“I’m being followed by a moon shadow…” It’s 1:00am on 25 December and Michelle and I are winding our way up to the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro from the base camp. The full moon casts a shadow on the ground, so I can see our silhouettes everytime I look down, so I can’t help but think of the Cat Steven’s song and my dad. It’s a pleasant thought to take my mind away from the cold and gusts of wind.
Let’s Backtrack…
A couple of years ago, while Michelle and I eagerly awaited a response from the Peace Corps about our acceptance, I said to her, “If we end up anywhere in Africa, I want to climb Kilimanjaro.” I figured it was about the closest we were ever going to get to living near Africa’s most famous mountain.
In December 2015, we made that dream a reality. We have created two posts to honour this journey. The following post tells of the story through text and a few photos. There is a second post (linked here) that contains a quicker, more photo-driven recap of the trip.
Fast-forward…
Now, the time came and Michelle and I found ourselves staring out of our hotel window taking in the magnitude that is Mount Kilimanjaro.
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| Mount Kilimanjaro from Our Hotel Balcony |
There were 10 climbers/clients, including us, on our climb. We were led by four guides (one lead and three assistants), fed by two cooks, and supported by 32 porters who completed a variety of jobs from carrying gear climbers weren’t immediately using and food to running ahead to set up camp. Up to this point in my life, I had only ever done self-supported climbs so it felt a bit odd to have so many people helping me. It did feel nice, though, when I got into camp and my tent was already set up and I didn’t have to prepare my own food.
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| Porters, Cooks, Guides, and Clients |
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| Pre-Climb Photo |
The route was mapped in such a way so as to “climb high and sleep low”; meaning, we generally hiked to a high-point and then came down to a lower elevation to sleep. Again, this was done to help our bodies acclimatize. Other measures we took to assist with the acclimatization included taking Diamox (a pill that helps the body absorb oxygen more easily; especially important at high altitudes where there’s less oxygen); drinking lots of fluids; and eating (what seemed like a lot of) food. I was surprised at how much my appetite stuck with me as I ascended higher and higher, but that’s the beauty of climbing slowly and having cooks that prepare phenomenal food like soups, eggs, potatoes, rice, chicken, bacon, and even cake on our last day. Lastly, the guides performed medical checks on us twice daily, which included measuring our blood-oxygen levels and heart rates.
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| Thanks! |
Day 0-
We met the day before our climb as a group to talk logistics. This is when we learned that there would be 10 clients, four guides, two cooks and 32 porters on the climb. We talked logistics and rented some last-minute gear (sleeping bags, trekking poles, and gaiters). Our guides were Deuss, Baraka (nicknamed “President” and “Obama”; seriously, everyone on the mountain knew him by these names), Elias, and Kevin.
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| The Guides (from left to right): Elias, the President Himself, Kevin, & Deuss |
We met as a group and weighed all of our gear. We had three bags: a daypack that we would carry with items we might need during the day (e.g. rain jacket, water, snacks, etc.), a bag for porters to carry that had things we didn't need access to during the day, and a non-essential bag that stayed at the hotel.
Per the Porters’ Association, each porter is allowed to carry no more than 20 kgs (about 45 lbs) and that has to include camp gear and food and such so our porter bags had to be less than 15 kg. Ours were more like 8 kg so we were definitely in the clear. We carried our daypacks, which were also about 8 kg.
We loaded up on the bus and started to head towards the trailhead. About three hours later, we arrived at Londorossi Gate. We signed in and watched our porters line up for their official weigh in (once food, tents, and gear were added to their packs). We ate lunch (burgers with a fried egg on top, chicken, mango juice, and some other goodies). We took a bunch of group photos in front of the sign.... only to find out that that was NOT our actual starting point... just the weigh point. We piled back into the bus and headed to our real trailhead. It was eventful because the bus got stuck a few times in mud and the porters were pretty creative in ways of getting us free. By the time we got to the trailhead, it was mid-afternoon. Those of us clients who had more hiking experience were nervous and antsy because it is almost unheard of to start a hike so late.
The hike the first day ended up being super short; about a couple of hours. By the time we got into camp, everything was set up (complete with a mess tent and portable toilet). It was awesome! We didn't have to lug all of our gear around or try to beat the sunset or anything. The cooks made PHENOMENAL food. The guides tested our heart rate and the oxygen content in our blood and we went to bed.
