Kili - day 1

The night before we had our briefing and met all but one member of the group.  10 people in total - the four of us, James and Rhiannon -doctors from Wales, Judith and Dominique physical therapists from Canada, Doug a carpenter from Australia and Shaniz was the missing one- a nursing student from England who'd been in Tanzania for the past couple months working.

In the morning we gather in the lobby with all our stuff - ready to be weighed - we can give 35lbs of our stuff to the porters.  There had been a little panic the night before because Lenny - the guy who booked everything, told us we didn't have to worry about our sleeping bag, coat or mat.  Well, we did.  It wasn't so much the weight but the space they took up in our bags that had us worried.  We'd laughed earlier about how huge my bag was for what we needed to put in it and it turned out my bag *just* fit what we needed.

At 1am, we finally had all our stuff packed and ready to go, so in the morning when we brought it to be weighed (Sam and Sally had brought a scale - brilliant idea) we were all set and without worry.
There were a couple other groups in the lobby as well, most notably a group of 22 who were some type of charity group (we later found this out - they sponsor Kenyan students to go to college).  One of the ladies in the group (who wore a pearl necklace and earrings) was a bit rude in the morning.  They'd taken up most of the lobby with their bags, so we were forced to put ours around them in the only free space we could find.  At one point she exclaimed in disgust that her bag was going to get mixed up with ours.  Why she'd think we'd want any additional weight is beyond me, but from that point on we decided we didn't like her and were happy to be with the group we had.... and she wore her pearls the entire time on Kili, so we referred to her as such.

Ours were the last vehicles to arrive, so we were the last to leave the hotel for the 2.5 hr drive to the trail gate.  The Rongai Route, which we were on, is the only one that comes from the north, so we had to drive around to the Kenya side to begin our journey.  Along the way we passed so many people in the street - it was Sunday so everyone had on their best dress.  Some looked like they had on prom dresses, others had full suits.  It was crazy hot, but that didn't get in the way of dressing up for church.  Amazingly, the whites were as white as could be (Shaniz said it has something to do with the Serengeti dust and rain).  I tried to take some pictures and video, but what I captured doesn't do the people justice.

After about 2 hrs, we decided we had to go the bathroom (we are in hydration mode, as that's supposedly one of the ways to fight altitude sickness) so our driver stops on the road and 4 of us go into the woods for our first of many bathroom breaks.  I say this because eventually this is one of the most bonding times we have - and the first one started us off b/c there wasn't a lot of private space, so we more or less formed a circle and just hung it out for all to see (ok, we were far from the road, so the folks passing wouldn't see, but we were close enough to each other that all shame quickly went away).  15 min. later we were at the gate and we realized there were proper toilets waiting for us - oh well.  One thing I can say for sure is you really get to know people when you travel as we did together.

We all get out of the car and go to the tourist waiting area and eat our boxed lunch while the porters weigh all their supplies.  We sign in and meet our guides - a little nervous because the one they introduced as the head guide is flapping his arms like he's trying to fly - a strange sight indeed.  We get a group picture as we set off on our journey.

We walk thru a bit of a forest - not a rain forest, more of a normal forest and we get passed by the porters as memories of the Inca trail flood my brain.  Heidi, a forensic photographer, is already giving lessons on photography as she teaches Rhiannon and James how to make the most of their new mac-daddy camera.  We stop for a rest before we had a chance to be tired. I felt like we were going a bit slow, but others said they thought we were going faster than they expected, so I shut up.

The walk from the gate to the camp site was only about 3-4 hours long with a 750m (2,460ft) overall gain in elevation.  As we went up we could look back and see the plains of Kenya.  The views were already amazing and everyone was falling in love with Africa (as I'd done years ago when I visited Kenya). We stop at a great overlook and the guide, Hubert, said we'll take a break to rest, eat and send emails - which we thought was odd, then he got on his phone.   We all headed off into the woods for our much needed pit stop (we were really good at hydrating), tissue, nappy sack and hand sanitizer in hand.  I started in one direction and Dominique said "Judith is over there" which I took to mean "she'll want her privacy" so I headed in another direction and she said "Sally is over there" and I said, oh, trust me, that means nothing.

