something off each other, and mainly looking at us quizzically but unperturbed. You can’t help but stare at them and notice their hairless behind. I respected their privacy and minded their feelings by not taking a picture of said-behinds 🙂

Baboon in Lake Manyara, Tanzania during safari

And the rest of the wildlife…

… No, no, not the people in my vehicle! Moving from the road towards the lake offers different animals to view. However, I do not know if visitors are taken on vehicle towards the lake – at least we did not. Regardless here are some of the other local denizens who allowed us into their space.

Dwarf kingfisher bird — Colorful dwarf kingfisher

Zebras under a dark sky in Lake Manyara — A good dark sky is always a good backdrop!

Young and adult zebra in Lake Manyara — A young and an adult zebra wondering who we are

OK, I will NOT take this as a welcome gesture…

We also saw some elephants on this first day…

Elephant in Lake Manyara — The elephant was walking away. We thought that was the end of the show…

… This one in particular seemed to be preparing something for us… and I use the least graphic of the picture series 🙂

Elephant pooping in Lake Manyara — … but it had something in store for us… a welcome gift? We declined…

Lake Manyara is definitely a small piece of what Tanzania offers its visitors for animal-watching. But it is a unique ecosystem worth the drive through. My advice: see it before the Serengeti or Ngorongoro or, else, it could underwhelm you!

For more info on Tanzania’s many national parks, check their well-designed website at http://www.tanzaniaparks.com/.

Filed Under: Africa, Tanzania Tagged With: animals, Lake Manyara, map, moshi, ngorongoro, photos, safari, serengeti, Tanzania

The Machame Route: Our Route to the Top of Mt. Kilimanjaro

9 February 2013 by Raul 21 Comments

(At the end of this post, see the series of posts written post-climb about this route!)

I am a few days away from leaving for Tanzania to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro, the rooftop of Africa. Eager anticipation and a modest level of anxiety are my constant companions these last few days before the trek… How fun will it be to finally see the mountain? Did I have the right pieces to deal with the extreme cold? Will my body cooperate? Will I summit? etc.

As I do a final review of the gear list, I am checking against the hike itinerary to be sure I am accounting for the right number of pieces given the varying climate zones we will encounter. Let me share with you what the climb of Mt. Kilimanjaro looks like. Mind you, this itinerary is based on going up the Machame Route (one of several routes available). The Machame Route is known to afford better altitude adjustment, offer better views, and typically have much less trekker traffic. All of these make it -ding, ding- a winner for me. Especially the better altitude adjustment since it increases the odds of summitting, something that is not assured even with a good fitness level since the lack of oxygen at high altitude can hit every person very differently.

Here is a view of the routes to climb Kilimanjaro to which you can refer as you read the day-by-day breakdown below.

Source: apartmentinlakeview.com

Itinerary to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro via the Machame Route

Day 1 – Adrenaline day!! Start at the Machame Gate at 1,800m/6,000ft. Head up to Machame Camp at 3,100m/10,200ft. It should take anywhere between 5-7 hrs depending on the number and duration of stops along the way. We should be covering around 18km/11miles. The habitat will mainly be forest. I am praying that adrenaline will carry me through the mud or whatever we encounter on this part of the hike!

Day 2 – “I can’t believe I am here” day. Continuing the climb, we go to the Shira Camp at 3,840m/12,600ft. This day we go for 4-6 hrs covering about 9km/5.5miles. The habitat here is moorland. You may ask what “moorland” looks like (like I did). So here you go, courtesy of http://www.africaimagelibrary.com. The landscape looks surreal, doesn’t it?

Day 3– Reality check day!! We leave the Shira Camp and move into semi-desert habitat. We head to the Lava Tower at 4,630m/15,200ft but descend to 3.860m/12,700ft to camp overnight at the Barranco Camp at 3,860m/12,700ft. As you may notice and wonder (like I did), why if we go up do we go through the effort of going BACK DOWN??!!! Seems counter-intuitive but after hearing the explanation, it makes perfectly good sense: you want to climb high to force the body to exert itself at altitude but then climb down so you can sleep at lower altitude (which means more oxygen) to help the body adjust better. OK, maybe also just the lay of the route contributes to this approach. This is the type of factor that helps improve the odds of making it to the summit. This hike will take 5-7 hrs and cover about 15km/9miles.

