Kilimanjaro Travelog

7 Aug: Transit Dubai to Moshi, Tanzania

My flight to from Dubai to Nairobi got upgraded to business class, so I got lots of mimosas and extra space! Didn't get as much sleep as I thought I would, I was busy taking advantage of all the extra fancy stuff.

Survived 5.5 hours layover in the Nairobi airport and was finally on the way to the Kilimanjaro Airport. Napped through 25-ish minutes, and woke up to my first view of the mountain out the window! "Currently at a cruising altitude of 17,000 feet" said the pilot. About 2000 less feet than I'll be in a week's time!

Drove to Moshi and checked into my hotel, then met some of my crew as we did a briefing with my guide. It turns out it'll just be me with the guide, porters and cook. The couple that was going to be with me decided to start their trek a day earlier. Potentially a bit lonely without any other trekkers, but cool to have an entourage waiting entirely on me! My guide, Baraka, sounded a bit unsure about the 7 day Lemosho during the briefing (he usually does 8), so I'm feeling a bit nervous, but hopefully he'll be in his groove tomorrow. He assured me that we'll make it to Uhuru Peak!

DAY 1

8 Aug: Lemosho Gate to Mti Mkubwa (3 km, +550m)

After an intermittent night's sleep, I got showered, prepped and had some beans and potatoes for breakfast. Feeling sleepy, a little sick (a head cold is trying to get me down), but very excited!

A long and smelly car ride to the starting gate was interrupted by the crossing of a huge herd of zebra and one giraffe! Who needs a safari when you see that stuff just driving to Kilimanjaro?!

Got permits, met a few other trekkers and did a lot of waiting for kit to be arranged and weighed. Finally drove up to our trail head, ate an interesting (old fries and a soggy burger with coleslaw?) packed lunch, complete with a green orange, and got this thing started!

After a short time hiking, we were already finished for the day! Maybe 1 hour of hiking (3 km) and already to Big Tree Camp for the night (2650 m). I was the first of the “tourists” to arrive! I have an entourage of 8 people - my guide who hikes with me, then also 6 porters and a cook carrying food, tents, my big pack, and all the equipment. We arrived just before 3, and I had a good chat to Baraka the whole way. He has been a guide for 5 years and does this trek about once per month. He says many guides do 3 or 4 per month! It felt odd to sit back and relax at camp whole my crew set up and did all the work. They also brought me tea, coffee and popcorn to eat as I relaxed. I guess that's why I pay the big bucks for it - this is the fanciest camping!

As the sun set, I got quite chilly, which made me a bit apprehensive for tomorrow's camp at 3850 m. Baraka and I had dinner served to us on a makeshift bench/table (we'll have our real one tomorrow, it accidentally got taken by yesterday's group to the next camp). Dinner was cucumber soup with bread, then fried potatoes and fish with some vegetables stewed and some pickled. We finished with an avocado and another green orange, before finishing with tea again. Three course meal on a mountain!

I fell asleep early (7:30, jet lag) and woke up at 11, 2:30, and 4. Once I was in sleep mode (11 and beyond), I slept in only a t-shirt and unders in my sleeping bag. The fleece liner made a good pillow and I became a huge fan of my pee bottle.

DAY 2

9 Aug: Mti Mkubwa to Shira I to Shira II (17 km, +1250 m)

Woke up at 5:45 with sounds of cooks and porters getting started on breakfast. Elia, my “waiter,” brought me coffee in bed at 6:15. Amazing! At 6:30, he brought a bowl of warm water to wash - such service! Breakfast was millet porridge, omelet-ish eggs, vegetables with sausage spears, little fried doughnut type things and more fruits.

It was a slightly chilly morning to start, heading into a long day. Baraka kept telling me that I am strong because I was a bit faster than most tourists, but after Shira I (7 km up to 3610 m), I was already getting tired! The hike to Shira I had many long steep sections, but the first real vistas and many wildflowers so I enjoyed it. About 2 km from Shira I, we got our first view of Uhuru Peak from the trail!