We get back on the path and I decide to hang at the back and take some pictures (again, we were going a bit slow, so I figured why not entertain myself with "flower mode").  Lemack, one of our guides, stayed with me as I stopped to take pictures and any time we'd start walking back towards the group he'd say "pole, pole" (slowly, slowly).. but of course, being the invincible hiker that I am, I didn't really listen.  He would never leave me, though, no matter how far ahead the group got - the guides took care of us that way, right from the start.

When we got to the first camp we passed the most beautiful port-a-potty (I kid you not, you'll recognize it immediately when you see my pictures) and them come to the opening where our tents were all set up.  We dropped our stuff in our tents, grabbed our camera and water bottle and went for a short acclimatization walk up a few meters then back down.  When we returned to camp, the porters gave us buckets of warm water for "washy washy" and then we went to the mess tent for tea and popcorn, followed by a 3 course meal.

Going back to the tents after dinner was a treat because as you looked up to the sky the stars had all come out to greet us - with no light pollution, the night sky was overwhelmingly full of white lights...twinkling and in clusters so big that you couldn't determine the constellations that are easily seen when only the brightest shine through.  I never got tired of the night sky (and unfortunately forgot to take a picture, though I did talk about it!)

We went to bed knowing that day 1 was a success - excited for the days ahead.

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Kili -day 2

Our second day started off at 6:15 with coffee brought to us in the tent (as would happen each morning) and some "washy washy" buckets.  It hadn't been very cold and I think I actually slept (rare occurrence for me in a sleeping bag).  We pack up our stuff, put it on the blue tarp for the porters and go to breakfast (eggs, bacon, toast, porridge).

We walk at a crazy slow pace towards our lunch stop.  I have a video loaded on www.youtube.com/user/TenOnTopOfKili called "day 2 - porters passing".  Watch this video to get an idea of our pace.  At the time, I felt like I could keep up with the porters - not sure that it would be true.  However I knew that I'd have to get comfortable with the "pole, pole" (slowly, slowly) pace, so I fell in line and enjoyed walking along with friends.

Prior to leaving the hotel, we'd read up on some interesting facts in the Kilimanjaro book both Heidi and Sally had.  One fact: smokers seem to have a better rate of success to the summit because their lungs are already working so hard (all of us wished we had taken up smoking months earlier in prep for the trip).  Other facts were about mild altitude sickness - it said if you are properly acclimating you will likely have gas, so celebrate your gassiness along the way.  As a result, if one of us had to pass gas, we'd inform each other we were acclimating.  Never has such an action been so embraced!  Other things to look for were loss of appetite, not peeing out all the water you'd been drinking, headache and nausea.  Another fact was that Hans Meyer was the first European to summit Kili -so I was hoping it was in my genes :)

As we headed to lunch (we stop on the way at the second cave because today is an 8-hr day) we, of course, ask for bathroom breaks.  The guide said "you need to send an email" and, confused, we clarified that we needed to go to the bathroom.  He repeated "send an email" at which point we realized that the code word for finding a nice tree/rock to hide behind was "send an email".  So for the rest of the trip we looked for internet cafes where we could send emails while letting everyone know we were acclimating along the way.  See? By day 2, some of the main conversation revolved around bodily functions.  Everyone knew everyone's business.

When we reached the lunch area some people had started feeling the affects of altitude - not too bad, but enough to know something was different.  When I stood up after sitting, for example, I was a little light headed/dizzy.  It went away, but it was noticeable.  From the camp to lunch I'd consumed 3.5L of water in a hope of drinking so much the altitude wouldn't affect me - overall, I think it was a good plan and I'm pretty sure I out-drank (water) everyone (not that it's a competition, but still proud).  Heidi hadn't gone to the bathroom (where others of us had gone every hour) so I told her to drink -which she did but with very little affect.  I was a little worried, but I'm no Dr. so I tried to just stay positive about it.