Lava Tower (Source: scottkress.com)

Day 4 – “OK, how much worse can it be compared to yesterday” day. This day we cross Alpine desert to go up to the Karanga Camp at 4,200m/13,800ft. This day we go up, and stay up. But we are not camping at the maximum height reached the day before so we are still sleeping lower than our maximum exertion the day before. Total time climbing should be around 4-5 hrs covering about 7km/4miles.

Day 5 – The “are we there yet?” day. Continuing to climb without descending, this day we move to 4,600m/15,100ft going for 4-6 hrs and covering 6km/3.7miles which seems a cake walk compared to the prior days given the shorter climb and duration but I am sure it will be anything but (you will see why as you read day 6)! We will stay at the Barafu Camp this night.

Day 6 – The big day!! This day we actually wake up at midnight (midnight between day 5 and day 6 – which means little sleep which will make ilivetotravel a little cranky – if he can muster the energy for that!). Why do we barely sleep this night? So we can see sunrise at the summit!!! It will be a long hard night for most of us as you can imagine. My headlamp will absolutely be my second best friend after all the layers of clothing that will keep me warm. Uhuru Peak (the tallest peak on Mt. Kilimanjaro) sits pretty at 5,896m/19,340ft. It will take us 7-8 hrs to go 7km/4miles. Yes, twice longer than the same distance on Day 4. Why? Well, it will be slower going due to the altitude. Pole, pole (slowly, slowly in Swahili) will rule this day. There will be ice/snow towards the summit and I hope to see the glacier that, it is said, will be gone in 30 years or so at the current rate. Stone scree will also be present so our gaiters will play an important role in keeping stuff out of our boots.

On this same day, of course, we have to get off the summit. So on to 7-8 more hrs. of descent to the Mweka Camp at 3,100m/10,200ft to what it will feel like drowning in oxygen!

Day 7 – The happy day!!! OK, Day 6 will be a VERY HAPPY DAY for those of us who summit. But Day 7 is happy in other ways – we get to celebrate our climb and we get to shower!!! We climb down to the Mweka Gate which sits at 1,830m/6,000ft, walking down for 4 hrs and covering 10km/6miles through a forest habitat. A beer will never taste as good as the one I am planning to have that night at dinner!

Again, another view of the route (there were a few good ones so I couldn’t just use one…).

Source: apartmentinlakeview.com

Climbing Kilimanjaro is not without risks

The key to a safe and successful climb is to be aware of what is ahead of you (literally and figuratively). Going slowly, staying hydrated all the way, minding where you are walking, and very important: listen to the lead guide and his aides. We are lucky to have a veteran of Everest, Kili and the rest of the Seven Summits (tallest peaks in every continent) which makes me feel much better. Able to detect altitude sickness early, knowing the landscape well, supportive leadership, etc. are very important traits in a lead guide and we have that in our lead guide, Luis Benitez, one of the leading high altitude mountaineers in the world. In addition, I have been on a prior trek with Trekking for Kids and everything is well thought through and planned. So Luis and TFK are what make me feel confident that I will have a safe and successful climb regardless of the highest point of my climb: at the summit or somewhere on the way there!

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I have added to this post the writeups for each day AFTER the climb so you can read more about each day! Also here is a post about the actual clothing I took to climb Kilimanjaro item by item with the corresponding explanations in case it helps you plan your own hike!

Day 1 – Getting Going

Day 2 – The Moorlands and Reaching the Shira Camp

Day 3 – A Lava Tower and then All Hail Broke Loose!

Day 4 – The Barranco Wall and Its Challenges

Day 5 – Rocks Everywhere!

Day 6 – Reaching Kilimanjaro’s Summit: Uhuru Peak

The descent from Uhuru Peak

Filed Under: Africa, Hiking, Kilimanjaro, Tanzania Tagged With: Africa, Kilimanjaro, Machame Route, Tanzania, trek, Trekking for Kids, Uhuru Peak

Preparing to Hike Kilimanjaro: More than Training & Gear

2 February 2013 by Raul 33 Comments

I sit here, two weeks before my departure for Tanzania, asking myself “Oh my, what did I get into??”. As you may have read, I am headed to Tanzania to hike Mt. Kilimanjaro, something that 5 months I would have told you was the furthest thing from my bucket list. Seriously. As I contemplate the process so far, I have learned a few things and I wanted to share those with folks who may be thinking of hiking Kilimanjaro. Conditioning and gear are two important elements, But there is a less immediately obvious element in being prepared…

How did I decide to climb Kilimanjaro?

