Climbing to the 'Roof of Africa'

Kili Climb:Rongai Route
Day 1
May 19, 2007
From Rongai Gate to Simba Camp

The first day got off to a late start. We were up early with the anticipation of our incredible journey and Jasper (our climb operator) was supposed to pick us up at Kilema Hospital at 09:30. It was almost 10:15 by the time our guide ‘Entold’ walked up the steps of CACHA house (perfectly on time for Tanzanian time). We were going through last minute checklists in our heads to make sure we would have everything we needed for the 6 day hike and climb. We initially thought our guide’s name was ‘Anton’ and actually called him that for 4 days! It wasn’t until I signed one of the log books at one of the camps, right after him, and I looked at the spelling of his name that I realized. He didn’t seem to mind. The climb operator provides the food, guide, assistant guide, and 6 ‘porters’ to carry all of our stuff (food, tents, folding chairs, buckets to collect water from nearby streams and cooking utensils). We were only responsible for carrying a day pack that would need to contain everything we would need for each day of hiking. The porters breeze past you on the trail and go ahead to set up camp each day, so, if there is something in your large backpack that you will need then you are out of luck…carry it in the day pack. This includes rain gear as well as the weather can change at any time and you can be very wet for the remaining hours of the hike. We left Kilema in a safari truck and headed to the village of Marangu for our final briefing with Jasper. We then traveled to the main gate of Kilimanjaro National Park, known as the Marangu gate. It is the start of the Marangu trail as well, which is known as the Coca-Cola route because it is relatively flat and you sleep in huts along the way. One of the camps also sells Coke and Beer, which is how it got its name. We registered at that gate for our 6 day climb and then went back to Marangu to pick up our food. Jasper wanted it to be ‘fresh’ so it was all purchased that day. Humphrey, who acted as a porter during the hike and a cook at each camp would be our ‘chef’ for the entire duration. We then left Marangu gate in the truck with several of the porters in tow. The rest of the group would be meeting us at Rongai gate. The journey to Rongai was 2 and a half hours around the base of Kilimanjaro to just before the Kenyan border. We also ascended several hundred feet as well and you could see the tree line shrinking with smaller banana trees and stumpy looking corn. As we approached the gate we drove through a very desolate shanty town. The main source of income in this area looked like subsistence farming but the land was nothing like the lush land in Kilema. From the gate we could see out over Kenya and the border of Amboseli National Park (where we had been on safari only a few weeks earlier). I really felt like we were getting to know the mountain. The trail head looked like nothing really, just a skinny little path leading into a corn field!! We spent a while at the gate as the porters had their packs weighted. We found out after the climb that the weight is taken for several reasons. There are regulations on how much a porter can carry (25kgs) and the weight of all the gear is used to calculate how much weight in should come down the mountain. There are strict rules on how much garbage you must carry back down. The mountain used to have a history of being very dirty, especially on Marangu route. It has a clean up team now and looking back on the trip, was, on the whole, extremely clean…and besides, having climbed it now, my guess is that it is the tired and careless climbers, not the porters who leave their garbage on the mountain. It looked like our porters were carrying more than 25kgs, maybe more like 30kgs (and we found out later that that is what they had carried after paying the gate warden a bribe). It is done by tour operators to save money on porter salaries (which are already terrible at about $3.00 to $5.00 per day, guides and cooks make double that or even a bit more). The companies rely on the good hearted and generally happy to be back climbers to provide the rest of the income for the porters…usually about triple what the tour operator has paid them per day. That just seems to be the norm here whether on safari or climbing Kili. It would be hard not to tip them well from the moment you see them lift that big, bulky, heavy bag on their head to start walking for six hours, UPHILL and one of them was wearing flip flops!! They are mostly young guys out of secondary school or with even less education. Some were older and had families (Hassan, our assistant guide, and Entold, our guide both had children as did Humphrey the cook). Two of the porters who I adored, were kind of ‘porters in training’. Both spoke good English and one of them was even in the Arusha Wildlife College to become a guide/safari driver etc. Our trip was one of his placements. He still carried the requisite load on his head though. He was a Masai named Obadia. He told us of how his family had left their Boma (village) in the Serengeti and his father had taken his family to Arusha away from the traditional ways. He wanted his children to be educated…girls too. Obadia was a great companion to have along the way. He served us all our meals and towards the end was practicing his Spanish with Dharma. Many of the educated Masai men here speak several languages. Roman and I met one on the beach in Zanzibar who spoke Italian, English, Spanish, Swahili and Masai!!
After an hour of walking through corn fields uphill we entered a rain forest ecosystem. The trees and flowers were beautiful. After a few minutes a park game warden joined us on the path with a large rifle. He would be walking with us to Simba Camp (our camp site for the night) and would stay overnight. This side of the Kilimanjaro National park borders on Amboseli National Park in Kenya…the home to the largest herd of elephants. At this time of year the elephants regularly climb up the hill side to feed on the lush greenery that grows during the rainy season. We passed elephant poop not long after the ranger joined us and I was glad to have him along. We arrived at the camp at dinner time and Humphrey was already preparing our meal. We got our sleeping bags organized and waited for dinner. We were all hungry and we couldn’t believe how cold it got as the sun went down (close to zero according to Dharma’s thermometer and very damp). After dinner we tried to sleep but the tent was on a slight slant and it was COLD!! I slept most of the night with my head inside the sleeping bag. Roman wore his toque. That was the way we would sleep for the next 5 nights. I haven’t even mentioned the toilet situation yet. There were a few outhouses at Simba camp which I avoided. As you look for places to pee you see little blobs of toilet paper in various stages of decay all around the camp site. They were left, I assumed, by likeminded people who were also avoiding the outhouses. Suffice it to say, I did not venture into one of those outhouses once in 6 days, But, I very respectfully collected all my toilet paper along the way (honest!!). The porters kept a garbage bag for each site which they would carry back down the mountain.