The guide told us we'd need 2L to get us from lunch to day 2 camp, but I ran out before we arrived.  We were all hydrating and by the end of the day, we'd just line up side by side without a care in the world - commenting on what a beautiful view we had to enjoy when nature called.  As we continued to climb there were moments I got a little bit dizzy, but overall was feeling good and strong.  I was surprised I wasn't breathing heavy like I had on the Inca Trail - either it was because it wasn't as steep or we were going soooooo slow.  All the same, I had a lot of energy and felt bad for Heidi who had a headache.

The map showed that on the second half of day 2 we'd pass by the Giant Senecios - a cactus found only on Kili that Sally's friend asked her to take a picture of.... it was fun to have a purpose and around every corner we hoped to see one.  Along the way we passed a variety of flowers - one poor red flower was all by itself and Sally named it Bridget... after Bridget Jones, singing "all by myself.....don't wanna be...all by myself..." (the guide told us it had a different name, which I've already forgotten).

We finally made our way up and over some rocks and could see our camp (and one of the cacti!).  It was a bit mucky and we had to step carefully on little tufts of grass to a board over a stream then up a hill to get to the camp, but we made it.  As soon as we got to the tent, Heidi said she didn't feel well, went over to the bush and vomited.  I called a guide over, he talked to her (she felt much better afterwards) and he said it was fine - normal even.  Since he wasn't worried, I decided I shouldn't be either.  Happy to be at Kikelelwa Cave (3600m/ 11,811ft), we unpacked before going for tea and hot roasted peanuts (then dinner).

At dinner others felt nauseated and most  had a headache.  Luckily for us, Sam and I only felt a little dizzy (thanks to hydrating?).  Some people had very little appetite, but I was still going strong.  It started to rain when we were eating so we quickly got in our tents after dinner.  The rain really came down that night and Heidi and I pulled out our Freshettes (funnel to let you pee in a bottle) and were overjoyed we had them - allowing us to stay dry in the tent as the rain showers came down around us.  Prior to bed I had my nalgene bottle filled with boiling water and put it at the bottom of my sleeping bag (one for Heidi too).... ahhhhh... it was so nice to put my toes on the warm bottle as the night air was definitely colder.

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Kili- day 3

We wake up to coffee in tent again and after a long night of rain, the clouds have moved off and the sun is shining (though it's not quite warm yet).  Heidi is ready to roll (she's really such a trooper, I don't know if I'd have as much courage and stamina as this woman!)  We look out over the mess tent and see our peak (there are 3 peaks on Kili.... Mawenzi, Shira and Kibo.... Kibo is the one we will summit the day after we stay at the base of Mawenzi).  Again, we are amazed at the view and so excited for the opportunity that lies ahead.  By morning most people who weren't feeling so hot the night before were feeling a bit better.  All of us excited to start the day's journey.

Today we will travel for 3-4 hours (I didn't have a watch on, so I wasn't timing it, but it sure felt like we were traveling slower than the route map said we'd be going... I did, however, turn my garmin watch on periodically to check our elevation) towards Mawenzi Turn.  We are told it will be short but steep.  We start off passing a little gorge which had what I thought were dead cacti lining the sides (see photo)... however after posting my last pictures of the Giant Senecios I was corrected by Sally's friend David (for whom we were taking the pictures) that they are not cacti.... here's what he said: "Kristin, your 'cacti' pictures aren't of cacti but the Giant Groundsel, that was the plant I was on to Sally to get a few pictures of. Cacti are from the Americas, water storing plants from elsewhere are referred to as succulents."  So, I stand corrected... these are simply "succulents".  Anyway, there were a bunch of dead-looking cacti-imposters along the ridge and we had a good view of Mawenzi - where we were headed.

In order to pass the time, Rhiannon started us off with a game of "I spy".  So, as we climbed, we spied things such as Kibo Peak, Hiking Boots, Guides, Poles, Plants, Hats, Backpacks, Hikers, Dirt, Mountain, Rocks and so much more.  Once we'd exhausted that game we did another one that I don't really know what it was called but it was something like "I'm going on a trip and I'm going to bring...." and each person had to add something to the list as it went down the line then back again.  Unfortunately I can't remember all (Heidi or Sally might be able to fill in) but I think we had a beer, hiking poles, a hot guy to carry us, dark chocolate, a massage, a good meal, a helicopter?, a can of Fosters, red wine, was there a horse?  yeah, I should remember more (it went on for a bit) but, alas, I don't.  You get the idea, though.... it was helpful during the steep parts to have your mind focusing on other things.

