Sorry for the delay in my posts, life has been hectic since I got back from my travels. But let me now share the tale of Mount Kilimanjaro AKA the rooftop of Africa. At 5985m above Sea Level, Mt. Kili is the highest peak in Africa and the largest free standing mountain the world. It is among the 7 summits of the world and is one beautiful mountain to climb.
I climbed kili with a Canadian friend from Rwanda who organized the whole thing and his friends from Quebec. In total, we were a group of 6. Everyone in the group had previously climbed a 'real' mountain so I was the only newbie. A bit intimidating but their experience came in kind of handy - they supported me and I got to borrow everyone else's extra gear which saved my life as I was not prepared for the cold climate of kilimanjaro!
Day 1: we started our journey at Machame gate. Our plan was to do a 7 day climb to the top via the Machame route. Day 1 was very easy - a nice 5 hour hike through the jungle:
Day 1: trekking through the beautiful lush jungle of kili
I was relieved at just how easy day 1 was. It was almost relaxing. Machame is known as one of the more physically challenging routes on Kili but day 1 treated me right. At the end of the day, we reached about 3000m above sea and the vegetation was already beginning to change. The large trees of the jungle were progressively getting smaller and the air was getting drier.
View from camp 1
Machame campsite: night 1
Day 2: Another lovely hike. Not as easy as day 1 - steeper and naturally, at higher elevations everything gets tougher. But it was so interesting to see how much the landscape and vegetation changes as you get higher and higher. On this day, I got my first view of the snow covered top of Kili:
The views were spectacular and we were already at cloud level.
We reached Shira camp and were greeted by this site:
It doesn't look that big, right?...wrong!
Looking super classy in my high socks, toque, and lululemon gear :)
Shira Camp (~3700m above sea level)
Dr. Eddison Chia (AKA Baboo -grandfather in Swahili) and I admiring the mountain
Artistic shot - you can see kili in the reflection and a Canadian flag in the background - proud Canadians!
Day 3: This was a crucial day for acclimatization. On this day, we trekked up to Lava Tower (about 4600m above sea level) and had lunch there. We only spent an hour at this level but it gives the body a chance to begin to adjust to the high elevations. At this point, I was still feeling great. 2 of the members of my team were actually doctors, so they were keeping an eye on me and I had plenty of aspirin to ward off any altitude related headaches. I was also very thankful I had kept running in Rwanda as it meant the only challenge I had to face was the altitude and not so much the fitness aspect of mountain climbing. But what amazed me was the porters. Carrying about 20kg each on their backs and heads, they managed to keep their balance and climb some serious uphill challenges. Absolutely amazing.
The view of Kili from Lava Tower
Our lunchtime hangout spot on Day 3 - Lava Tower
Lava Tower shown here - a high rock formation - the result of a volcanic eruption thousands (maybe even millions) of years ago
Beautiful Kilimanjaro
As we descended to our campsite (back to about 3900m), we came across these really neat trees, which apparently can only be found on Kili and Mt. Meru (another mountain in Tanzania). These trees are called Senecio plants and the descent into Barranco valley is covered with these strange beauties. So the area is notoriously known as the Garden of Senecias.
Huge senecio plants
Day 4: We left Barraco camp bright and early and made our way to Karanga campsite. The landscape is beautiful here - a stream running through the rocks with clouds surrounding us. The day began with a scramble up the Barranco wall- which means you gotta use your hands and feet to climb up this rocky wall. It was actually SO much fun. But the guide kept reminding me to go Pole Pole, which in Swahili means, slowly slowly. And again, I was mesmerized by the porters who were somehow scrambling with huge bags balanced on their heads. Unreal! Once we got up the Barranco wall, we got a spectacular view of Mt. Meru:
Meru: at 4565 m above sea leve, the 10th highest mountain in Africa
When we finally reached Karanga campsite, we were pretty spent. This is actually an optional campsite for people climbing in 7 days. We opted for the extra day for acclimatization. It increased our chances of making it to the top and allowed us to spend that much more time on kili. I was happy to take my time as the altitude was getting the best of my digestive system. I had no appetite and wasn't eating much so I was climbing pretty slowly!
That night we admired the full moon:
Natural light source :)
Day 5: The big day. We had some breakfast (except for me, food grossed me out at this point) and some hot drinks and off we were to base camp. It was a pleasant 3 hour climb through desert-like, rocky terrain to Barafu high camp. It was pretty cold at this point, despite the REALLY strong sun. This is where my breathing began to feel a bit strained.
