Day 6 & 7 Going Down

That which goes up, must come down.  Six hours back down to our final camp where we spent the final hours with our crew and slept our last night in a tent.  We stumbled, ran, walked those last hours down the mountain with visions of showers, warm beds, and mbege (local banana beer) in our minds.  This adventure will never be forgotten.

See final video here... let me know if it doesn't work!

Day 6 - Going Up

On Day 6 we made it to the top.  I really have no idea how I got myself up that mountain.  There were many times during those final six hours when I was asking myself (and trying to ask Pablo but he heard nothing thanks to his 45 layers of clothing), "Why are we doing this?"  I mean I don't really feel the need to boast to the world that I can walk up to 6,000m.  Nor do I get much personal joy from trying to function at 4am on limited oxygen.  So, "Why did we do it?"  I don't really know, I guess, "Why not?" And when it came down to those last six hours going up, I think just that we had already made it so far made us push it a bit more to finally finish the thing right.  

I have gotten responses from many of you, and I would say that the number one question asked is "Are you glad you did it?"  And I would say "Yes", without a doubt.  Besides enjoying some beautiful scenery with some awesome friends, on that mountain, I got in touch with myself on a whole new level.  I learned that when you think you can't go a step further, you can.  I learned that on a day to day basis, I am capable of so much more.  And I learned that when you go through something difficult, it is crucial to have someone you love and trust by your side.

Kilimanjaro was a crazy adventure.  Every day was a challenge but none more so than the Summit Day.  We awoke at midnight in our freezing tents and hurriedly clothed ourselves and tried to shove some cookies down our throats.  Our plan was to make it to the top at 6am, just in time to see the sunrise.  We made it there at 5:50.  When we started the climb my stomach was already a mess, I was not feeling good.  The altitude and stream water seemed to not settle well.  But our guide, Busta, started us off at a fast pace to get our blood pumping and perhaps to get us to the point where it would be easier just to continue up rather than trying to go back down the steep hill in the middle of the night.  The wind was howling on the mountain and it had to be around -20 F.  Poor Pablo had never experienced such cold and I am pretty sure he was in a state of shock for the duration of the climb.  After we got back down the mountain, both of us said we had been waiting for the other to decide enough was enough and allow both of us to quit.  But that didn't happen, and we made it to the top.  We made it to Stella Point around 5am and at that point I thought we had reached the Summit. I was hysterical.  When I was told we had 45 more minutes to go I about lost it, but Dismas took my hand and got me moving.  We actually made it to the top before the sun started to rise so we tried to wait a bit to get the perfect photo with the sunrise, but after about 5 minutes I said "LET'S GO!" I wanted off that damn mountain, and so we took our photo in the dark with the Polishs' camera because Pablo's camera battery was frozen.  Then, right as we were stepping down from the Kilimanjaro Summit Sign, the sun started to rise, and all around us Africa was waking up.  I have never seen such a spectacular sight.

enjoy a theme song

Day 5

Day 5 started like the four before it, wake up, eat as much as possible, start walking.  This day was special though, Day 5 brought us a healthy dose of mountain breezes.  And when I say breezes, I really mean wind.  As in very very fast moving air.  Air that is fast and cold.  And picks up little bits of stones and dirt to throw in your face.  Our Day 5 climb, the one that went up steeper and steeper for what seemed like an eternity, was extra special with those mountain breezes.

After setting out from Karanga Camp, five hours later, we did made it to Barafu.  Our final camp (at 15,300ft) before we would attempt the summit.  We arrived at Barafu sometime around mid- day and tried to get as much rest as possible because we would be waking up at midnight to start the ascent.  Barafu campsite is nestled into the ridge of the mountain with all of the little tents hiding between the boulders, attempting some sort of shelter.  My favorite part of Barafu, though, was the toilet.  With the mountain breezes, the little wooden shack with the hole in the floor sounded like it might very well blow off the mountain and land in China.  Luckily, though, if stranded in said toilet on a catapulted transcontinental trip, at least you would get to see the world pass you by thanks to the nice little window positioned so inconveniently at non-squatting height :)

On Day 4, when we woke up at Barranco Camp we found ourselves in a beautiful valley with the sun rising behind the mountain, flooding the site with beautiful golden light.  The night before, with the rain, I didn't register how beautiful a place this camp really is.  With the sun, it was spectacular.  Upon waking up, I was, 'eh, slightly groggy after my cocktail of various pain killers the night before, but luckily my headache was completely gone and after a hearty pancake breakfast I felt ready to go again.  