It was along this climb that we got our first glimpse of the Kibo Huts - the base camp where we'd be prior to the summit climb.  Also, we saw the path that we'd be taking up the peak.  It was a little daunting, but we put that out of our mind and just remained amazed that we'd be there by the end of the next day.

I'd heard the "Jambo song" (no idea what it's really called) when I was in Kenya years back and in looking at youtube videos prior to the climb, I realized the porters often sing it... so I tried singing it with Hubert - one of the guides- the first day... and again today (to pass the time).  He taught me the rest of the words and we got Sally to sing part of it too... Jambo, Jambo Buana, Habari Gani, Muzuri Sana.... Wageni, Wakari Bishua, Kilimanjaro, Hakuna Matata.  (hello, hello mister, how are you? fine thank you... tourist, you are welcome,  in Kilimanjaro... there are no worries)  so we spent some time singing until we came up to a point where we were able to see our camp below.

At the briefing the night before (each night they tell us what to expect for the following day) they told us there would be a lake that was for drinking only.... no swimming or washing.  Why anyone would want to strip down at 4330m/14,200ft is beyond me... so it was funny.  We had to check in at the camp and find our way to our tents.  Everyone (all the different groups) was close together at this camp because it was wide open with no trees - and the toilets were lined up along the back.  This is important to know because it caused quite a disturbance as we made sure we knew exactly which toilet was ours, but some others did not.  Sally became quite perturbed when she went to use our toilet only to find one of "the 22" coming out of it... after having left a smelly gift.  As we went on our acclimation hike (up to 4500m/14,753ft) it was all she could talk about (remember how I mentioned we didn't like "the 22" before?)

As we head up on the acclimation hike, poor Heidi vomits again. The guides rush to her side.  Again, she feels better after the fact and again, they weren't worried.  In fact they said someone else vomited 5 times already - we asked if it was someone in the group of 22, and they said no... Brown (one of our guides).  We were completely surprised as we thought they'd be immune having climbed the mountain so many times.  However, they said anyone can get altitude sickness - and he was proof.  So, we continued up for the acclimatization climb and when we got to the top we could see the clouds roll in over the Kibo peak as well as into the campsite.  We stayed up top long enough for me to "send and email" and for Judith to talk to her kids on the satellite phone she'd rented prior to leaving Canada.  Then we headed down - slipping and sliding, with a little taste of what the ground would be like on summit day - loose rock and sand.

That night it was cold, cold, cold... again I had the porters fill my water bottle with hot water for my sleeping bag and again the freshette was a welcome item in the tent (I tried to drink all night long - in the morning realized I'd finished off 1.5L of water throughout the night - if hydrating was the way to beat altitude, I was determined to drink the night away).  At night I could hear others up coughing, sneezing, (vomiting?) as the altitude was getting to more people.  I had a slight headache when we went to bed but it was gone by morning.  Others in our group were a bit worse off - all had either a headache, nausea or lack of appetite... but all were determined.  Our team name was "10 on top" determined that we would beat the odds and all 10 of us would summit.

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Click for video of porters carrying supplies

Kili - day 4

According to the map we only climb 370m/1,200ft today... from the Mawenzi Tarn (4330m) to Kibo Hut (4700m/15,419ft) - the least amount of "up" for the entire trip (well, I guess with the exception of the last day where it's more or less just down).  Of course, it starts with a hill - a very, very, very slow hill at that (see the video of us walking and the porters passing us up top).  While I can hear myself a little out of breath on other videos before, I don't remember feeling out of breath until this climb.  While I still felt like I could perhaps move a little faster, I was OK with the Pole, Pole speed and still feeling strong.

We ran into a guy from "the 22" who was in about the same shape as Heidi.... we called him "tree" because he said he was always looking for trees like we were always looking for internet cafes.  We saw him a few times later and he always seemed to be on his own, like his group just left him.  This time, however, he was with one of the organizers of his group - who was on his 4th trip to Kili... I have no idea why anyone would want to do this trip 4 times, but there you have it.

