The Global Guy

Our final day on the mountain! We’d been told that there were only about two and a half hours of walking today, so we were eager to get an early start. We practically wolfed down our breakfast in our haste to hurry up and get out of there. All we could think about were hot showers, cold beer, clean clothes and proper food! We set out around 8:00 am, practically flying down the path. The forest looked a lot prettier going down than it did coming up, probably due to the early morning sunlight.

The hiking was much easier on the knees today than yesterday; both Imed and I were amazed at how much better we felt. Whether it was the promise of beer, or the lower altitude there was nothing that could have held us back. We finally arrived at the exit gate around 10:00 and received our summit certificates. We continued to the village where the van from the hotel would be waiting for us, and found a tourist souvenir stand operator who wanted to make a deal for my sunglasses. These were fake Oakleys that I’d bought at the Uganda-Kenya border crossing for the equivalent of about $1.20. I didn’t want to rip him off, but he kept insisting that I select something from his shop in trade. I chose a nice Massai knife that I’d seen being sold by other guys for about five bucks. The guy insisted that the knife was worth at least $45.00, so I told him that my sunglasses were worth about $25.00. I think the deal was sealed when his assistant tried on the glasses and I told him that he looked just like Snoop-Dogg. They tried to haggle a little bit more, asking for a t-shirt as well, but we finally agreed on a straight trade. The guy kept coming back grinning at me, giving me the impression that he thought he’d ripped me off pretty good.

We finally got back to the hotel right around noon where the rest of the afternoon was spent lounging by the pool drinking Kilimanjaro beer and soaking up the African warmth. That evening around sunset the clouds parted over the Kili summit just at the perfect time to get one last photo from town showing what we’d accomplished. I knew that the next few weeks were going to have to be pretty incredible to match up to what I’d just finished!

Camp El 15351 ft. Asc 3024 ft. 13.86km distance.

Today was the farthest distance for hiking so far. It was cloudy all day yesterday when we were in camp , so it was quite a surprise to see how close we actually were to the mountain. Our guide said that it was his favorite campsite, because it lets you wake up with “Kili as a pillow.” There has been a group of three girls shadowing our group, and today one of them dropped out due to altitude sickness. It’s the first case we’ve seen so far. I feel sorry for her, but I’m glad its not me that got unlucky!

My notes for today are pretty sparse. Looking back I think the altitude really started to affect my mental energy. There is a note in my journal that states that the altitude feels like really good weed. Since this is a PG journal, I can only assume that that was written by someone other than myself!

We arrived in the last camp before the summit at around 4 in the afternoon. We’ll get an early supper, and then try to get some sleep before being woken up around midnight to make the final push. It’s actually the first campsite that we haven’t gotten any rain at, but it is extremely windy. I just hope it’ll be nice in the morning!

Max El: 15247 ft. Total ascent 2056 ft. Camp el: 13080 ft. Distance 10.46k.

I woke up to 34F temperatures inside my tent, and quickly realized that it was colder than that outside when I opened up the tent flap and found there was ice formed on it. Most of the rain from the previous night had frozen, but the sky was clear providing a magnificent view of both Kili and Mt. Meru. I got a few good pictures, and we had breakfast. Apparently the cook can’t handle the concept of one of us ordering their eggs scrambled, and one ordering fried. Yesterday we both had scrambled, and today we both had fried. It seems easier to eat whatever we’re served than to try to communicate what we really want.

We started walking at about 8:25 am and headed straight toward Kili. The mountain really seemed to make its presence felt as it loomed larger and larger. It really doesn’t seem possible that we’ll be on top of it in less than 48 hours! After a couple of hours, the fog rolled in right on time. A little bit later, and the word for the day was “bleak”. The vegetation had nearly disappeared, leaving nothing much to look at except for lots of exposed lava formations. At the 15,000 foot mark we began to see snow on the ground for the fist time. Lunch was a bit chilly, but I was fine in just my rain jacket. There were a bunch of little mouse/gerbil creatures the kept poking their heads out of the rock hoping for a bit of food left over from our lunch packs. They were incredibly skittish, and it took quite a few bribes of cupcake before they’d come out into the open for even a couple of seconds.

After lunch we descended down a steep wet rocky river and began to circle the mountain toward the face that we’d make our ascent from. The vegetation started to return as we descended, and after another couple of hours we reached the campsite. Right on schedule, it started raining just as we got to camp. It wasn’t as intense as yesterday, but it did have a good bit of pea sized hail in it.

Today we camped with one of the most spoiled groups I’ve ever seen! They’ve actually gotten their porters to carry up portable toilets all the way up the mountain. They’ve got canvas sides, western seats, and fluffy toilet paper. We’re told that these guys paid about $7000.00 each for their trek, and Imed and I are thinking that if they have that much money, they can afford a little charity toward us poor basic climbers!

5.62km (3.49mi) distance. Total ascent 778m (2550ft). Camp Elevation 3845m (12620 ft)

Last night was pretty chilly, dropping down to 42 degrees Fahrenheit. The skies cleared overnight leaving a sky full of the typically amazing African stars. In the morning, the summit was clearly visible from camp, looking as if it was daring us puny people to climb up to the top. Breakfast was at 7:30, consisting of eggs, fruit, porridge, sausage and toast. We left camp at about 8:00 for a short but intense day. I’m writing this at 12:30 in the afternoon, and we’re already in camp. There was lots of steep uphill climbing before lunch, and then an easy stretch of mostly horizontal trails after.

We’ve completely left the rain forest and the temperatures have been dropping. it’s still very pleasant while we are moving, but stopping for a rest quickly leads to a chill. We’re traveling thru what the guides call the moorlands. It’s short, scrubby brush reminding me a lot of the mountains of New Mexico, without the cactus. There are lots of caves on the neighboring ridges that at one time it was possible to camp in, but the park rangers now forbid that kind of activity. At our campsite where we are to spend the night the hills across the valley from us remind me of photos I’ve seen of the Inca trail leading to Machu Picchu in Peru. I can’t wait till next year to see that for real! Other highlights include great views of Mt. Meru before the clouds rolled in, and some very pretty new variety of impatient type flowers, including one that was shaped exactly like a saxophone.

Physically, I’m feeling quite good. I’ve got my usual hiking case of the sniffles which I’m sure is due to an allergy to some kind of pollen in the area. I’ve noticed that I tend to do this anytime I’m in the outdoors. It’s annoying, but it sure won’t stop me from doing stuff like this! Going uphill is much tougher today than it was yesterday. I’m feeling the first Diamox tingles in my fingertips…it’s a weird sensation that I’ve never had before.

Camp is a flat rocky area that I think would make someone from the Scottish highlands feel right at home. We got into our tents just before the skies opened up with a pretty big downpour that lasted for about two and a half hours. I really felt sorry for those hikers who got stuck hiking thru the rain. Some of the rocks near our campsite look like they’ll get pretty slippery when moist!