Kilimanjaro: Piece of Cake
TREKKING TO THE ROOF OF AFRICA
WITH KELVIN FRANCIS AND TELLA TEMPLETON
Most seasoned trekkers would agree that Kilimanjaro is one of the most famous mountain hikes you could do on our planet. Standing tall at an impressive 5,895 m Kilimanjaro earns the title as being the official Roof of Africa. It is the highest peak in Africa, and one of the highest volcanoes in the world. It is also one of the few summits in the world, which can be reached without ropes, or any kind of technical assistance. To make it to the summit requires you to be in the best physical shape possible, even then there is no guarantee that you will have what it takes to make it to the top. In the past, even some extremely fit individuals have succumbed to the effects of altitude, and were unable to achieve their goal, and were forced to turn back. For us, we did very little preparation and were not nearly as fit as we would have liked to have been. With that being said, we realized that making it to Uhuru Peak (the summit) doesn’t necessarily mean you have to be in the best physical shape. For us, it became more of a test of willpower and we were rewarded tenfold!
We arranged our hike thru a local guide named Joseph who called Moshi, Tanzania his home. The arrangement was for a 6-day trek that would begin on July 8th 2011, which is one of the busiest times of the year to trek. There are advantages and disadvantages to hiking during this time of the year:
Advantages:
- This time of the season allows for the best visibility,
- · It’s the dry season which means the trails are in the best condition,
- · Because of dry season the chance of encountering bad weather is highly unlikely
Disadvantages:
- It is winter in Tanzania so temperatures drop below 0 in the evenings,
- July and August are peak season, which means the trails, and camping areas are jam packed full of muzungus (foreigners).
We left Dar es Salaam, the capital city of Tanzania, on route to Moshi on a early bus that took approximately 8 hours. Once we arrived in Moshi we checked into the Backpackers Hostel, which was located near the city centre. After settling in we contacted our guide Joseph and arranged to meet at our place that evening. We spent the next hour or so talking about the trek, planning our route, and negotiating a fair price with Joseph. If you’re planning to trek up to the summit anytime in the future, you will quickly realize that there are hundreds of guides eager to take you up the mountain as well as dozens of different trekking companies to choose from. The reason we picked our guide is primarily because he was a referral from another traveler and because the price was the cheapest we had come across or had ever heard of. Because Kilimanjaro has such a competitive market, prices range from $850 - $3,000 USD depending on which company or guide you pick from and what your budget is.
After everything was negotiated and agreed upon, we arranged for Joseph to meet us in town to show us where we could hire gear. The following morning he took us to one of the few rental shops in town where we were able to pick out everything required. We were amazed to see the shop had virtually everything and anything you could ever dream of renting for a trek. From used water bottles, long underwear, second hand socks, to -30C sleeping bags, snow pants, and North Face down jackets. Each item was priced out per trip and we ended up spending approximately $115 on equip for both of us. After the hire and everything was confirmed for the trek, we prepared our bags to leave the next morning.
Day 1 began on a Friday morning and after a brief stop at the market to buy snacks, we headed towards the park headquarters to finalize park fees and begin the day’s hike. If you have not heard Kilimanjaro National Park has hefty park fees and you are required to pay approximately $131 USD/ per person / day. Most trekkers either choose a 6 or 7-day trek so if you choose the latter it means you will be forced to pay another days fees.
Day one was straightforward and proved to be a fairly gradual 18 km walk up to Machame camp. The trail was a gravel path and surprisingly wide enough that any vehicle could drive on. 4 hours later up a fairly steady incline the whole way, we arrived at our first campsite drenched in sweat and relieved to have made it through the first day unharmed. Upon arrival, we helped two of the porters set up our tent, and got ourselves settled. A small snack of popcorn, and tea were brought to us, which curbed our hunger until supper. Dinner was surprisingly tasty, and portions were huge, in fact that we could barely finish everything on our plates. We went to sleep early as our wake-up call, at 7am, the next morning was quickly approaching.
On day two, we continued our climb, which brought us through 4 to 5 quite visibly different microclimates. What started as a very lush and tropical montane rainforest on day one, changed to more of a drier sub tropical forest where numerous shrubs replaced the massive trees. The second day was 9 km, and 6 hours of endless hills that you gradually went up followed by a quick descent before the next hill. As we approached the top of one of the hills, we broke through the cloud line, and had to stop to take some much-needed photos, as the view was absolutely breathtaking. There were several times during the day when Joseph told us that we were close to camp, yet we soon realized that was far from the truth. At the top of each peak we would ask how far it was to camp, and he would say “Just over there”… That turned out to be 5 huge hills, and 3 hours, later. We camped this night at Shira Camp, which was at an altitude of 3837 m, which is well above the height where altitude sickness begins.