After FINALLY arriving at Shira II (3850 m), I now appreciate even more my crew who did all the work while I sat in a bit of a daze after 7.5-8 hours of hiking. Should have used gaiters as my legs were fairly covered in dust, but a wet rag did the trick. After how long the time on the trail today felt, I am feeling nervous for summit day. Feet, back, calves and hamstrings are sore, face feels a bit windburned and I am exhausted tonight. Stomach is starting to get a little uncomfortable, hopefully doesn't get any worse. Please please please let me acclimatize much more than today before the 13th! In any case, I should sleep like a log.

Well, the stomach did get worse after tea and popcorn break. I felt shaky, cold, and very upset stomach at about 5pm, and hated the altitude in all its rudeness to my body. For a while, I tried to read, but I took a nap for 30 minutes instead and felt a bit better. I ate mainly soup for dinner, used one of the infamous shit shacks, and got ready for bed. It's feeling freezing outside! (Bedclothes are t-shirt, half-zip, running tights, socks and beanie. Liner pillow again.)

Too warm! I ended up in a t-shirt, socks and my buff on my head. Also, I was grumpy about my pee bottle, because I missed a bit and had to clean some off my sleeping bag. Gross.

DAY 3

10 Aug: Shira II to Lava Tower to Barranco (10 km, +700 m and -700 m)

Rise and shine! All night I felt like I had a super sore throat, partially because the air was so dry. Today, we're going to Lava Tower (4600 m) for acclimatization purposes first, then back down to about the same elevation as last night - Barranco Camp. I'm feeling a bit stiff/sore from yesterday so I think today will be a challenge. The stomach is still a little iffy and the eyes are feeling super dry, but hopefully the night up here helped and I will feel better on today's hike.

All set in Barranco Camp by 2:30 today! From my tent is a spectacular view of Kibo Peak and it's quite warm in my tent this afternoon… I've got a pretty rough life.

On the hike today, the wind was again very cold, but thankfully the sunny weather continued. I was much more careful about the sun today after realizing how sunburned I got yesterday (forgot about sunscreen until nearly 11). Dweeb mode was in full effect, with my buff over the back of my head/ears and down my neck, with a cap and cape over that. Combined with my thin half zip, all that was exposed was nose to chin with liberal amounts of sunscreen applied. Boot gaiters helped with the dust, which caked my legs up to my knees yesterday (even with long pants). Today with gaiters, I only had a tiny bit of dust on my upper heel.

The trail to Lava Tower today was up and down and up and up, and was shorter than I expected after yesterday's ordeal! However, it was still hard work even with slow slow hiking because of the 4000+ m elevation. There we had lunch, and soon began the descent into Barranco valley. Fairly steep down and with the help of one hiking pole I only slipped once! This downhill section took approximately twelve years and reminded me why mountain biking is superior to hiking. Also I got a preview of the first portion of tomorrow's hike: an intimidating climb out of the valley, which includes the infamous Barranco wall. (Not good for those with fear of heights, they say. Kiss the rock, hug the rock.)

Also met a friendly South African who is doing the same route in 8 days, sounds like he's doing well. After yesterday's nausea and a persistent headache I've had since I got to Lava Tower today, I'm wishing I'd done the same!

At about 5:30, I started to feel like I did yesterday afternoon. Awful! For dinner, I had the soup and some rice, but I felt terrible and went to bed right after. Felt like I was going to puke for a while, but focused on deep breathing and finally fell asleep.

DAY 4

11 Aug: Barranco to Karanga (6 km, +95 m)

A lot of good sleep last night, but still feeling a bit sick with a small headache and slight nausea this morning. Elia brought ginger tea for me instead of the usual coffee/tea to help with the stomach. I am annoyed at my body, but also at myself that I didn't get any Diamox or anti-nausea pills before I left. I have a feeling I may need it for the last day. Might need to make friends with other groups or something.

I didn't eat much breakfast, so I dumped a lot of Gatorade mix in my water bottle to get some extra calories that way. Here goes!

We made it to Karanga camp (3995 m) before noon today after a fairly grueling 6 kilometers. Up the wall was good fun, with a couple sections of scrambling up the rock face. Also enjoyed many little breathers while waiting for the groups ahead on bottleneck areas. Stopped for a snack at the top (4600 m) before continuing the hike to camp. We then went down a while, then back up to a lower level than before, which I thought was the last climb of the day before descending into camp. Psych! Down down down we went, into a steep valley, with a view of the real final climb to camp. After that steep descent and steeper ascent, I made it to camp feeling tired, but pretty good. I am very glad that I'm not continuing to Barafu camp today, as the 6 day group does.