After we got off the volcanic rock area, we headed down to the very flat alpine desert.  4 years ago a plane crashed in this desert (http://english.people.com.cn/90001/90777/90855/6529912.html) killing 4 Italian tourists who had wanted to get pictures of the mountain.  The remnants of the plane are still there - so we were able to go check it out up close.  Of course, "the 22" had gotten there before us and after we waited patiently for them to move on from the main part of the plane, they went over to the wings... and sat on them - taking a a break.  So if you'd like to see some of "the 22" you will see them in my day4 album, sitting on the wings of the airplane.

Although the path was flat, we were in the highest altitude yet and Heidi wasn't feeling so hot (read: vomited again).  I felt so bad for her, but unfortunately there wasn't much we could do.  Sally and I took as much weight from her backpack as we could and put it in ours.  Dominique was complaining of walking too quickly - though it seemed for her more to be a matter of fitness (not Heidi's problem- the woman is a machine) than of the altitude.  By the time we finally arrived at the Kibo Huts, poor Heidi looked like she was going to fall down - I took her bag and checked us in and told her I'd meet her at the tent.  After checking in, I headed to our camp with Heidi's pack on my front and mine on my back and Alpha (a guide) asked if I'd climbed many mountains because I was very strong - I told him no (just the Inca Trail in 2010) but was very happy to be one of the strong ones- and I felt it!  I had to walk slowly at this point, I could certainly feel the 15,000ft+ altitude and I had a small headache, but other than that I was positive and feeling good.

When we got to the tent I took an ibuprofen and everything seemed to be good.

We had an early dinner and briefing.  Sam, our head guide, told us to wear everything we had for the summit. He also told us we'd go as a group to Gilman's then we'd go on to Uhuru... pole, pole... but that we'd only have 10-20 min at Uhuru and then we had to hurry quickly down the mountain to avoid AMS (Acute Mountain Sickness).  Alpha reviewed the symptoms of AMS and HAPE (high altitude pulmonary edema) and HACE (High altitude cerebral edema)  - such as not being able to tell time when you have a watch on, unsteady gait, etc.  I went to the guides afterwards to ask what we'd do from Gilman's to Uhuru if someone was going slower.  Back at the hotel all four of us had agreed that when it came to summit time, we wouldn't wait for each other if one of us can't make it - none of us wanted to stand in the way of the others ability to summit.  At this point I was certain we'd all make it to Gilman's (including Heidi) but I wasn't sure Heidi would be able to get to Uhuru and since the guides stressed that the longer you were on the summit, the better chance you had of getting sick, I was afraid of being on it too long and wanted to get up... go over to Uhuru and get down.  I didn't think Heidi would be able to do this, and I wanted to have the proper expectations.  They didn't seem to understand my question and instead just told me I'd be fine.  Whatever.

So we went to bed around 6:30, needing to wake up around 11.  Going to bed in our 2 base layers was suggested... I had so much laid out to wear, I thought I was overdoing it.  Surprisingly, I slept a little bit... but I woke up well before the 11pm wake up call.... and the wind around the tent was wicked.  I wondered if it was a Cat 1 hurricane force wind.  When it was time to get up, I asked Heidi how she felt - as expected, like crap.  I asked her what she was going to do... she said she wasn't sure.  I told her I supported any decision she made.  Eventually, she decided she wanted to make an attempt.  So, we (again) made her backpack as light as possible.  I took a few snacks for her and her bag only had water in it.  We put on all our layers (I had on 2 pairs of long underwear, running pants and hiking pants; on top a long underwear shirt, turtleneck, 2 mock-zip necks, my fleece, raincoat and the down jacket - as well as my balaclava, and wool hat.... hand warmers in my mittens, and feet warmers in my shoes.

I was ready - a little nervous, excited and anxious - the time had finally arrived.  We gathered with the group and prepared for our midnight adventure.

