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(01/28/19) What a great way to start my study abroad experience - by climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro before the program starts!!! I took the 8-day Lemosho Route (a route which comes from the western side of the mountain) with Popote Africa Adventures. While hiking I kept a journal summarizing each day, which I will go through below:
Day 1: Lemosho Gate (2100m) to Mti Mkubwa Camp (2650m):
After my 7hr flight from JFK to Amsterdam and my connecting 8hr flight from Amsterdam to Kilimanjaro International Airport, I was picked up by two Popote staff and driven to my hotel: Parkview Inn in Moshi, where I resultantly got a solid 10 minutes of sleep all night due to a combination of jet lag and anxiousness for my ensuing hike. When I "woke up" the next morning and went to breakfast, I was greeted by a gorgeous view of the top of Kilimanjaro (or Kili) which could be seen by standing near the pool. At breakfast I was invited to sit with two ladies and a man who just got back from summiting with Popote the previous night - it was great to hear their stories and advice and they said how much they loved the Popote staff! After breakfast my guide, Jerry, greeted me and we went over my gear to make sure I had everything....I ended up renting a camelback (water bladder), trekking poles, and heavy duty pants for summit day from Popote. Jerry and I then met up with the crew and we stopped at a local bar for them to eat their breakfast and for the cook to buy food for the hike. My crew consisted of my guide, Jerry, cook, Milazo, and five porters (those who carry all the gear besides our backpacks), Nico, Awillo, Kashindikana, Peter and Nico Dem. Anyway, at this bar I met up with two clients who were hiking Kili with a different group: Brian and Anna. They were both conservationists from D.C. and it was nice to talk to them about our similar interests. After this quick stop I was then driven to Londorosi gate, where I registered, ate a boxed lunch and got my rented gear before being driven to Lemosho gate, where my hike started. The first day was a hike through the rainforest, and boy was it beautiful! The trail itself wasn't too bad and we kept a steady pace which allowed me to observe the wildlife. Milazo had a crazy good eye and spotted Blue Monkeys and Black and White Colobus Monkeys among other things! I also taught Jerry the phrase I learned in Boy Scouts when hiking: "just another half mile" which he really enjoyed and used for the rest of the hike. So 7km and about 3.5hrs later, we arrived at Mti Mkubwa camp, which means "big tree" in Swahili. I was really unfamiliar with the level of service that was provided to me: the porters already set up my tent and put my belongings inside, and within a half hour I was served hot tea and popcorn inside my tent! I rested until dinner which was potato stew, fried tuna and avocados, and then was "checked" by Jerry before going to bed: basically my heart rate and oxygen levels were recorded by a device put on my finger, and then I filled out a form asking if I had certain symptoms of altitude sickness (headache, nausea, diarrhea, etc.). I was shocked to find out that my resting heart rate was near 100 - a combination of elevation and my whole lack-of-sleep dilemma. I was hoping to FINALLY sleep after over 24 hours and my wish was granted with about 6hrs of it.
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Day 2: Mti Mkubwa Camp (2650m) to Shira I Camp (3610m):
Today began by waking up around 6:30am (this was the wakeup time everyday) and having a breakfast of crepes, hot dogs and pineapple - they make way too much food for me and insist I eat as much as possible. Today was apparently the most strenuous day (besides summit day): the trail was very steep and the 7km hike took a little under 6 hours because I was so exhausted. It also didn't help that I was nauseous for a good portion of the hike, somewhat due to this seed that Jerry gave me that was supposed to "sweeten your water when you drank it".....yes it made your water sweet but for me it had a horrible bitter aftertaste that was almost unbearable. During the hike Jerry pointed out a spikey white flower called Protea which was the national flower of South Africa. I also met Andrew, a local driver for a Kili hiking company who was trying to "prove himself" to the porters of his company by hiking the mountain for the first time. He was struggling a decent amount and Jerry and I stayed with him for most of the day. I was able to get a signal for the first time about halfway through the day and I texted my mom who responded even though it was 4am at home! We entered Shira I camp under a light rain, I had lunch, and then took a nap. Before dinner I was invited to the kitchen tent where I had a lot of fun talking to Peter, Nico and Milazo. I then had BBQ chicken, yams, and cucumber soup before settling in to bed and having a nice 8hr sleep.