Much of today's hiking was in the clouds, which made for a slightly damp and chilly day, especially in the windy sections. Karanga camp is also among the clouds, so no luxury of a warm afternoon in the tent. After I'd changed out of today's hiking clothes, I bundled up in my sleeping bag and had a tiny nap before lunch. My stomach felt better during lunch, so I had a heaping helping of popcorn, potatoes and some soup. Gotta eat up while the belly is cooperating!

It's odd to me, that I’ve been feeling good while hiking, but I've felt worst during the afternoon rest time. Fingers crossed that today will be different, especially as I'm now less than 36 hours from the start of my summit attempt! We'll hike to Barafu camp (4700 m) tomorrow morning, and relax and nap and eat and sleep until about midnight when we'll begin our journey up to Stella Point (5756 m), then across to Uhuru Peak (5895 m). Eeeeek! I'm excited and slightly terrified.

I decided to stop drinking coffee and tea, to help with the stomach. I usually only drink it on workdays, and then only one cup of coffee and rarely one of tea. Hopefully, taking out the excess caffeine will help.

Spent a lot of time reading this afternoon and evening, then ate a full dinner, and went to bed later than usual - about 9:30. Feeling better than yesterday, though muscles are getting a little stiff. Recoverite is a magical drink though, and I'm sure the muscles will be fine tomorrow.

DAY 5

12 Aug: Karanga to Barafu (4 km, +700 m)

Slept well until 2:30, but had a bit of restless night after that. Even so, I'm happy to not be feeling awful like before, even though I am not quite 100% with a small headache and decreased appetite. We had a late start today, with breakfast at 8, we're in no hurry as we only have a short hike to Barafu (base camp).

It was another somewhat steep day, and surely there will be another to follow. It definitely felt like a very long 4km, especially with another steep climb up to camp. My head is a bit achy, but I am hoping to feel better with some deep breathing and perhaps a nap.

After popcorn snack and lunch, I began feeling a bit sick again, as I have come to expect due to the altitude - now up to 15,200 feet! I took a nap and felt a bit better, then read more and (unfortunately) finished my book. With quick shifts from cold and breezy to very warm in my tent, it has not quite been how I expected this camp to be - at least it has been more comfortable!

As it will be dark when I begin my summit attempt, I went out to take a few pictures of the first climb toward the summit. It looks tough, and it is less than one of the 5 km it will be to the summit. The estimated time to reach it from here is 7 hours, so I hope to be at Uhuru Peak by 7 AM if we leave as planned. With the camp being intermittently engulfed in clouds, I waited for a while to get a decent shot. As I waited, I observed a few hikers finishing their summit attempt (most likely they began in the morning, not at night). One gave me a tired thumbs up, another was heavily supported by his guide on one side and his summit porter on the other. Tomorrow, I plan to be more like the first than the second. 6 hours until go time, I'm trying to exude confidence!

DAY 6

13 Aug: Barafu to Uhuru Peak to Mweka Camp (17.5 km, +1200 m, -2800 m)

What a rollercoaster of emotions I've had today! Hiking the from Barafu camp to Uhuru Peak was incredible, miserable, beautiful, exhausting, exhilarating and mind-numbing.

Last minute, I decided to use both trekking poles for the summit attempt. It was the best decision! They were heavily leaned on and made my 6 hour 15 minute ascent possible. We began the ascent with a fairly steep and rocky climb up to the higher portion of camp, then continued across a small plateau to begin climbing again. Never before have I underestimated a situation more than I did that second section of climbing. It lasted forever, and as the air got thinner, the trail got steeper. By the end, I was taking one step per breath, and after about 5 steps would pause for a few seconds to catch my breath more fully. After 5-10 minutes, I'd stop and lean/sit on a rock to try and calm my breath and pulse. My heart was racing the whole way, and no number of stops really helped. I knew I should drink water but my stomach said otherwise.