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Click for Video of us climbing and porters passing

Kili - day 5 (summit)

As we leave our camp, head torches lit, we are nagged by the wind whipping across our faces and through to our bones.  Looking up the mountain, there is a river of white lights winding towards the top... the people who've started the ascent earlier.  I turn on my garmin watch, stick it in my pocket and forget about it - I figure it'll be fun to see how much it records and when the battery dies out, so be it.  (It lasted for 5h:23m.... during which time we went from 15,400ft to 18,100ft above sea level in 2.05 miles).

Not too long into the walk, Heidi had to stop - she wasn't feeling good.  Sam called me over and instructed Alpha to take Heidi's snacks out of my bag and hold them for her.  He then told us she was going to continue behind us with Alpha at a slower pace - so we had to leave her behind.  I kept looking back for the 2 headlamps with great hope - but the time we reached the rest stop, they were no longer able to be seen.

The wind slows down for a short bit, so Sally and I take advantage of the time to "send an email" only there were no "internet cafes" nearby, so I simply turned my bright light on and shined it in the way of people who might venture our way. Blinding people, I've found, works just as well as finding a rock.

At the second stop my head started hurting a bit so I took some ibuprofen.  Either at the first or second Dominique mentioned wishing that we took more stops for shorter periods of time because the pace was too much.

We half shuffle our feet in order to move forward - the ground is loose sand/rock/dirt but at the bottom (where we were) at least it wasn't that steep.  The wind continued to taunt us - and I'd bring my buff up to cover my cheeks and nose, then have to put it down again because it got too hot.  As I'm sure you are aware, mittens are more difficult to use than gloves and more than once, I lost the grip of the buff/balaclava when trying to position it and it snapped back at my face like someone snapping a rubber band - ow!  My right cheek felt like it was frostbitten as it was so sore, cold and raw from the wind (it wasn't, by the way).  I tried to zip the down jacket collar up to block the wind some more, but it only half helped and it felt very constrictive (probably because I had 4 other turtleneck-height shirts on underneath).  Still, we pushed on.

The guides were singing songs that sounded like musical wonders... I'm sure they would have been beautiful to listen to at any point, but here on the mountain when all you did was point your light to the ground in front of you and watch the feet of the person you were following in order to step safely, the songs were heavenly... taking your mind off the task at hand.  It seemed colder and more difficult any time they stopped.

Sally and I wondered if we'd reached the "nightmare" yet - as described by the itinerary I'd read only after booking my flight 3 months earlier.  We decided it couldn't be yet... because while it was difficult, it didn't feel nearly impossible.  I let her know, once again, I would not be doing the mountain in Argentina, and she said she just knew I'd change my mind when all this was over- I reiterated that I would not.  I told Sam that while I really loved hiking (and, indeed, had enjoyed the last 4 days immensely - well, except the being cold, sleeping in a sleeping bag, in a tent with no shower bit) this climb we were experiencing just wasn't fun and I don't have any desire to spend this much money on something as not-fun as this ever again.

We get to another break and my body is hating me... my headache is back and I'm crazy tired.  I thought the biggest problem would be not breathing, but that isn't bothering me... maybe because I'm used to being short of breath when I work out?  Who knows.  The head guide, Sam, asked us each how we were doing.  I replied "exhausted" he asked "exhausted?" so I said "really tired" and he said "the mountain makes you tired, it's OK"... a line I heard him repeat to at least 3 others.  Shaniz asked how I was doing and I said I was about to curse someone.... to which Sally answered "um, that would be me" and Shaniz said "why?" and I said "because she made me climb this @#$%ing mountain!"  Yup, the potty mouth had emerged.  Sally, on the other hand, was a fountain of energy... convinced this wasn't anywhere close to the difficulty she'd been told and that it was a bunch of hoopla made to scare people.

We start off again and not too far along we stop.  I had just started to get warm again, the stop annoyed me.  We started up again, just started getting warm and again, we stop.  Now I'm cursing.  Dominique is in front and it appears her desire for many stops is being honored.  We start again and soon after I see her fall to the ground... so we stop.  Now, I'm not going to lie, I'm getting more than annoyed.  I know the longer it takes us to get there, the more my head is going to hurt, my face is going to freeze and my energy is going to decline.  Every time we stop, Sam and I turn to try to have the wind at our back as we just wait- wind sneaking in around all the layers and daring us to go on.  The next time we stop, I just sit down on the mountain.  The time after that I yell "can we please keep moving"  and a couple more after that I yell "can we please break into 2 groups".  I don't mean to be mean... really, but I know others were thinking it and my will to move on was getting chipped away with every stop.   At this point even Sally was starting to feel it and she let me know that she'd hit a wall too.