I already knew I wanted to do more treks with Trekking for Kids (with whom I trekked the Transylvanian Alps) because of the great work they do with orphanages but I was not expecting Kili would be the trek for me. I attended a TFK event last September where I heard Len Stanmore speak about his incredible journey of extreme outdoor adventure. His story is quite inspirational and others started talking about TFK’s upcoming trek to Kilimanjaro in February 2013 at the reception afterwards. I was hooked. Somehow. Not really sure what had just happened but I was in. ALL IN.

Besides the orphanage work (fundraising for it and actually spending a few days there), there are three key aspects for me about the hike itself: training, gear/packing preparations, and a third that I have yet to name at this point in this writing…

The kids at the Kili Centre orphanage sporting the new uniforms paid by funds raised by this trek

Training for climbing Kilimanjaro

Fortunately, when I decided to go on this trek, I was still relatively fresh from my Romania hike and had continued exercising in general. It makes for a good starting point!

I started more serious training by getting on the treadmill and increasing the incline over a few weeks to 15%, ending up doing this for a couple of hours. I also used a backpack whose weight I kept increasing beyond the expected weight we would carry on the hike (about 15 lbs for our day needs; porters would be carrying the rest) . I was doing great with this and was planning to mix in real hikes by going to small but still helpful Kennesaw Mountain near Marietta, Georgia, where I trained for the hike in Romania. And that is when a mini disaster struck: I over-stretched my Achilles tendons (both legs!) likely due to the imperfect simulation of a 15% incline on a treadmill. It all seems obvious now but I had not contemplated that I could hurt myself that way – you just don’t know what you don’t know!

That set me back about 6 weeks at a point when the intensity of my training was really beginning to pay off. (I am almost back to normal and training again at this point.) Not only that but I gained weight due to the double whammy of Thanksgiving and Christmas falling squarely in that 6-week period… So now I will carry even more weight uphill 🙂

Advice: If you embark on something like this without that type of starting point – don’t fret! Just be sure to start gradually. Aggressive training from cold is more than likely counterproductive if not outright a risk! That’s the easiest way to get injured. And also, stretch even of days you are not training. Stretching is your best ally in physical readiness.

Getting in gear. The gear to climb Kilimanjaro!

After being in good conditioning for the hike, the next item on the list is all the stuff that I will need on the hike. That short word “stuff” covers a wide range of things that I will need to make this a successful trip. After getting the packing list from TFK (VERY thorough!), I did an inventory of what I had and what I needed to research/acquire. I started staging all my items in a spare bedroom. It looks like a mess but it does two things for me: 1. allow me to start gathering in one place all that I will need to pack making packing later a lot easier and 2. allow me to start enjoying the upcoming trek by seeing it shape up!

The “mess” in the spare bedroom!

Advice:

Get a good packing list for the type of hike
Go talk to your local outfitter before you acquire things to learn about what they recommend, what materials are out there, criteria for choosing items, etc.
Then proceed with sourcing the items (borrow or buy).

Let me share some more specifics about gear and packing here (for a more detailed description of the clothing I took, go here)… But do check out this post on what I considered my 7 key items for this hike (written BEFORE the hike) and then the top 14 things I took (written AFTER the hike)!

I am happy to email you a copy of my packing list!

Clothing for your packing list

Mt. Kilimanjaro covers multiple climate zones ranging from forest where one may be trudging through mud to extreme cold and windy terrain towards the top. Guess what? That means carrying gear to deal with all the climate zones but, most importantly, to deal with the extreme cold and wind which is far more dangerous to a hiker. The key to all this is layers. Not rocket science, I know. I hear the cold towards the top is brutal!

The list I was provided by TFK was very clear on what was needed. I went (a few times!) to my favorite outfitter and explores the options available for each category of item needed. I have learned WAY more than I thought I’d ever learn about gear. And spent way more than I ever thought I’d spend. But two things help: one, I have bought thinking of re-use especially at ski time or in future treks and, second, I have tried to borrow some items (though it has not been as much as I would have hoped for).