Day 2 Simba Camp to Third Cave
We awoke to a glorious sunrise and a clear, cloudless Kibo Peak. (the main peak that you see in post cards is called Kibo, the smaller peak, which is jagged and pointy and 17 Km’s from Kibo is also part of the mountain, is called Mawenzi. The day was already looking good and after breakfast we headed out on a 6 hour hike. The cook gave us each a packed lunch of a small sandwich and a hard boiled egg and fruit. We carried boiled water for the day in our day packs. The trail from Simba Camp to Third Cave was beautiful. About every hour or so the landscape changed as we entered a higher vegetation zone. The flowers were unique and surprisingly colourful. We continued to see plenty of elephant and Cape buffalo poop along the way. After 6 hours or so we reached Third Cave. There is a series of rock cuts that have caves in them along the way…this was number 3 (original name). Our tents were already assembled as the porters had arrived ahead of us. We rested for a while and then played cards in the sunshine. The view looking down into Tanzania was awesome and we were just ABOVE the cloud line at that point at 3800 meters or about 12500 feet elevation. We didn’t notice the altitude unless we tried to do something very quickly, then we felt a little bit short of breath. We had decided with Entold, our guide, to make Third Cave our acclimatization camp. We would be staying here for two nights. Tomorrow we would hike to the ‘Outward Bound’ school hut which is at 4750 metres and then back to Third Cave. To improve acclimatization it is recommended that you hike ‘high’ during the day and sleep ‘low’ before your ascent. We were all a little bit nervous about how we would feel on our hike the next day. The Outward Bound hut is used by schools from around the world. They take teenagers there to ‘challenge them’ and help them realize some difficult goals. We all had a terrible sleep that night. It was cold but not damp. I blamed it on the altitude (which often causes insomnia as one of its common, albeit, mild, symptoms), Roman blamed it on the faulty air mattress that failed to hold any air for the entire trip. It did serve to insulate him from the cold ground though. He was very kind to let me keep mine…the only one that worked on the trip. The ground still felt hard despite it. I spent most of my nights lying awake thinking how cold I was or how high the mountain was or reflecting on my life and the last four months in Africa.