I knew I needed to eat more... my body was tired.  Sally gave me a bar... I ripped off the top and couldn't think of what to do with it.  I didn't want to throw it on the mountain (I'm not going to litter like so many others before me - it disgusts me) but I can't find my pocket in the down jacket I rented and I can't use my other hand to open a zipper because it's holding the bar. Now, under normal circumstances "how to throw away part of a wrapper" would not be a big deal... but here, on the mountain, with my hands in mittens, my face hurting from the cold, my legs not wanting to walk and my head with an increased pain, it was a huge issue.  I decided the best thing to do would be to put it down my jacket.  Now, I'm sure somewhere between this moment and the time I reached base camp, that little piece of trash made it's way to the mountain floor... but when I put it there, it was the best I could come up with.  Next was eating the bar.  If someone had held it to my mouth, I think I could have eaten it - I hadn't lost my appetite.  However the energy it took to move my hand from my side, up to my mouth and hold it there while I took a bite?  well, that lasted for one bite and I was exhausted.  Now that I had 2 hands available, I opened the zipper on the side of my backpack and put it in.  I was back to focusing on walking... one step at a time... pole, pole.

We arrive at another break area and Sam comes by to ask everyone how we are... I look at him and say "exhausted".  He'd gone to Sally first and asked if she wanted him to take her bag (because she said she was tired too) and she'd said no.  When he asked me, I said yes, with a feeling of relief that a huge weight (literally and figuratively) had been lifted off my shoulder.  Now - you know how independent and strong minding I am.... usually my pride would stand in my way and I would prove how strong and fit I was (because, truthfully, I felt I trained hard and was one of the strongest and most fit of the group)... however, my body was shutting down and I wanted to make it to the summit... no longer focused on Uhuru, now just Gillman's.  So, Sam took my bag and gave it to someone and said "Gideon will be carrying your bag".  I didn't know Gideon (well, I didn't realize who it was, as I didn't look up I just nodded and said OK) so I determined he must have been the "summit porter" Sam got to go up with us (we have a head guide and 4 assistant guides, all trained medically for the summit.  then there are 8 helping porters, some of whom can be "summit porters" if the head guide needs them - not to help medically, but rather physically if the situation should arise.  When Sam suggested we have a summit porter at the briefing the night before, I think it was because we had Heidi who wasn't doing well and Dominique who often went slow... I really don't think anyone thought I'd need one... of course, I wasn't thinking about this on the mountain, it's just hindsight).  I also told Sam my head was pounding.. he said to take asprin, which I didn't have... so I said I had ibuprofen and he said to go ahead and take that.

We move on again... finally we separate into 2 groups and Dominique is left with Hubert (one of the guides) who was already carrying her bag as she had rented oxygen and had that on her back.  The mountain was much steeper now and still loose dirt/rocks were under our feet.  We were so close to the stars, it seemed like we'd be able to grab the handle of the big dipper.  Soon the sun started peaking through and I was looking forward to the warmth it would provide.  Shuffling our feet, I kept telling myself "left, right, left, right" trying to help my legs along.  Sometimes my words didn't match my feet so I'd stop saying it and try to figure out what the pattern was in order to start again.  This is one of the little games I played in my head to encourage a movement forward.  We could see more of the mountain, and it was clear how steep it was... it was also apparent that a night climb was smart - even though the summit seemed to get farther and farther away when you look up and see the lights of people ahead of you.... you can't see the grade and realize if you fell you'd probably just roll all the way down the mountain, bumping over rocks and stones along the way.