Advice: My advice to you is to borrow, or buy used if possible, and think of re-use as you make choices on what to get. For example, instead of buying the absolute best gloves for the extreme temperature, think of using liners, etc. so the gloves themselves can work for you in less extreme weather back at home.

Accessories for the Kili climb

This covers a whole range of items like the hiking poles (with shock absorbers! see here for more on them), headlamp (not only to read at night or go potty in the middle of the night but also for the night hiking we will do on summit day!), sleeping bag liner (to make it warm enough for the coldest nights), sleeping bag pad (for comfort and further insulation from the very cold ground), cameras (yes, plural: the big one is not summiting with me – too heavy), even duct tape!

Advice: Borrow, or buy used if possible. Buy new if that suits you better. However, another possibility is renting some of the items on-site. This helps you in two ways: not buying stuff if you are not going to be hiking/camping more than this trip and also reducing the amount of stuff you have to lug half way around the world! However, some potential downsides of this: you don’t know the condition of the item you will rent (dirty, torn up, etc.) and you may not find the right type for the item you are looking for. For example, you need to be sure that sleeping bag will be warm enough.

Health/”Medical” items for your Kili climb

For this destination, one does have to be ready with anti-malarial and other items as recommended by the CDC. I have all the hepatitis stuff from prior travels so the anti-malarial (which is taken for every trip) and the typhoid (which I needed) were on the must-have list. But the medical category is not just the innoculations/vaccines. Things like ibuprofen, Cipro (for the potential digestive maladies that could affect a traveler…), and maybe even something to help you sleep get on the list. Other items, such like the iodine tablets, sunblock with DEET, high-SPF chapstick, etc. are more preventive in nature but just as important. This list is very important and is sometimes less obvious than the gear and clothing lists.

Advice: Do your research, ask people who have gone before (feel free to ask here!), and don’t try to save money by skimping on these items!

Finally – Emotional Preparedness

I will have to get back to you on this after the trip for a full report. However, I had heard that a lot about hiking Kili is the mental strength to power through tough conditions like mud and rain, tiredness, perhaps pain, and other discomforts. So I am thinking this would fall under emotional preparedness. I have heard from people who have hiked it before that, in the end, this is the most important elements in preparing for Kili. You may be fit, you may not. Altitude sickness could keep you from summiting and that is independent of your fitness level (amazing!). But if you don’t have some toughness in this realm, you may fall short of your goals.

We are lucky that our lead guide is one of the foremost mountain expedition leaders in the world, Luis Benitez. He is also a Board Member of TFK! In an email he sent the trekkers last week, he told us that the best thing to do in this category is to expect discomfort, understand it will happen, understand it starts and it ends. All that so that when it hits at any point in the trip, you remember it will pass and you don’t let it bring you down (figuratively speaking!). I think this is a great piece of advice that will serve ME well in these 2 weeks before I leave for this hike.

Advice: Listen to Luis’ advice!

Final thoughts on climbing Kilimanjaro

I am almost done doing all the things that I need to do to be ready but, in the end, it is the emotional preparedness that I am not sure how to measure. I cannot check it off a list, like I can do with the other items on my packing list. Yet it is likely one of the most important success factors in this trek. I don’t know if altitude sickness will beat me to the summit. I can’t control that. But I sure hope I am ready enough to control my willpower and discomforts to summit or get very close to it! Kili, I shall meet you very soon!

P.S. – Thanks for all the words of support, advice, and orphanage donations via Trekking for Kids!

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A month after this post went up, I had completed climbing Kilimanjaro and started writing about every day in the trek (7 total days) and about the route we were to take. Check it out!

– The Machame Route

– Gear for climbing Kili: clothing

– Day 1 (and links to the subsequent days)

Filed Under: Africa, Hiking, Kilimanjaro, Tanzania Tagged With: adventure, gear, hiking, Kilimanjaro, orphanage, outdoor, packing list, travel, travel for good, trekking, Trekking for Kids

7 Items You Won’t See Me without while Hiking Kilimanjaro

12 December 2012 by Raul 20 Comments

If things go well, I will be trekking in Tanzania soon – hiking up Mount Kilimanjaro, the tallest mountain in Africa. I am excited about the upcoming hike as I am doing it with Trekking for Kids, with whom I hiked in Romania in the summer of 2012. Our hike will help a local orphanage with capital improvements to the infrastructure and, therefore, improve the standard of living for the children who live in the orphanage. I do have anxiety about how well prepared I will be in terms of level of fitness and about how altitude may affect me. But for everything else, research and planning has helped me ensure I have everything else I need for the hike! Here are the seven items you will not see me without (should you see me!) while I hike “Kili”…