Day 3 Acclimatization Day Hike to Outward Bound School Hut
May 21, 2007
We were allowed to ‘sleep in’ a little the next day as it was just a day hike and we had no tents to pack up. We headed off after breakfast and made our way across a desolate looking plain and a dried up river bed. Kibo was in front of us but was soon shrouded in clouds as the morning progressed. The air got cooler as we progressed to the hut. By the time we reached the hut three hours later it was zero degrees and windy. The hut was deserted and kind of eerily sitting on the lower slopes of Kibo. Looking up I felt a sense of panic at how high the peak really was….I wasn’t too convinced that I could make it. It was also really lonely up there. There were some bunks in the hut and remnants of cooking utensils left behind by the last group (including a frozen onion and an eggplant). There was a bucket of rain water that was frozen as well. We all felt a little bit ‘weird’. I had tingling in my fingers and lips. Roman and Dharma had headaches. We all felt a little bit short of breath. The air was definitely thinner up there. The school hut is actually 50 meters high than the next camp we would be staying at just prior to our ascent…so a good choice for acclimatizing. On the way down the hill from the hut back to Third Cave was when I realized that my boots were going to give me trouble on the way down. My big toes felt sore and my right heel had the makings of a large blister. The boots were new but I had tried to work them in by wearing them on different hikes in Kilema. They had felt fine until now.

We made it back to camp in about an hour or so…it is always quicker to get down. We felt more normal again as well, which was a good recovery sign. We rested in our tents until dinner and then feasted on another one of Humphrey’s amazing meals (all cooked over one flame of white Onyx gas). I slept fitfully again, although Dharma and Roman said that they had slept quite well that night. We packed up in the morning for our hike to our final camp, Kibo Hut, 4700 m or 15600 feet.

Day # 4 Third Cave to Kibo Hut
May 22, 2007
We got on our way pretty early and made our way back in the direction of the school hut but veered off to the left towards Kibo Hut. Kibo Hut is the last camp for the Rongai and the Marangu routes before you attempt your ascent. Machame route ascends from their last camp directly to Stella point. Kibo hut had several buildings including the Ranger’s station and the hut building with a small dining area where we were given permission to eat our meals. It was a stone hut and colder in there most of the time then outside. Without the sun shining the temperature was about 5 degrees Celsius and windy. We had sleet that afternoon while we rested in out tent after our arrival. It was cold peeing behind the rocks but I stuck by my plan! We met some British climbers while we ate lunch. They had just descended. The woman was very cheerful and full of excitement. Her boyfriend was happy but more reserved. He had had a difficult climb. She said that he was delirious and had crawled from Stella Point to Uhuru Peak (the top), which on foot should take an hour! They had both made it despite his troubles with the altitude but I was feeling nervous. It sounded like a painful experience. As the afternoon progressed we met other climbers who had come along the Marangu route. They had stories to tell of other climbers they had seen who had to turn back due to altitude sickness. We all felt reasonably well and our hopes were high that we would make it. Our main symptoms were mild headache, insomnia and loss of appetite. The schedule for the day was that we would have a light dinner and try to sleep until 10:30 pm. We would be awoken for another light snack and would be expected to be ready to start our ascent at 11:30 pm. The walk from Kibo Hut to Gilmans Point (the first main accomplishment along the way) would take 5 hours, up some steep paths, in the dark. We would be using headlamps to light the way and following each others footsteps.