We began the day's hike with a super steep climb up Barranco wall.  I would totally rate this climb 5.something (climber lingo) as it required a hands and feet scramble.  At Barranco we also met up with about 300 other hikers coming from a different route, so the steep ascent got extremely crowded at times which I think made everyone a bit nervous.  Not exactly the best idea to hang out with 299 other people on the edge of a cliff.

The day, overall, though, was quit easy compared to the other days.  We did not climb any higher than we had on the previous days and we finished at Karanga Camp just 1,000 m higher than Barranco so we were adjusted to the altitude.  We got to camp around mid day and had plenty of time to rest, enjoy the scenery, take a short "nature walk" around the campsite and see the beautiful view of Moshi below.    

Day 3

Day 3 was no less than hellacious.  Besides the Summit Day, this day, Day 3, was the hardest.  We left Shira camp after breakfast, heading towards Barranco camp by way of Lava Tower.  This six hour acclimatization hike took us up to 4642 meters (15,229ft) at Lava Tower and then we descended to sleep at 3900 meters (12,800ft) at Barrranco.  

On the way up, through the alpine desert, I was feeling pretty good.  I could sense the lack of oxygen and felt a bit tired but other than that, I was fine.  I did immediately notice the drop in temperature as we ascended.  When we made it to Lava Tower to stop for lunch it felt unbelievably cold and it actually even started to snow a bit.  I really felt bad for the folks camping there.  After lunch, we started our descent, and let me tell you, if anyone says going down is easy, DO NOT BELIEVE THEM.  The knees and legs were aching by hour one but I will admit that going down is much faster than going up. We crossed about twice as much distance in half the time going down as we did going up.  We descended into a beautiful little valley, complete with waterfalls and crazy boulders and then just as we caught our first glimpse of camp at the valley bottom, the first drop fell.  The rain began.  Oh so subtly at first that we didn't even notice.  And then, just a few hundred meters from camp, the heavens opened.    We hobble-ran those last few meters and luckily our Team had made it before us and the tents were already up.  Unfortunately for us though, the plastic tarp underneath was not-so-underneath and we had a nice stream running through our Casita.  My Colombian Tent Expert hurriedly tucked the tarp under, dug little gullies around the tent to redirect the flow and I thanked my lucky-stars that the "bathroom" was not too far away.  

I thought things were a bit under control after we got the tent sorted out and nestled in to keep warm from the cold mountain air, and that is when the headache started.  Just like the rain, oh-so-decieving at first.  I thought I must just be a bit dehydrated, so I drank.  And the headache continued.  I took a Voltaren, and the head ache continued.  We went to go eat dinner, and I just set my head down on the table.  I could not eat, I felt nauseous, my head might explode.  I have only one time in my life had such a headache before (that was from sinusitis + SCUBA diving), and that time I went to the hospital and got a pretty awesomely powerful painkiller injection.  12,000ft up a freakin' mountain, I was thinking it was going to be pretty hard to find a hospital.  But, our Guide gave me some large Panadol pills and I choked those down and laid down hoping the sleep would come.  Sometime in the night, I the headache subsided and I fell into a deep deep sleep.  Altitude sickness is a bitch.

Day 2

On Day 2 of Kilimanjaro buns-of-steel Bootcamp, we awoke early at Machame camp and set out for Shira camp, 6 hours away and at a final elevation of 3,800 meters (12,467ft) above sea level.  It was a "pole, pole" day, ie it was slow goin' up the steep, rocky path.  We passed through the Mooreland, leaving the larger, low elevation trees behind, but still the landscape was dotted with shrubs and hearty flowers.  Right when we really felt that our legs couldn't possibly take us one more step up, the path turned down a bit and we caught a glimpse of Shira camp in the distance.  We practically ran the rest of the way to camp where we were welcomed with a hot lunch and a sun warmed tent.  As evening approached, the winds picked up and the cloud- tide rolled in.  Pablo about froze his fingers off waiting outside for the sunset, but his efforts paid off and he got some great shots of the beautiful night.

**Also, on a totally separate note, regarding the recent attacks on the US embassies in Egypt, Yemen, and Libya, my heart goes out to all of the ex-pats living in these countries and most importantly to the families of the injured diplomats.  So far, Saudi Arabia is safe.  I was just at the US consulate in Jeddah yesterday to pick up my new passport and everything seemed to be running smoothly.  The triple layers of barbed wire fences were standing, security was no less nor no more than usual, and I managed to get my passport in about five minutes.  As of now, at least, all is quiet on the Eastern Front.**