Day 3: Shira I Camp (3610m) to Shira II Camp (3850m):
After a large breakfast (no meal isn't large) of mango, oatmeal, toast and eggs, Jerry and I started on the mostly flat 10km trail going through the caldera section of Kilimanjaro National Park. There was this one boulder which Jerry told me to climb on top of and he took some awesome pics of me looking off towards the towering snow-capped Kili in the background. He also pointed out a Four Striped Grass Mouse at our one break and gave me a copy of the lyrics of "Jambo" - a song that the staff sings to the clients at the end of every Kili hike. The trail got a little steep at the very end heading to camp, but it was nothing compared to yesterday and after 3 hours we got to camp and I took my regular nap. Jerry told me that we would hike a little extra after my nap to acclimate but when I woke up it was raining too hard to go. Therefore, I just relaxed and played a card game called "one last card" with Peter, Nico and Milazo and had a dinner of rice, veggies and pineapple before heading to bed.
Day 4: Shira II Camp (3850m) to Baranco Camp (3900m):
Today was the longest hike besides summit day in terms of time - it was 10km and took about 6 hours. After a breakfast of an omelet, toast, oatmeal and bananas, Jerry, Milazo and I started our day (Milazo came with since he carried my packed lunch). The trail was moderately steep and the visibility was near zero due to fog. The pace was very slow and it was starting to get fairly cold but we reached our lunch destination of Lava Tower (4600m) which you could barely see amidst the fog. From Lava Tower we descended to Baranco Camp which was just as painful as going up. However, near Baranco Camp there were tons of plants called Lobelia deckenii and Dendrosenecio kilimanjari which look awesome and made the descent much more enjoyable. At camp I had a popcorn snack and couldn't eat much for dinner due to some horrible acid reflux. That evening I tried to call home but had no success despite having 3 bars...however while trying I had a beautiful view of the town lights way below me and the stars way above me! Well deserved sleep greeted me once again.
Day 5: Baranco Camp (3900m) to Karanga Camp (3995m):
Today was without a doubt my favorite day!!! After breakfast Jerry and I set off towards Baranco wall. Here was the first time (really the only time) that the trek involved climbing rather than hiking, and I had so much enthusiasm going from jagged rock to jagged rock....meanwhile the views were incredible too: it was a crystal clear morning so Kili stood out boldly behind us, Mt. Meru peaked out in the distance, and once atop Baranco Wall (4200m), the tents at Baranco Camp looked like little ants in the sunlight. In the middle of Baranco Wall was a narrow ledge where you had to hug a boulder to cross called "kissing rock"....yes I kissed it! After the wall, the hike was pretty easy (6km and 3.5hrs) until the very end where a HUGE hill with switchbacks led up to Karanga Camp. The porters had to get water from the bottom and carry it all the way to the top since there was no other accessible water at this camp. Despite the past 5 days of hiking and elevation gains, I still felt really healthy which was great because Jerry said a lot of clients start getting altitude sickness around day 4. For lunch I had the equivalent of a veggie grilled cheese sandwich with soup and pineapple which made my day even better! I had too much energy and couldn't take my nap so I played cards with Peter, Nico and Milazo again before having fried chicken and french fries for dinner - making my great day even greater!!! Tonight I had to keep all of my belongings either in my sleeping bag or right next to me since stealing was a common issue at this camp, but alas, I still got another solid sleep.
Day 6: Karanga Kamp (3995m) to Barafu Camp (4673m):
Today I started my morning with hot tea and a breakfast of eggs and crepes (they gave me hot tea for almost every meal and I had more during this trip than in my entire life). The hike wasn't very strenuous (4km and about 3hrs) but was VERY windy and resultantly very dusty - I loved it though, it was fun! The rocks on the trail were volcanic and sounded like glass when you stepped on them, also, you could see the atmosphere from the height I was at! In addition, Jerry gave me 2 rocks from the trail that were the shape of Africa to take home. I had a slight headache while hiking, but besides that still had no altitude problems. Once we reached camp, we walked to the ranger building to sign in (like we did at every camp) through the intense wind, and it was here that Jerry pointed out a Bearded Vulture! After signing in we went to another Popote client's tent, Brett from Australia, who just got back from summiting that morning. He said he got very sick around 5400m and was very slow but made it to the top. This scared me a little bit but I was still determined to reach the top. His crew gave me a pancake and some pineapple to eat and I then had some more "veggie grilled cheese" for lunch! I couldn't nap because my tent was too hot but I relaxed and had some chicken stir-fry with rice for dinner. Tomorrow (more like tonight) was the big day so I tried to at least get a couple hours of sleep!