One of the most important factors to a successful climb is to stay well hydrated. Dehydration is a concept misunderstood by most. If you allow yourself to become dehydrated, your body will become weak, and will be more susceptible to high altitude sickness. Once dehydrated it is already too late to make up for the loss of water. Most guides will tell you to drink at least 4-5 liters per day to maintain a healthy level of hydration. Keeping yourself hydrated before this hike is essential!
Day three was the real acclimatization day, as we hiked up to approximately 4637 m to Lava Tower Camp, then back down to 3976 m at Barranco camp where we spent the night. As we began walking on trail, we realized that we were out of water. We asked if there was water further up the trail (to fill our bottles), and the reply from Joseph was “Why didn’t you tell the porters to get you water”. We were a little taken aback as we didn’t know that we had to inform the porters of this. Joseph was upset, took our bottles, and went back towards camp to get water for us. This ended up being yet another day that we hiked completely solo, and didn’t meet up with Joseph until we stopped for lunch at Lava Tower. The view of the peak from Lava Tower was amazing, and we were able to take some amazing photos as we were well above the cloud line. From there, we were able to see the Western Breach, which is a very technical climb and not recommended unless you are a very experienced. Currently, this route is even more technical since part of the mountain gave way, and a rockslide buried one of the camps. It is now viewed as “High Risk” to the summit. We noticed the landscape transformed from a very dry area with lots of shrubs, to an alpine desert with fairytale-like setting. Closer to camp, we came across huge trees that resembled giant pineapples. This area is known for its intense radiation, and huge temperature fluctuations. Daytime temperatures can rise above 35 degrees, and drop to below freezing at night. Due to the lack of water, and the thinning soil it becomes an unfavorable condition to plant life.
Most people are aware that there are pills you can take to avoid getting Altitude Sickness. This ended up being an overly debated subject, and everyone had his or her own opinions on it. Some of the effects of altitude sickness include prolonged headaches, nausea, insomnia, dizziness, and loss of appetite. If the symptoms worsen it can result in pulmonary, or cerebral oedema, which can often result in a fatal outcome. We were well stocked with Diamox, which was to prevent getting the sickness, but Joseph strongly discouraged us taking it. He told us that it works as a diuretic, and puts more pressure on the kidneys, which makes you urinate more. By urinating more frequently, it puts you at a higher risk of dehydration. His argument against Diamox was that if we kept ourselves properly hydrated, it would be enough of a defense against altitude sickness that we would not need to take the pills. Oddly enough, we met another team who all were on Diamox and only 2 of the 4 girls reached the summit. If you do decide to take Diamox, you have to start taking it before you begin the trek because if you don’t, they are useless. They are no help to you if you wait to take them, and are already experiencing the effects of high altitude.
Day four arrived very early and it proved to be the biggest test yet. As we were getting geared up and eating breakfast, we noticed some trekkers that had already began shimmying along the rock face. They looked to be moving very slowly and the trail looked extremely steep. We knew that it was going to be a tough morning and a long day of 6-8 hours depending on our pace. The first few hours was a very slow go and a few points along the trail required some technical bouldering. We passed a couple that had the look of fear in their eyes and were just watching the others continue on. We never saw them from that point on and it is not known if they made it to the next camp or perhaps turned back. Once we got about halfway up the wall there was a risky transition called the ‘kissing rock’. It was a cliffhanger and you literally had to clench both your arms around a massive boulder and shuffle your feet over the ledge to continue on. Before we set off this day, our guide warned us that the ascent was challenging and to expect the worst. After we made it to the top of the wall, we were treated to another spectacular view of the surrounding area as well as the summit. We took a well-deserved rest, along with some photos, and then proceeded for another 2-hour hike down into a gorge and back up to our next stop where we were treated to a hot lunch.
After lunch we still had another 3-4 hours to go before reaching our final resting point at Barafu Hut 4,673 m. Once we got to the camp, it was our final night before attempting the summit, which was a steep climb of almost 1,300 m.
5:00 pm: We arrived at our campsite after another grueling 8-hour day. At this point, we met some Americans who stayed at Barranco Camp, and we started to wish that we had chosen the 7-day hike rather than the 6 (to give our tired bodies a good days rest before summiting).
6:30 pm: Served another delicious dinner and feeling no problems with the altitude.Before we settled in for a few hours sleep, I dissembled our water bladders and drained out the water as we were told the temperatures at this altitude would surely drop below freezing. Starting the hike with a frozen bag of water was not anything we wanted to experience and were very grateful we did so come morning.
7:30 pm: Went to bed with 5 layers of pants, 7 layers of tops, toque, mittens and 2 pairs of socks (Tara, not Kevin), and was still freezing cold all night.
12:15 pm: “Woke up” (15 minutes late, in despair as our guide didn’t wake us up…. We had to go and shake their tent to get everyone moving) to begin the 8-hour hike of steady incline, in the dark, over large rocks and loose gravel, to the summit. Despite all of the layers worn, and high altitude, we didn’t manage to sleep at all. We woke up feeling exhausted, and realizing that this is what it must feel like to be 90 years old.