The things that will keep me warm

One of the most important things to know about Mount Kilimanjaro is that you go through five (5) distinct climate zones as you pursue this mountain. This means you need to be prepared for the range of climate conditions across these 5 zones. Pack for cold and pack for warm. Of course, as the hike goes higher, I am told to expect VERY cold temperatures. The challenge with this, for me, will be getting out of the sleeping bags in the cold mornings!!

Of course, using layers is how I will handle the variations in temperatures that I will go through during the hike. Let me share my three most important items to pack to stay warm during the climb to the summit of Kilimanjaro:

#1 – Hardshell Exterior

My outermost layer is a hardshell exterior (see below for picture) to provide me protection from the wind and from water. The Arcteryx piece I chose is of top quality and its design is perfect for the conditions of the hike, especially its versatility as it can serve in warmer and colder temperatures as a barrier to water. It uses Gore-Tex and delivers a very lightweight piece – important as I will want to go as light as possible! Some features that I liked about this model were the under-arm zippers in case extra ventilation is needed, and the hoodie. Mine is orange, for the record.

Sample Outer Shell – Arcteryx Alpha SL Jacket

#2 – Jacket

For the second layer from the outside, I needed to choose something to keep me warm and, again, be light enough (begin to see a pattern?!). I chose an REI Revelcloud jacket which can also serve as a barrier to water for times when I may not want to wear the outer layer. At higher altitude, I will use both. It can help withstand winds of up to 50 mph! This particular jacket uses Primaloft, a synthetic material that emulates down but is not bulky and able to be compacted into the little bag it comes with. Also, its design eliminates shoulder seams which will help with range of motion, especially good since I will likely be wearing multiple layers and too many seams can become an annoyance. (I cannot find the item any more in the REI website; likely a new model is being rolled out – I bought mine at a great discount sale! Below I share a link to what seems to be a similar item for this layer.) I have to admit that I have been wearing this jacket when the weather has gotten cold as the material is very soft and it just feels good. 🙂

After trying several layers on, it became clear the outer ones described above should be a size larger than I would normally wear if not putting on several layers. At colder times, I will be wearing two under layers: a smart wool one and then perhaps a thinner one next to my skin (helping withdraw moisture from my skin). I will likely not wear as many layers on my legs as I do on my torso. Hiking pants with a thin layer (like long johns) under them should suffice. Says he…

#3 – Sleeping bag

After discussing clothing, let me share how everyone stays warm at night. <Sleeping bag enters the stage left of center> Instead of buying a sub-zero-rated sleeping bag that I may not use too often, I chose to go for one rated for zero degree (that I may get to re-use in other hikes that do not go as high and cold) and get a liner with something akin to thermonuclear for its rating. (Do some reading on the ratings ahead of time so you know how to read the sleeping bag specs.) I also wanted to make sure I used something that would pack relatively light.

The shape of the sleeping bag matters a good bit – something that had not occurred to me prior to researching the matter. But it makes perfect sense that at very cold settings, you want to maximize heat retention. Models whose width tapers down as it moves from head to feet are the best – they are called “mummy”-shaped as that is what they look like. The less air inside, the less cold inside when you get it in that will need your body heat to warm up. Therefore, more heat stays with you. (That thermodynamics course in college is paying off – finally!) This sleeping bag’s 2-way zippers will also make the job of closing and opening it up easier – nice feature!

Coleman Silverton 0 Degree Adult Mummy Sleeping Bag

#4 – My knee’s best friends – hiking poles

I have learned that hiking poles are my knees’ BFFs through my hiking experiences. Hiking poles help with stability but, more importantly, they have a mission of protecting my knees from too much wear-and-tear, especially while descending when the knees get a pounding – especially if it is a few hours worth of going down like we will do in Kilimanjaro when we descend. I decided to take advantage of a sale to get a great pair that have anti-shock features. I am sure people will have different opinions but hikers that I know well (and trust) said they would be worth the extra expense. The weight of the poles is also something to consider so an aluminum shaft was perfect.