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| A View from Inside the Mess Tent |
Day 2-
Day 2 was a bit longer than Day 1 but still not too bad. The most memorable feature of this day was the steepness of the trail. It was the second steepest day of the whole trip and had a lot of ups and downs.
Day 2 was a bit longer than Day 1 but still not too bad. The most memorable feature of this day was the steepness of the trail. It was the second steepest day of the whole trip and had a lot of ups and downs.
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| Crossing a Stream with the Help of Baraka |
Day 3 was less steep but started getting into some higher altitudes (~13,600 ft.) The oxygen was noticeably thinner, and Michelle said she felt light-headed a couple of times while we were on the trail. We decided to increase our Diamox dose by half a pill per day to help ease the adjustment into higher altitudes. We really started to get close with other folks on the climb, and the group started to have deeper conversations.
When we got to camp, we rested for a bit and then did an "acclimatization hike" where we hiked up another 600 feet or so, hung out for a bit, and then hiked back. Several people in the group felt too wiped out to do the hike, so only a handful of us opted in for the extra hiking. Michelle was really glad that we had this opportunity because she felt much more confident and adapted afterwards.
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| Hiking Towards the Summit |
Day 4-
Day 4 was a longer day. The main goal of day four was to spend more time at higher altitudes. We hiked above 15,000 feet and hung out there for lunch. I was particularly excited about the hike on this day because it took me higher than I had ever been in my life. (I climbed Mt. Rainier in 2013, and its summit sits at 14,410 feet.)
An example of what set our guiding company apart from others: this 15,200-ft. lunch was a full, hot meal with soup and tea and everything. We were above the freezing line, but were protected by a nice mess tent and had access to our portable camping toilet. Other groups were eating cold snacks while shivering in the wind and complaining of altitude issues while their guides kept them clipping along with minimal breaks.... we were pretty lucky. After lunch, we hiked back down to about 13,000 feet for our camp.
Day 4 was a longer day. The main goal of day four was to spend more time at higher altitudes. We hiked above 15,000 feet and hung out there for lunch. I was particularly excited about the hike on this day because it took me higher than I had ever been in my life. (I climbed Mt. Rainier in 2013, and its summit sits at 14,410 feet.)
An example of what set our guiding company apart from others: this 15,200-ft. lunch was a full, hot meal with soup and tea and everything. We were above the freezing line, but were protected by a nice mess tent and had access to our portable camping toilet. Other groups were eating cold snacks while shivering in the wind and complaining of altitude issues while their guides kept them clipping along with minimal breaks.... we were pretty lucky. After lunch, we hiked back down to about 13,000 feet for our camp.
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| You get wet when you stand inside a cloud - who'd a thunk! |
This was the steepest day by far. If you look at the graph I linked to above, it seems like a pretty flat day. As Michelle would say, “LIES!” Although we didn't net a whole lot of altitude on this day, there were a lot of ups and downs. In fact, it made us miss rock climbing because we had to use a lot of our rock climbing skills to scramble up Barranco Wall coming out of the camp. When we got to the top of the wall, the guides had us plant a kiss on the Kissing Rock to show our gratitude for making it up the wall. Throughout the day, there was a lot of buzz about the summit because the next day would be the last before making our attempt.
Day 6-
Day 6 was really a two-parter because we actually woke up for summit day before day six was over. But I'm getting ahead of myself...
The first part of Day 6 was a fairly straightforward hike to get us back up above 15,000 feet. There was some up and down but it wasn't too terrible. We were on our feet for about four hours to complete that hike. We got to camp, ate lunch, had our medical check, and went to relax for just a few hours until dinner. By dinnertime, I wasn't super hungry but I forced myself to eat so I would have fuel for the summit attempt. We finished and went to bed. We woke at 10:30pm and started packing up for our summit push. The cooks had some tea and snacks ready for us and we left at midnight. Which leads me to...