10:30pm May 22, 2007 The Ascent
One of the porters woke us at 10:30 pm. I don’t think any of them learned my name during the whole trip. They were polite but perhaps dealing with aggressive women who want to climb mountains wasn’t really their thing. I never felt disrespect but they always woke us by coming to the tent and saying “Mr. Roman, time to get up” or “Mr. Dharma, time to get up”. We all admitted to having butterflies in our stomachs…in anticipation of THE HELL that was to come!!. We nervously had a cup of tea and some cookies in the freezing cold hut. We were in full winter gear with ski jackets, ski pants, hats, gloves and face shields. We packed a lot of water for the trip thinking we would need it but none of us felt like eating or drinking for almost the entire duration of the ascent. We started off, moving slowly up towards Gilman’s Point. We could hear the other small groups (and see their headlamps) of climbers and their guides emerging from the camp and trekking their way up behind us. About an hour into the climb, Entold realized how heavy Roman’s pack was and decided to carry it himself. It colder as we ascended; we just continued ‘pole pole’ (slow slow). The pace seemed to work for us and we stayed in the same order that we had hiked for most of the trip with Entold, Dharma, me, Roman, and, Hassan. We took several breaks over the 5 hour hike and just as I felt like I couldn’t go any further we had reached Gilman’s Point. We took a 5 minute break here. We all wanted more time to rest but with the sweat under our jackets, you could feel yourself freezing when you stopped moving. Every time I felt like stopping or seemed like I was struggling I could feel Roman’s hand on my back, supporting me and urging me to go on. We trudged onward along a particularly steep snowy path with cliff to our right and mountain on our left. When I saw that path later on our way down in the daylight, I was really happy that I didn’t know how far the fall would have been…I guess ignorance is bliss, especially up there. We arrived at Stella Point about an hour later and took another rest. There was a group from Pittsburgh there. They had just come up Machame route. We rested for a short while realized that the sun was just starting to emerge on the horizon, in the East behind us. As we left Stella, the sky started to take on a beautiful orange glow and it slowly lit up the peak ahead of us to our right. We were to hike slowly, uphill on icy snow for the next 45 minutes to Uhuru Peak….the TOP of Kilimanjaro. As we approached the peak the sun was completely up. We could see out into Kenya and Tanzania. The shadow of Kibo peak could be seen partially obscuring Mount Meru, the second highest mountain in Tanzania, about an hour away near Arusha. The Kibo glacier was clearly visible in a large valley to our left. Roman and I both found the size of it mind boggling. You can’t see it from the bottom, but, believe me, it is HUGE. You could see multiple hues of grey and blue through out it, signifying the various stages in time over which the glacier had formed. To our right across a large cliff and valley was the Kibo crater. We were unable to look into it as the lip of the crater was almost higher than where we. It also looked enormous. You could picture how it was a volcano 100,000 years or so ago. I was so cold (and crying hysterically) at the top that I wasn’t really able to take pictures. Even my kneecaps were shaking. Roman and Dharma managed to get out their cameras and took lots of pictures. We got the requisite picture at the sign that says ‘Congratulations, you have reached Uhuru Peak, 5896m or 19350 feet, The Roof of Africa”. I actually couldn’t believe that I made it. Even now, as I reflect back on that night, it was the hardest thing I have ever done. After about 15 minutes at the top we headed down. The trip down is faster than the trip up but I thought it was equally as painful. The sun was out so we started to slowly defrost but my feet started to get really sore…those toes again…they are always my weakest link!!. We made our way back to Gilman’s Point and then descended down a steep section of the cliff. I just figured we would head down the same section of path that we came up but after a half hour or so down Gilman’s we reached an area of the mountainside that was all soft sand and scree. Entold. Our guide looked at me and said “ Go ahead, you can run down it”. I actually thought he was joking. I started looking for the path we had come up but didn’t recognize it. I knew there was no way my ankles would make it down that mountain without twisting or breaking. Entold took my hand and arm (ina sort of death grip!) and literally ‘skipped’ down the scree with me. Roman and Dharma and Hassan followed behind. Within 20 minutes or so, allour thighs were burning. We took several breaks along the way. Towards the bottom, the pain in my toes was excruciating and I knew that my blister had extended above my right heal. At the bottom, the sun was shining and the porters came out to greet us and welcome us back. We collapsed into our warm, sunny tent after I gingerly removed my boots and assessed the damage. My right foot was a mess. I fell asleep in minutes wondering how I was going to wake up in an hour and a half and walk another 9kms to Horombo Hut.