Barafu high Camp - about 4600m above Sea Level
The view from Barafu
We reached Barafu at around 11am. We had a quick lunch and then slept until 9pm. We then carb loaded with some pasta, put on our serious winter gear, packed some gels and chocolate bars and began our final ascent to the top. We left at 10:30pm and were greeted by the lovely full moon (we didn't even need our headlamps!). But our summit climb was also accompanied by some very gusty ice-cold winds. My fingers were numb and I couldn't even feel my thighs at one point. The ascent also has to happen at a PAINFULLY slow pace so as to avoid getting winded. Pole Pole. You basically shuffle all the way to the top. At around 3 am, one of our team members began swaying around and showing signs of incoherence. This is really scary because of the risk for cerebral edema at high altitude. Cerebral edema is a life threatening condition where the brain fills with fluid. Unfortunately, one of the doctors on the team instructed him to turn around and go back. So we were now 5 with our awesome guide Kibacha (who was doing the climb for the 151st time) and a couple of porters who were there in case we could no longer carry our day packs. At this point, I was mentally drained. I felt like I had frost bite and was just super scared because I felt like if my experienced team member couldn't do it, then how the hec was I gonna get up there? I was also dehydrated because my water bottles froze through the night. But after throwing on some snow pants and extra boot covers and scarfing down some mini snickers bars, I found the courage to keep going. Thank goodness for good team members too who kept encouraging me and ensuring me I wasn't showing any signs of altitude sickness.
We finally reached Stella point (5685m) at around 4:45AM. At this point, you can see the glacier and there is ice and snow surrounding the trail. Every step though is hard. My heart was pounding. I was shuffling like a turtle but I felt like I was sprinting the final kilometer of a half marathon.
At around 5:30AM we reached Uhuru Peak - the summit of Mt. Kilimajaro. It was beautiful. Behind me, the full moon was setting and in front of me, the sun was rising over Africa:
Sunrise from the highest point in Africa
I was a bit loopy due to the altitude. In fact, you feel really drunk up there. I guess it's a combination of the low oxygen and the sheer exhilaration that you ACTUALLY made it to the top. After almost 6 days of climbing, the goal was finally reached. It was amazing. Unfortunately, you can only spend 30 min to maximum 1 hr at the top because the cold really starts to get uncomfortable and quite dangerous (it's about -25 celsius up there).
I took it all in though. Way above the clouds on the summit of a huge-ass dorment volcano, surrounded by happy people, glaciers and a huge volcanic crater. It was all very overwhelming!
Around 6:30AM at the top of Africa
We then began our journey back down. In daylight we could see more of top and it was absolutely breathtaking. In fact, as one of my team members said "It looks like Star Wars up here!". It was dry with jagged rocks and an open terrain. It looked like something out of this world.
Beginning our climb down.
You basically slide down the loose rocks back to base camp. It's exhausting though. I've always found downhill a lot harder than uphill. My knees were aching and all I wanted to do was sleep. The adrenaline and joy kept me going though and so did the increasing oxygen levels. We reached base camp 3 hrs later (took us 6 hours to get up!) and rested for an hour before climbing down for another 4 hours. It was actually at this point, I was starting to lose my mind. My toes hurt, my knees ached, and my quads burned. Let's just say I was eager to get off Kili now.
We camped the night and on Day 7, finished the final 3 hour descent through the jungle. We were greeted by some Columbus Monkeys.
This brought me some joy but my mind was just occupied now on getting to the bottom, showering (I was so dirty after 7 days of climbing and camping), using a real toilet, and icing my feet and knees. When I saw the gate at the bottom, I literally ran down with my team members close behind me laughing at the level of insanity I had reached. I was smiling like a fool and was never happier to sit in car in my life.
This is probably one of the most memorable experiences I've ever had. Africa has brought me many extraordinary moments but this definitely ranks near the top.
I'll never forget the sign at the top: CONGRATULATIONS, YOU ARE NOW AT UHURU PEAK. One of the proudest and happiest moments of my life.
Our team - with our guide on the bottom left and a very supportive porter on the bottom right
You can see the joy in all of us, especially me. Yes, I'm the one all bundled up in the red marshmallow jacket :)