Day 7: Barafu Camp (4673m) to Uhuru Peak (5895m) to Mweka Camp (3100m):
I woke up at 11pm, ate some shortbread cookies and left at midnight to start summiting after about two hours of sleep. We started hiking in the middle of the night so that we could reach the top around sunrise (and also because the top of Kili is clearer at dawn and dusk). The hike was extremely cold, windy and dusty. The gusts were so strong that at points you couldn't even take a step forward when facing the wind! Jerry and Kashindikana went with me, and Jerry ended up convincing me to give him my backpack about a quarter of the way up to make it easier for me. The pace is like a snail's pace, and even despite this I threw up twice from the altitude: once at around 5400m and again at around 5600m. We reached Uhuru Peak and the famous sign at 6:20am according to Jerry...I was too mentally "out of it" to remember the time....a little more altitude and I could have been classified as delusional probably! Regardless, the top was GORGEOUS and we reached right as the sun broke above the clouds. Not thinking straight, I took my phone out to take pictures about 10 minutes before reaching the very top, and when I wanted to take pictures at the sign my phone was completely dead from the cold (it was maybe around 10 degrees F)….so I had a gentleman named Jonas who I saw frequently on the hike with a group of guys from England/Scotland take my pictures with his phone! I was exhausted mentally and physically and my right eye was completely blurry from the dust but I accomplished my goal!!! Here was where I got a little disappointed: I felt rushed. We only spent maybe 5-10 minutes on top before walking back down, and I would have wanted more time to take pictures and soak in all of the beauty around me. The pace was very fast on the way down and Jerry seemed a little grouchy. It was really cool to see how far I came now that it was bright out (5km total but super steep), but we were basically half-running half-sliding down this loose rock trail which would have been fun but I could barely move my legs and wasn't in the best of moods. Anyway, what took 7 hours to climb up only took about 2 hours to go down, and once at camp I was allowed a one hour break/nap and some lunch (I had no appetite though) before packing up and leaving for Mweka camp. Going down was rough but I made it 7.5km to camp in about 3 hours and proceeded to eat popcorn, take a nap, wakeup for dinner and go to bed to sleep like a baby!
Day 8: Mweka Camp (3100m) to Mweka Gate:
The last day...
I had eggs, toast, watermelon and a crepe for breakfast and for the first time during the whole trip finished my entire plate! I gave my email to Jonas to send the summit pics to me, I handed out tips to the crew, and we sang "Jambo" together as a farewell. The walk back was pretty easy and sunny and we descended through the beautiful rainforest again. There were a few times where you could see the top of Kili through the canopy and it was amazing to think that I was up there just yesterday morning! I walked with Jerry and Milazo and Milazo was telling me about how the Chaga tribe (his tribe) uses dracaena plants as signs of peace when there are arguments between people. Once at the gate, I signed in (well, I guess sign out) and then drove with the crew to the nearest village where I tried some local beer made from bananas (Milazo had been talking about local beer the entire trip) and went to a souvenir shop to get a Kili t-shirt and a hand-painted magnet. I didn't want to buy too much since I knew I would be in Tanzania for another three and a half months. We then went to the Popote office to return my rented gear and then I was dropped off at the hotel where I could finally SHOWER. I laid on my bed, uploaded my photos to my laptop, and drank a Brisk iced tea and ate a cosmic brownie which I brought from home! Tomorrow afternoon I will be picked up by Jerry, given my certificate, and taken to the meeting point for the SFS students. I can't wait to meet everybody and start my new adventure!!!
Final note: the Popote staff was absolutely wonderful and made me a part of their family! They were always so happy and would do anything to please you. Not to mention, the porters amazed me: they carry 20kg (44lb) on top of their heads in addition to their backpacks and basically run up and down the mountain....getting to camp hours before me and setting up camp for my arrival! Overall, climbing Kilimanjaro was the most enduring experience of my lifetime but was absolutely worth it!