As we began the climb, I was a bit too warm. I had 5 layers on top and 4 on bottom, with doubled up gloves and head-wear; it felt like overkill. Within the first kilometer, my toes started to go numb. I'd gotten thick socks but I should have used more than 2 layers there! We stopped soon after, and as my hands were in very cozy (read no-dexterity) mittens, Jiwe (my personal porter) and Baraka proceeded to take off my gaiters, shoes and stuff my hand warmers unto my socks, then redid the whole getup. By the time it was about 4 AM, I was a bit chilly and those cozy gloves were failing me. Stopped again for Baraka and Jiwe to put hand warmers between layers in there too. With my level of exhaustion, I'm beyond grateful they were willing, because otherwise I probably wouldn't have bothered, and been much more miserable. Baraka took my pack at some point, not sure when, but thank goodness I had him and Jiwe to carry everything. By the time we reached summit, right before dawn, I was glad for every single layer!

The feeling at the moment I reached Stella Point (5756 m,the end of the heaviest climbing) can only be described as pure joy! As it was still dark, I really couldn't tell how close it was for the previous two hours, and upon seeing the sign, I may have done some (wheezy) whooping and hollering. Unfortunately, I still had the final 139 m of climbing to do over the next 700 m to finally reach Africa's highest point. Pole pole, slowly slowly, we finally made it to the famous sign for Uhuru Peak at 6:15 AM! Took photos, of course, and made a quick retreat down to safer levels of oxygen. With jello legs and still minimal oxygen, the descent was less fun than it could have been - it had lots of scree sliding down that steepest section. I couldn't help but grin throughout the hike down, though: I made it to the top of Kilimanjaro! With all my whining about not having Diamox, now that I've had my successful summit, it definitely tastes sweeter having done it without medication!

Random amazing moment: A group of day summit guys came past as I was finishing my descent. They were blasting the Lord of the Rings soundtrack, and it was so epic!

Now we're back at camp for a couple hours (made it down at about 8:40) before we hike the 7.5 km down to Mweka camp. My legs are not excited about this.

The first half of the hike down wasn't as bad as I was expecting, but once we were past High Camp, it was rocky going with big steps down. Not great for the tired legs! We made it to camp at 2:30 and I managed to stay awake until after dinner, when I promptly fell asleep.

DAY 7

14 Aug: Mweka Camp to Mweka Gate (10 km, -1430 m)

I woke up very rested, thank goodness I slept very soundly all night! My legs are sore, but that is to be expected after the long and hard hiking of yesterday. I'm anxious for the tip-giving "ceremony" as I don't have as much as I could for a single traveler, as I was supposed to have a group of 3 tourists. My crew will be disappointed.

We ate breakfast, then the crew together sang me the Kilimanjaro song. They have been very good and I told them about why I didn't have more for them, then announced the tip amounts. They didn't seem that disappointed, so I don't think I did that bad! Baraka translated and explained the situation and they were all very understanding. I thanked them for how well they did for me, and then Baraka and I hit the trail for the last time. Bittersweet, as it has been an amazing week on the mountain with luxurious camping and beautiful scenery, but I am ready for a shower and a real bed!

The final hike down was full of beautiful forest scenery and many photos of flowers. I felt quite good, so we made good time to the gate. After some confusion about the van, and a bit of a wait, it was time for another smelly van ride - hopefully shorter than last time!

Back at the hotel, I showered, caught up with the online world, and had lunch. How random that the South African and his group are staying at this hotel too! We caught up a bit about how our treks finished, he did his summit from 11 until 5:40 AM so they were the first to reach the summit! Also, I met a couple of German gals who I spent much of the afternoon and evening with. We chatted, relaxed, and enjoyed the champagne that my tour operator brought with my Kilimanjaro summit certificate. We went into town for dinner and experienced the local “best restaurant,” an all right Indian restaurant with very yummy dessert naan.

We made it back to the hotel by 8:30 and joined in the revelry of the South African and his friends. They were all drunker than I was, but it was all good fun with made-up card games and friendly banter. At about 10:30 we got politely asked to leave the common area so people could sleep, oops! It was raining so the group of us continued the celebration until about 1 in my room. Fun guys, fun gals, and a great celebration day.

Thinking of hiking Kilimanjaro?! Check out my equipment overview!