The Road to Kilimanjaro - I Am Back!!

Kilimanjaro

                                                                    

I Am Back!!

For the last month I have been in East Africa and it has been a tremendous experience trekking the enormous Mount Kilimanjaro, observing the animals in the vast Serengeti and exploring ancient Ethiopia. The trip started as an adventure…

Due to weather and whatever else, our flights from North Carolina were delayed for three days so two of us didn’t arrive in Tanzania as scheduled, and because my bags were delayed I didn’t have my clothes and equipment for 4 days into our climb.   I am fortunate that many of my essentials were in my carry on bags and that I have a very good friend who let me borrow some other items.  




This was an amazing but very challenging experience, with each day unfolding revealing some of the most beautiful, dramatic and diverse scenery.  The first day was a jungle that transitioned in to desert- like climate.

On day 5 and 6 I felt like I was hiking on Mars because there was no vegetation in sight...this is because of the thin air which also made it difficult to breathe and made our muscles weak.

       

Meadows

Mars???

Stella Glacier

 
The Lemosho route which is the most breath-taking of all routes, was one of the few locations with the rare black and white monkey.  One night while going to the bathroom we were almost attached by some animals...maybe they were monkeys...all we saw were 6-8 pairs of eyes coming closer and closer.

Plant Life...

Even though it was below or around freezing most days the bright sunshine each morning kept us warm until it was hidden behind the fog that rolled in each afternoon. 

 

This was Crazy!!!

The most difficult day was when we had to climb Barranco Wall which was very difficult and dangerous but after that day I knew then I would make it to the summit.

                                                                                                

At night our sleeping bags kept us comfortable until we had to use the bathroom in the middle of the night mainly due to the medication we had to take for the altitude. 

One of our Camps

                                                                 

Our Tents and Toilet in the Green Tent

I had second thoughts about renting a toilet until Day 1...it was a life saver to have our own so close by. It took every bit of energy to walk and stumble over rocks in the dark to our toilet.

                                                          

 

The food…Shaban, our cook provided us with delicious meals that kept us satisfied each day.  Breakfast consisted of hot cereal (which I don’t like) eggs, fruit and toast.  Lunch usually consisted of meat, fruit and hard boiled eggs.  Dinner started with soup, then an entrée (rice, spaghetti, chicken…) and concluded with fruit. 

Soup almost every day while in Africa

The porters who carried our luggage, food, water, tents and whatever else we needed are the most athletic trail runners I have seen.  They can run across the gorges, up the rocks and down the scree carrying equipment on their heads and backs.  Their hard work made it easy for us to focus solely on trekking the mountain successfully.

 Summit day started on Day 6 around 11:30pm in the dark and was full of anticipation, sleepiness, fulfillment and frustration that ended 20hrs later in the dark!!  The training (mountain hiking since May, running the stairs at the Duke stadium and jogging on the weekends) did pay off because the only thing sore on me was my toe which I injured on the way down.  I was exhausted for several days :-)

The air was very thin but other than the tiredness I don't think I suffered much from the altitude thanks to hydration, conditioning and medication!

 

Stella Point is on the Summit but about 1hr away from the highest point. A decision was made not to go further up (see the hill behind me) which was the right decision because of illness in our party on the way down.

It was windy and cold up top but I really didn't need all of the clothes I had on that others who previously trekked the mountain suggested.  I had on 4 pairs of socks, four pairs of pants and 4 layers up top not including a head liner. wool hat and hood.  About an hour into the climb I had to come out of my wool sweater and wanted to take off two layers of pants if I had the energy to take off my boots.
 

 I

An 80 years old celebrating at the top...incredible!!

Sunburnt and exhausted we continued onto the safari after exiting the park! 

Thank you all for your support, prayers and thoughts. Those who trained with me, my house sitters, those who picked me up form the airport, assisted with trip supplies and most of all encouragement!   Special thanks to my trekking partners!!!  

The support helped me through the tough days on the mountain.