Day 1: 8th Feb 2008, Machame Gate – Machame Hut, 1800m – 3000m, 10.5km
We were picked up from New Castle Hotel at 8.30am and taken back to Ahsante`s office. We felt really confident with our gear – particularly as it had all been checked the day before by our guide Mosses. We met the other 3 in our group: Carley from Aussie, and Katherin and Katarina from Germany before excitedly getting underway.
Driving from 800m at Moshi to 1800m at Machame Gate the rainforest already looked beautiful. The guides and porters spent time organising the gear and having their loads weighed. They are only allowed a maximum of 20kg each plus their own gear – still a total of 30+kg! The porters are incredibly strong but it certainly felt strange to only be carrying small day packs while being passed on the track by a porter carrying a massive, bulky load on his head. They are head-shakingly amazing!
After signing into the Kilimanjaro National Park we were finally on our way – we had looked forward to this for more than a year! Our guide set the pace with words that would become very familiar over the next few days: “pole pole” (pronounced polli polli) meaning slow slow (and was actually barely more than a dawdle!) The lushness of the rainforest was stunning – including ferns, camphor trees, pine trees and many beautiful orchids. As we climbed higher the vegetation changed to more mosses and lichens and shorter, thinner-trunk trees before breaking to a grassy plateau that was to be our campsite for the night. We were very happy with the company we chose and our guides Mosses and his assistant Gladstone were very knowledgeable and friendly. We looked forward to another wonderful day the next day.
Day 2: 9th Feb 2008, Machame Hut – Shira Caves, 3000m – 3800 (via 4000m), 5.5 + 1.2km
Mostly packed away by 7am we got up to wash and enjoy a rather more leisurely breakfast than we had anticipated: 3 courses with porridge followed by toast and peanut butter and then egg with tomato and cucumber! We were getting to know the other 3 and it was nice chatting.
We left camp at 8.45am and started climbing almost straight away. Similar steps between cut off branches gave way to a hard pack and increasingly stony path. Mosses maintained the slow pace and we all fell in behind him. Within a few minutes the porters began to stream past and we happily gave way to them. Cloud slowly rolled into our blue sky morning and when we stopped for lunch it was starting to cool off (Logan finally put a shirt on). Lunch was an egg and honey roll – we added our hard boiled egg to the dry roll to make it easier to eat!
From the lunch stop we climbed through boulder fields with a shrinking alpine flora. The highest ridge was a couple of hundred metres higher than the camp so we were able to relax and amble into a tent city. After a snack, a wash and a rest we completed another hour walk to gain altitude and help with acclimatisation before heading back to camp for dinner. It was a really nice path and interesting scenery and we were both feeling pretty good so far!
Day 3: 10th Feb 2008, Shira Caves – Barranco, 3800m – 3900 (via 4600m), 9.5km
We were supposed to get away earlier today but despite an earlier wake up we left at 8.45am again. Within the first hour we had gained 300m but it was a slower gain from there to our lunch spot at 4600m. Today worked out much better for us with more regular stops to eat rather than waiting to eat loads at lunch (by which time we were starving) – and we got more of last night`s delicious pancakes with peanut butter and banana, which were much easier to eat! The flora was really interesting today as we passed through different vegetation zones, and we saw lots of 4-striped mice and different birds.
At this altitude, we were trying to breathe through our noses to reduce the water in our lungs but Keryn was having difficulty with a blocked runny nose. Other than that we were both feeling fine with the altitude and were looking forward to the challenge over the next 2 days – going so slow made such a difference as it was easier to breathe, we didn`t get so sweaty so we didn`t get cold when we stopped, and it didn`t use so much energy.
Day 4: 11th Feb 2008, Barranco – Barafu, 3900m – 4600m), 9km
Today was all about getting to camp as quickly as possible (while still going pole pole) so we could rest before our summit attempt at midnight. The track was up and down with a total climb of over 1200m – helping us to acclimatise.
We arrived at camp at 3.40pm and it was very cold, cloudy and windy. Other groups were packing up after their own summit attempts that morning – everyone looked tired: we wondered who had made it to the top and who would be back to try again. For us it was time to rest, refuel with dinner and rest again. It is hard to sleep at this altitude (particularly with Keryn`s still-blocked nose) and we both woke numerous times gasping for air.
THE SUMMIT 12th Feb 2008, Barafu – Uhuru Peak, 4600m – 5895 – 4600, 5.5km up and 5.5km down
We woke excited and ready for the challenge of the summit. The sky was clear and starry and although the ground was frozen the air temperature was relatively warm. Inside our tent we piled on our carefully chosen layers of clothes – 8 on top and 3 on the bottom plus 2 pairs of socks, boots, gloves and a balaclava!. We started our ascent at midnight, head torches on and the Southern Cross shining brightly at our backs. Mosses kept us at our now familiar pole pole pace to ensure our breathing was regular, stopping for “hydration” and changing clothing to make sure we were neither sweating or cold.
The spots of light of other groups looked beautiful as they snaked their way up the slope above and below us. We heard others yahooing in the dark as they reached personal milestones and we soon zig-zagged our way above 5000m (higher than we had ever climbed before).
Knowing th signs of altitude sickness, Keryn was hyper-aware of every niggle in her body, particularly as those that decided they weren`t going to make it passed us on their way back down. As the ridge above us gradually dragged nearer, the exhaustion started to set in but the realisation that it wasn`t much further gave us strength to push on. Arriving at Stella Point was an emotional achievement as many people are forced by the altitude to stop here and we realised we were both going to make it to the top.
The final leg along the ridge was breathtakingly beautiful with the snow-filled Kibo Crater to our right, the glacier to our left, the summit ahead and the first signs of dawn painted across the sky. Holding hands we encouraged each other towards the peak and joined in the delight of others: “C’est Magnificent” shouted the French guy!
At 6.40am we were finally at 5895m and standing on the top of Africa just as the sun shone its first rays for the day. Crying, laughing and snapping photos to prove it – it was a magical place to be! Within minutes clouds rolled in dropping the visibility to metres and the temperature well below zero – it was time to start our descent!
Getting back to camp at 9.30am we were hungry, tired and it all felt a little surreal. With the statistic that only 30 – 40 % of people reach the summit we were thrilled that all 5 of us in our group had done it – wahooooooo!
Day 5 & 6: 12 and 13th Feb 2008, Barafu – Mweka – Mweka Gate, 4600m – 3100m – 1900m, 7.5 + 10km
What goes up must come down and that afternoon and the next day was spent in constant descent. We were tired but still had to concentrate as we negotiated rocky, slippery and often steep tracks. The gate finally emerged from the thick rainforest (where we had stopped to view Blue Monkeys playing in the trees) – it was time to sign out of the park, shower, eat, sleep and reflect on our amazing journey! 🙂
Stats:
Maximum height:5895 metres 19340 feet – 16th highest peak in the world!
Total climb: 7121m
Total distance: 64km
