CLIMBING KILIMANJARO
This doesn't have much to do with Photography but I have lots of questions and people interested in climbing Kilimanjaro themselves so I'm writing a blog post about it to direct these questions to.
This trip was 10 years in the making. When my husband turned 30 (10 years ago) we climbed the tallest Peak in Costa Rica called Mt. Chirripo that has an elevation of 12, 533 ft. On the way home we started dreaming about what mountain we would climb when he turned 40. We decided on Mt Kilimanjaro, the tallest mountain in Africa and the tallest free standing mountain in the world. Kili is 19,341 ft high and is in the country of Tanzania. You cannot climb this mountain without a guide so we booked our guides through a company called Acanela Expeditions. We were originally set to climb in march 2020 but the world closed down right before we were set to fly out. We rescheduled for end of October 2020 which we were ale to do.
PACKING LIST
HIKING BACKPACK OR DUFFEL (PORTERS WILL CARRY THIS PACK) HAS TO WEIGH 35 LBS OR LESS
DUFFLE OR BAG TO LEAVE BACK AT THE HOTEL ESPECIALLY IF YOU HAVE TRAVEL CLOTHES AND OTHER THINGS YOU WANT TO LEAVE BEHIND
DAY PACK
CAMEL BACK
WATER BOTTLE
SUN GLASSES
SUN HAT
BEANIE
BACKLAVA
RAIN PANTS AND JACKET
RAIN COVER
WATERPROOF BAGS
SNACKS (NOT A TON, YOU WILL BE FED VERY WELL)
CAMERA
SLEEPING BAG
CAMPING PILLOW
HIKING BOOTS (WHERE YOUR CAMPING BOOTS ON THE PLANE JUST IN CASE YOUR LUGGAGE GETS LOST. YOU CAN RENT OR BUY GEAR THERE BUT YOIU DONT WANT TO BUY NEW BOOTS)
FLEECE JACKET
SNOW COAT AND PANTS
THIN MITTENS/GLOVES
SNOW GLOVES (MY HANDS GOT THE MOST COLD)
THERMAL UNDERWEAR
TREKKING POLES (I USED THESE THINGS SO MUCH)
4-6 PAIRS OF HIKING SOCKS. AVOID COTTON
SUNSCREEN
YOU WILL NEED CLOTHES FOR HIKING, RESTING AND SLEEPING THROUGH 5 DIFFERENT CLIMATE ZONES. LAYERING IS KEY. I WORE WORKOUTS LEGGINGS AND A TSHIRT MOST DAYS. SLEPT IN MY FLEECE AND THERMALS. SUMMIT DAY WORE ALL MY LAYERS INCLUDING MY RAIN/WIND COAT
CAMP SHOES/SLIPPERS
HEAD LAMP (EXTRA HEAD LAMP)
EXTRA BATTERIES
SOLAR CHARGER OR PORTABLE CELL CHARGER
ALTITUDE MEDICATION
DAY BEFORE HIKE:
Our main guide, Jonas, came to our hotel to look over our gear. We had everything we needed. We hiked the the Marangu route, also know as the Coca Cola route, that has huts to sleep in along way.
DAY 1:
We were picked up from our hotel around 10 am. We then picked up our cook and met our other guide Simon. Once we got in the park we met our porters (all 10 of them, there were only two of us climbing) . The porters carry all the supplies for cooking, water, and your bags.)
We ate a box lunch prepared by our cook at the Park entrance while we waited for our guides to get our permit approved. After lunch we started on the trail. Right out of the gate at the beginning you go "Pole, Pole", which means slowly slowly. Thats probably the hardest part of the hike, that you have to go so slow because to avoid altitude sickness.
Hiking time Day 1 -4-5 hours. 5 miles. stopping point. Mandara Hut. Whole first day is in the rain forest.
There are bathrooms along the trail that look like the one pictured. I very much appreciated not having to squat behind bushes the entire hike.
DAY 2:
Mandara to Horombo hut. 7 miles. 6-8 hours. This day you start in the rain forest and end in the Moorland. During the time of our trek, there was a forest fire that had consumed a lot of the moorland. It was a little sad to see but also really fascinating to see how the eco system around Kilimanjaro was already bouncing back. We got rained on this day but it really wasn't cold yet.
After we got to Horombo Hut our guides took us on a short hike to Zebra Rock to see how we handle the elevation change. This isn't typical of the 5 day hike. If you are doing the 6 day hike you take a acclimating day at Horombo Hut and you may go to Zebra rock on the 3rd day/rest day but because we were doing so well with the altitude our guides thought we could handle it.
DAY 3:
Horombo Hut to Kibo Hut: 6 miles. Hiking time 6-8 hours. This day we had a lot of fog so there wasn't a whole lot to see. High Alpine desert. Pretty cold. This day we got the highest we had ever been before. At Kibo Hut camp you would get winded going from the bathroom to your cabin which was a little weird. We ate a big dinner in our little cabin and went to sleep right after to prepare for Summit day. Summit Day starts at MIDNIGHT.
SUMMIT DAY: Kibo Hut to Uhuru Peak. 4 miles. 6-8 hours of hiking. Artic zone
From Midnight to Sunrise you walk up switch backs as slow as molasses, not really talking to conserve air and energy. You cant see anything besides the feet in front of you. If you look up and hope to see the ridge you probably won't see it. Instead you will see head lamps that are so ridiculously high above you that you think to yourself they must be at the top, but they arent. If you look down you very faintly see the lights of the camp.
Sunrise you hit Gilman's Point which is 18600 ft. We watched the sunrise, drank hot ginger tea, and rested a minute before our final ascent.
THE SUMMIT & DESCENT
Reaching the peak is very emotional. We didn't stay up there very long because of the high elevation . The guides tell you the whole time you are hiking to think positively. Which I did, but in the back of my mind there was a little thought, but what if I don't.....especially on Summit night. You never know how your body is going to react to the high elevation and the trek back seemed daunting, especially with all those switch backs. Pleasant surprise though when we got to the switchbacks we just got to run, hop straight down the side of the mountain which was fun. We were suppose to rest a few hours at Kibo hut but we were feeling so good that we asked if we could keep going to Horombo Hut which is where we would be staying the night. After a quick snack, we were on our way to Horombo hut.
Day 5: We hiked the rest of the way down to the gate. We were rained on a lot of the time but it didn't really bother us. On the way down we could see a ton of more new vegetation growth in the burned areas
Would I do it again? In a heart beat. Was in hard? Yes. But not the way I thought it would be. It was a lot more mentally exhausting than physically. I climb tall peaks because it puts me in a place that not a lot of people get to see or experience. I get to be on the of the few. What's next? Everest? Nope I'd like to visit Everest Base Camp but Everest is too High for me. The tallest wer have decided we will go is Denali in Alaska. We are starting to train now and plan on hiking it in 5-7 years.
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