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| The Sunset before the Summit Push, With a Full Moon to Light Our Way |
Summit day! On summit day, we had to climb about 4,000 feet in altitude to reach the top, which sits at 19,341 feet (that's really high!). Michelle and I started out feeling pretty good. The guides put the clients who they were most worried about at the front and the least in the back. I was last in line and Michelle was in front of me, which came as a surprise to her. Michelle and I sang songs in our heads or repeated mantras to keep ourselves focused on the task at hand – putting one foot in front of the other. Michelle’s internal soundtrack included songs from Les Miserable and mantras like "make your feet solid; make your feet count", "control your breathing; control your mind" or "hike with your body, not with your mind". My internal soundtrack spanned the ages from songs by Cat Stevens to 90’s jock jams to more current tracks by Coldplay. These were all helpful in helping us relax into the pace, reducing negative self-talk, and staying focused on stuff that will actually help (i.e. breathing, footing, posture, and muscle use).
The guides led with a super “pole, pole” pace. This meant we made our way to the summit very slowly. The breaks were also shorter than on previous days. This was done to keep us moving so we didn’t get cold. Working against us, though, was the wind (gusts were estimated to be over 50 mph). My fingers and toes would get cold during the breaks, but thankfully warmed up again whenever we were hiking.
At about 1200 vertical ft. from the summit, it was getting really cold, so Michelle decided to put on her big, puffy jacket. It was during this time that she noticed she wasn’t breathing normally, so she took a dose from her inhaler. Unfortunately, about 200 vertical ft. later, she wasn’t feeling any better but actually worse because she was having a harder time breathing and feeling dizzy. She consulted with the lead guide and they decided it was best for her to descend. Michelle was at 18,300 ft.; just 1,000 vertical ft. shy of the summit.
I continued on toward the summit with the rest of the group, and, about an hour later, I was standing at Stella Point on the crater rim of the summit. At about this time, Michelle was walking back into camp where she got something warm to drink and rested.
The true summit was about another 45 minutes from Stella Point, so I continued hiking with the guides and group. We reached Uhuru Peak at about 8:00am on Christmas morning. It’s the highest point in the whole of the continent, so it felt like I was standing on the roof of Africa. With the air temperature estimated at -12*C (10*F) and huge gusts of wind, it was really, really cold. The climbers and I took photos and turned back to make our descent to camp. The guides didn’t want us lingering on the summit any longer than needed for fear of high-altitude illnesses.
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| Joe Standing on Uhuru Peak, the Highest Point in All of Africa |
Dinner this night was a special one because the cook prepared a couple of local foods (ones akin to pap and spinach) and he surprised us with a cake! We ate as much as we could, but many within the group were struggling with varying degrees of exhaustion or altitude issues so we left a lot for the staff. At this point, Michelle had an upset tummy and a headache but no other real issues; she was feeling much better than earlier in the day.
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| Michelle Standing at the Exit Gate |
The day started out with a ceremony where we thanked our guides and porters. There were lots of songs and pictures. We then had a “quick” 10 km. hike out. When we arrived at the lowest camp, we signed out at the ranger station officially ending our climb.
Overall
The climb was so much fun, and I’m incredibly grateful for the guides and porters who made it possible. I felt strong throughout the entirety of the climb, so I felt fortunate that I didn’t have to deal with any high-altitude issues.
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| It's Official - We Climbed Kili! |
Firstly, Michelle and I would like to thank the porters. They were the people behind the scenes making sure the clients had everything they would need; not to mention carrying all of the equipment from campsite to campsite. Without them, the climb would have been significantly more difficult.
Thank you to the guides – Deuss, Baraka, Elias, and Kevin. Collectively, they’ve summit Kilimanjaro hundreds of times. Their experience helped tremendously throughout the climb.
Thank you to the other climbers/clients – Kelsey, Wasim, Bob, Bob, Heather, Susan, Masashi, and Farrah for all of the conversations and laughs. Time flew on the trail with you.
Thank you to The Mountaineers for the teaching Michelle and me the skills to scale mountains. While we didn’t need to put everything we learned from the club into practice because of all the support we received from the guiding company, the courses and climbs gave us invaluable theoretical and practical knowledge that boosted our abilities and confidence.
Thank you to our friends for your excitement, enthusiasm, and curiosity from the moment we first expressed interest in climbing Kili to making to the summit and back.
Saving the best for last, thank you to our families for your love, support, encouragement, and concern to ensure that we take advantage of life’s big adventures and for making sure we stay safe along the way.
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