12:30 am: “Breakfast of Champions” was served, consisting of one cup of tea, and 3 baby biscuits each. Obviously, this would prove to not nearly enough food and our energy stores were depleted within a few hours of starting the hike.
12:45 am: We left Barafu Hut on our way up to the summit.
2:30 am: The water in the tubes had in fact began to freeze and I spent the next 20 minutes de-thawing the tubes just enough to get a few sips of water to quench our thirst.Tara’s tubing was frozen solid so I decided to tuck my tube in my shirt to keep it from freezing for the rest of the hike.
3:00 am: Start to lose feeling in my toes and fingers.
3:30 am: Onset of frostbite, and fingers and toes in terrible pain!
3:31 am: Am forced to remove my 2nd pair of socks, and have my hands warmed by one of the porters.
6:00 am: We began to see the sky lighting up, and our pace has decreased to no more than a crawl.
6:15 am: The sensation of hunger had now become excruciatingly painful.
6:45 am: Feeling relieved after witnessing one of the most incredible sunrises our planet could offer. Watching the sunrise at this elevation is something that made this hike extra special. What is usually a 10-minute process; this sunrise lasted close to 30 minutes due to how high we were! Our pace had now become so slow at this point that we had to take a rest every 10 steps ahead.
6:50 am: Joseph, our guide, informed us that we were about 200 m from the summit, and for the rest of the way to the summit we kept being told that this hike was merely a “Piece of Cake”, by the lead porter. Classifying this hike as a piece of cake would be considered insanity to most.
6:51 am: Were too cold and exhausted to care; the onset of pounding headaches began to set in.
7:01 am: Could feel our hearts in a race to catch up with the lack of oxygen. At this point we were nearing Stella Point which is a sign informing you that you’ve reached the top of the mountain…. Little did we know that this was in fact NOT the top. From this point, there is still 150 meters to go to reach Uhuru Peak, and it literally takes every last bit of energy you have to drag yourself there, and if you are lucky you will reach the sign that congratulates you for making it to the Roof Of Africa.
8:30 am: Arrive at summit, literally on Cloud 9!! Took some pictures, and started to descend about 10 minutes later due to increased intensity of head pain along with a severe case of lightheadedness.
We spent 8 hours hiking up, and three hours back down to the campsite. Thankfully enough, we took a different route down and literally skied on loose gravel back to camp. It was a cross between monkey walking, and snow shoeing in powder. For those who are not into skiing, you could find this part quite challenging and little did I know this gravel-skiing would leave my feet very uncomfortable, coated in blisters, and barely able to finish the hike the following day.
Once we got back to camp, we were greeted and congratulated by the other groups who were waiting for their turn to summit, and they were eager to know if we had made it to the top. We gave them a few tips of advice, and ducked out for a quick nap before heading down to the next camp for the final leg of the days hike. 4 hours later and on basically no sleep for almost 2 days, we arrived at the final campsite. Dinner was quick and quiet, and bedtime shortly followed. We slept like babies.
One the last day, it took us 4 hours to reach the finish line, and just like that we had finished our Kilimanjaro experience. What should have taken 2-3 hours to reach the bottom, took us 4 as I (Tara) could barely walk. My feet were so badly blistered, knees aching, and were literally being hounded and drug to the end by Kev and our guide Joseph who had also developed a bit of a limp.
So if you think you have what it takes to summit Kilimanjaro, here are a few of the things that you will have to look forward to that we both experienced along our 6 days on the adventure:
- Pounding headaches
- Shortness of breath
- Feet covered in blisters
- Aching knees
- Dry cracked noses
- Nausea
- Burnt bleeding lips
- Sore muscles
- Complete exhaustion
- Racing heart rate
- Restless sleeps
- Freezing cold
One thing you will indeed realize once you start your hike is that mountains are big, they all range in size but most take a while to get to the top. Kilimanjaro in particular is massive. A mountain that takes you 5 days just to get the top is no easy challenge especially when you’re dealing with high altitude and its potentially fatal effects. Many lives have been lost on this mountain mainly because of altitude and not taking proper care or understanding prevention. In the earlier days of trekking many porters would never make it back to the bottom nor get the chance to say goodbye to their family. This was mainly because of a lack of understanding or education of what altitude sickness is and not knowing how harmful and potentially fatal it can be if you start to experience the symptoms and continue climbing elevation. There will be many times along the trek that you may feel tired or a bit fatigued from the power of Kilimanjaro but the best advice we can give you is if you are to fall down, pretend you need a second to recover, and consider it a bonus rest. And best of all Goodluck! As even the fittest athletes have failed to make it to the top and instead rushed back down to safety.
© Copyright August 2011 Kilimanjaro Publications