Day 5 After the Descent, Kibo Hut to Horombo Hut
May 23, 2007

After an hour and a half one of the porters woke us and told us our ‘chai’ (Swahili for tea) was ready. I knew as soon as I awoke that there was no way my hiking boots were going back on today. I couldn’t even pull a sock over my right foot. It was just too painful. I put on my Birkenstock’s and limped to the dining hut. We left the camp just after noon that day (having been awake the entire night) and walked to Horombo Camp across what is known as ‘the saddle’ between Kibo and Mawenzi peaks. The walk was slowly downhill and my feet seemed to withstand it using a walking stick and moving slowly. After about 2 hours my feet were throbbing though and I leaned on Roman for support on the left and my walking stick on the right. The path was quite rocky and proceeded downhill. The last two hours of that 4.5 hour walk felt like forever. When we arrived at Horombo Huts our tent was already assembled. We set up our beds and then went to play cards in the dining hut. The sun was setting and you could feel the cold, damp clouds moving in. I was still barefoot in my sandals but after a couple of Tylenol my pain started to subside. We met some other climbers in the hut and discussed the climb with those who were on their way up. We exchanged stories with those who had also climbed the same night as us. Before the end of the evening, two climbers had gone to their huts to get me some ‘blister bandages’. One had been given them by a friend who said they worked well, the other had used his himself and also vouched that they had worked well. We headed to bed as it started to poor rain and slept reasonably well. We were all so exhausted that the ground just didn’t seem as hard that night.

Day 5 Horombo Huts to Mandara Hut and then Marangu Gate
May 24, 2007
We awoke to another sunny day and reflected on just how lucky we had been with the weather for the majority of our trip. I complained again that I didn’t think I could put my hiking boots back on but Roman insisted I try once he had bandaged my heal up with the donated blister bandages from the night before. He was right, it didn’t feel as bad as I expected. Nevertheless, we carried my sandals in the day pack as a back up plan if my feet got bad. Entold and I also discussed that there was a rescue truck that could come to pick me up about one hours walk from the Mandara Huts. I only had to walk 12 kilometres with these feet and then another 2-3 past Mandara and they could pick me up. I said yes, anticipating that by that time my right foot would be sore. I limped a little bit but with my walking stick and a couple of Tylenol, I seemed to manage. The trail was beautiful with unusual plants (see photos of the famous Sinicia Kilimanjaro tree). There were mountain streams and meadows and eventually rainforest. As we approached the Mandara Huts we even saw the black and white Colobus Monkeys which fly between trees and have a long white tail. At the huts there was no break for lunch, we were told to get moving but not until I had signed the ‘Emergency Rescue Book’. Entold had already filled in part of the required information (our permit number and dates etc). He wanted my full name and signature. As I filled in the book I looked at the names of the people above mine. There was a smattering of people from around the world who were of varying ages. There was a section that said ‘Condition’ and I read quickly down the list. They all said either ‘Condition: serious” or ‘Condition: Poor’. Then there was mine ‘Condition: Blister’. Roman and Dharma got a laugh out of that one. I chuckled too, ok, it is pretty hilarious, that I needed to be rescued from the last 2 hours of walking but, to be fair, my foot really did hurt!!
We descended further down the path for another hour until we encountered the waiting rescue vehicle’ A plumb older man was lying back in the drivers seat. There was a bench and space for a stretcher in back. We all climbed in (those guys were tired too but used my blister as an excuse to get a lift the last part of the way). Dharma took some shots of me looking like I was suffering etc. At the bottom we went to the desk to get or certificates stating that we had reached Uhuru Peak. I immediately took off my boots as well. It felt so good to be done!!!
Next, we gathered ourselves and our belongings up and drove to Marangu village. We sat and had some drinks and food with the porters. They cheered for us and sang the famous Kilimanjaro song (which incidentally in Swahili says something like ‘white person, why do you climb me like a snake, do you want to eat me’) and the ‘Jambo Bwana’ song. It was a wonderful relaxing time. It didn’t smell too great on that little patio though as none of us had had a shower for 6 days!!! After a couple of hours we made arrangements to meet the porters and guides the following day in Moshi to pay them their tips. As I mentioned, the tips are pretty hefty, so we needed to hit a bank first.
As I sit and write this, it has been a several days since we came down the mountain. It is still all so fresh in my memory and I think will remain there for some time. It was a truly incredible experience and climbing Kilimanjaro with Roman, my soul mate was what made it so special. But, please....don’t ever ask me to do it again!