After deciding on the anti-shock and the weight, the next consideration was the grip or handle. This is a matter of personal preference. I chose a round cork top (that unscrews to also serve as a camera mount!) with a long foam cover under the top for the different grip I will want. The locking mechanism can matter – some are easier to lock. The ones I got use twist-lock for ease of adjusting since I will be wearing gloves a good bit. Oh, and I bought rubber tips to use. I share both the one I ended up getting and another I considered. The one I got from REI. What sold me on the REI one was the handle.

Black Diamond Trail Pro Shock Trekking Pole

#5 Big priority – stay hydrated: Camelbak and Steripen to the rescue!

Hydration will be key to my well-being during this hike (pretty much true of any hike). Carrying a bottle and dealing with pulling it out when I want to drink is a little bit of a nuisance. This will especially be true on this hike when I may be wearing gloves a lot. A camelbak is perfect as it allows easy access to water at any point without having to stop or slow down. Additionally, I have learned that I drink water on a more frequent basis by sipping because it is easy with a camelbak tube versus gulping water more spaced out whenever I decide to pull a water bottle out. Sipping has another added benefit: because I don’t take in water in bigger gulps, I need fewer nature stops – who’s with me?? 🙂

My camelbak bag is inserted into my backpack (designed for this). I may be buy something to protect the tube coming out of the backpack to prevent it from freezing when it is very cold. Of course, making sure I have safe-to-drink water is a big priority. Steripen or something similar will be crucial so consider it item #5.5!

SteriPEN Adventurer, Handheld UV Water Purifier

Oh, and someone suggested a hot water bottle that you fill in with hot water before zipping up the sleeping bag to help keep you warm AND to have non-freezing cold water when you wake up to drink! Now, does that go in this section or on the first section about keeping warm??

#6 Finally, show me the way… My headlamp

No, my final item is not my boots but that’s not because they are not important – they are supremely so! Please be sure to find comfortable boots, that are water resistant, and then be very sure to break them in through practice hikes before you embark on the big hike. Blisters are your worst enemy and proper footwear is key. Back to #6… my headlight. The ascent to Kili’s summit starts around midnight so this will be an essential item to go up. Why does it start at this weird hour? Because you want to be up there to see the first morning light!! However, this headlamp will also be important so I can see at nighttime before I head to “bed” and in case I wake up in the middle of the night and need to relieve myself, something I hope I don’t have to do often!

Petzl – ACTIK Headlamp, 300 Lumens, Active Lighting

#7 OK, one more thing (I did say 7 in the title…)

Duct tape! Duct tape can serve MANY purposes. If anything breaks, you can likely fix it with some duct tape. But also, should you start developing blisters, apply some small strips of duct tape to protect the spot as soon as you feel the heat coming on and prevent a full-blown blister. Blisters are THE last thing a hiker needs! In any case, duct tape can help repair things that are important to you during the hike. Sure, you may toss the things later but not while on the mountain! So, duct tape can keep things going until you can properly fix or dispose of them. I recommend rolling duct tape along the hiking poles for easy access without looking through a backpack’s worth of contents or having to remember to put it in the backpack to begin with! I will let you pick the color of duct tape – bright orange could be useful if you get lost – ha! (Mine was white, for what that’s worth. No reason for it!)

Well, a few more things to bring along… bonus round!

I hope this has been a helpful list – would love to hear your own suggestions or get your questions. There are many other things to consider as you prep for a hike like this and I would be remiss if I don’t list some of them here just to be sure you don’t miss some key items: a backpack that feels comfortable (and that has both waist and chest front straps to prevent back issues), sunblock (and wear it!), chapstick (with sunblock – the sun’s rays are much more powerful at altitude), snacks, wipies, underwear that wicks moisture away from your skin (prevent chaffing), sunglasses, a nice warm hat, very warm gloves (OK, you may want two types: one for extreme cold and a regular pair), ear plugs (because you never know who may be sleeping next to you…), a hot water bottle (will feel nice inside that sleeping bag!), and finally: a camera for all the great shots you will want to take!

Bottom line: do your research and be prepared – it will make the experience much more memorable! Stay tuned for my updates from my hike of Kilimanjaro!

I did write more in two other posts AFTER the hike so check them out for more insights after the specific Kilimanjaro experience: