Mount Kilimanjaro National Park, Tanzania

8 days, 2 local guides, 8 porters, a stomach engineer,

2 friends/teammates from college (now each 30 years old),

1 goal: Reach the roof of Africa at 19,340 feet... and live to tell about it!

Day 7. June 22, 2014. Approximately 4:00 am. The slopes of Kilimanjaro.

My thoughts...

"Step, breathe, step, breathe, step, breathe."

"Are we there yet?"

"I can't feel my nose. I think there may be snot icicles hanging from it."

"Is it appropriate to ask the guide if he will carry me to the top? If he says yes, does it still count and how much extra do I have to pay for that?"

"Step, breathe, step, breathe, step, breathe."

Leading up to this point...

Most days were spent walking for 4-6 hours; sometimes a little more, sometimes a little less. When we were tired, we rested. When we needed to use the "internet cafe", there miraculously was always one close by with a great signal (a little mountain humor... the internet cafe was code for the toilet). There were plenty of sights to take in along the way.

 

For the most part, we had fantastic weather. There were great views of the mountain above

and cloud covering of the land below.

We also tried to learn from the guides; about their lives, their families, their jobs, their country, the mountain, local plants and animals, and some Swahili words and phrases.

In the afternoons and evenings we would unpack our bags (just to repack them the next morning), wash up (a large bowl of warm water was provided every day), and rest. When it was warm enough, we would sit and enjoy the outdoors. When it was colder, we spent time in our tent or the mess tent and would read, journal, play cards, chat... I can't speak for Mica, but I really enjoyed her company.

Camp each night consisted of a tent for me and Mica, a tent for the guides, a mess tent for dining (doubled as a porters' sleeping tent), a kitchen tent (doubled as a porters' sleeping tent), and a private toilet (just for the two of us, cleaned each day, and carried to the next campsite!). It was not quite as "rough" as either of us had anticipated.

Each meal time we would eat with a capital E! There was enough food each meal to feed a small family. Yet, there were only two of us. The chef seemed to be offended when we didn't eat every little bit of food he prepared, fearing we didn't like it. So Mica and I, being the people-pleasing women that we are, stuffed ourselves to the brim each and every meal and tea time. I don't think I have ever eaten so much in a week!

The nights were cold, but beautiful. I would be remiss if I didn't talk about the stars! The moon was relatively little each night making them even more spectacular. There were so many that it was hard to pick out constellations. Oh, and the Milky Way was clear as can be. I've never seen it so bright!

The climax of the trip is Day 7 - Summit Day.

Preparation:

Wake up 11pm - rest was hard to come by the evening before especially with the anticipation of the climb

Get dressed - 3 layers on bottom, 6 layers on top (with hoods), 2 pairs of warm socks, boots, gaiters, beanie, balaclava, heavy gloves, hand/body warmers in pockets

Finish packing daypack

Tea and biscuits

Depart 12am

The Ascent:

It begins just like every other day except you are hiking in complete darkness with just a headlamp to guide your way. All you can do is watch the person's feet in front of you and step where they step for the next 4,000 or so vertical feet. Luckily, our guides had done this hundreds of times before (no exaggeration). There are many other people setting out at the same time, so there is somewhat of a line of lights up and down the mountain. You can see other groups ahead or behind if you dare to take your eyes away from where you are stepping. As you can imagine it is steep uphill the whole way. The surface changing every so often; dirt, small rocks, sand, giant boulders.

We would break every hour or so for water and snacks if need be. Otherwise, we just kept walking. Hour upon hour. More than the summit, I was anxious for the sun to come up revealing something that would distract me from the gruelling task at hand. Eventually a crescent moon (red/orange) rose in the sky giving me something new to look at. I was still hours from the sunrise.

About 4 hours in I was really starting to get tired. My water had frozen in my Camelbak so I wasn't able to drink regularly. A light breeze started making it extremely cold on my face. I had developed a slight headache. It was gut check time. And luckily for me I had a guide who graciously took my daypack so that I wouldn't have to carry any extra weight. All I had to do was walk. Put one foot in front of the other and just keep moving.

The guides told us we were getting close, but it wasn't until we hit Stella Point at just before 6:00 am that I really believed I would make it. After a short break, we were in the home stretch to Uhuru Peak. I could start to see a little light on the horizon which was encouraging. As the sun rose, we walked the last 45 minutes without the light of our headlamps, past some towering glaciers, above the clouds, around the crater, to the summit.

Official summit time - 6:43am. We did it!!!

The Descent:

Too much time at that elevation with low oxygen levels isn't good for your body. So after just 10-15 minutes at the top we started our way back down. We got back to camp in just three hours, but the descent was extremely painful on my knees and toes. I hadn't prepared myself for this. Honestly, who thinks about what happens after you summit? The climb had taken so much out of me that I barely had anything left physically or mentally. Mica and I suffered through (as did the guides). It wasn't easy for any of us.

We made it to down to the camp we departed from, packed up, had lunch, then continued for another few hours down to about 10,000 feet for the night. In total, we hiked for 13.5 hours! I don't think it comes as any surprise that we slept extremely well that night.

It took an entire team to get us to the top and we both surely recognized that. We could not have done it on our own. A huge thank you to our Climb Kili team!

Our guides James and Visent

and porters Douglas, Benson, Job, Obidiah, Bonaventure, Patrick, Lecumo, Amani, and Genardson!

If you want to read the day-by-day reports sent during the climb, you can do that on Mica's blog:

Long Sleeves In A Short Person World.

Click here to see more photos of Mount Kilimanjaro.