We take a break.  I ask Gideon for my gatorade - my friend Michele had told me about the loss of energy/need for snack, so I packed some gatorade thinking it'd be a good way to replenish what I'd lost.  Gideon handed me my bag (at this point I recognized him... he was the happy man who set the table for use each night and brought us food).  I looked at him because I couldn't open it.  He unzipped my bag and I pointed to the gatorade and said "the yellow bottle" he took out the blue one (he's not fluent in English) and i shook my head and pointed to the other - happy it wasn't frozen (as my mouthpiece from my camel back had been frozen earlier and Sally suggested I keep it in my coat... we'd already been warned to blow back into the camel back after taking a sip so the passageway wouldn't freeze... and we were also told to pack our warm water bottles upside down, so when they did freeze they'd freeze on the bottom (or top- since they were upside down) and we'd still have water on top).  Anyway, he handed me the bottle.  I held it and couldn't do anything, so I handed it back.  He unscrewed the top and handed it to me.  I held it and couldn't do anything, so I gave it back.  He fed me the bottle until I put my hand up to tell him to stop... then motioned for more... then motioned to stop. I offered the bottle to others and then Gideon put it back.  I told Sally "I'm only going to Gillman's" she asked if I was sure, reminding me that this was the only time in my life that I'd be here... that I'd never have the chance again (Sally and I are almost the same person and we both have a little crazy in us when it comes to things we do, so she was my inner-self talking).  I told her I was sure.  She said, OK.

We start up again... now the steep grade of the mountain has turned into boulders.  We decided the "nightmare" part of the itinerary had indeed started. We have to step up to get up... at one point I start to lose my balance so I use my pole to push me into the side of the mountain - where I kind of fell into it/sat down.  Someone picked me up and we kept going.  The only thing moving me forward is knowing I've come too far to turn around... even though I started wondering if I was dying... if the HAPE or HACE had started... I've never experienced a headache like the one that was going through my head at that moment.  One of the guides points ahead and said "there's Gilman's point" and even though it was close, it looked like we'd have to climb another mountain just to get there.  head down, small steps, you can do it - is what I told myself.

Finally I reached the top... in tears. (Gilman's Point is 5681m/18,638ft above sea level). The sun had come up by now (it was a beautiful sunrise over Mawenzi when I did look at a few times coming up and I was sad that my camera was so many layers down for fear it would freeze and not work, because I really wished I could have taken pics of the sunrise and part of the ascent).  Sally came over and hugged me and when she saw my tears, she started crying too.  I asked someone to take my picture in front of the sign.... explaining that my camera was 3 layers down.  He took my picture with Sam and Sally... then I asked him to take a couple others (please take a picture of the glacier, thank you... now the other mountain top, thank you... now me with the guides, thank you).  Rhiannon and James' camera died when they reached the top, so I gave them mine and said to fire away.  I overheard Judith ask a guide if she should give me some of her oxygen and he said "no, she'd going down".  Then I saw head guide Sam and he said "are you going down?" and I said "yes" and he said "that's a good idea".  Sally asked if I was absolutely sure.  I confirmed with a guide "it's just about 2 more hours to Uhuru, right?" "yes"... I turned to Sally and said "I can't do this for 2 more hours"  She said she understood.  Someone told me "Gideon will bring you down" at which point Gideon, all smiles, came over to me and nodded... I nodded back with my best attempt at a smile, wished everyone luck and headed down "pole, pole" as he he told me.  Not too long after leaving I saw Dominique making her way up - she asked how much farther... I pointed to the green sign and said "that's it" and wished her luck.  After going down the boulders pole, pole, we got to the loose dirt/scree.  Gideon showed me how to walk in it.... putting your heel down and sliding... right, left, right, left.  Now, I imagine this could be fun if one had a ton of energy... but for me it wasn't fun... I'd rather a sled that would just take me down quickly.  At one point early on I fell... and rather than get up, I just laid back and closed my eyes.  Ready to sleep.  Wanting my head to stop feeling like it'd explode... thinking "if only I bought the evacuation insurance I'd just sit here and wait to be rescued"... then Gideon was over me saying "no sleeping on mountain, sleep at Kibo Huts" and I said, "no thank you, I'd like to sleep here"  and he repeated "no sleeping on mountain, sleep at Kibo Huts.... water?"  so he fed me more water and I dragged my butt up to go down some more.  This scene repeated itself at least 3 times... poor Gideon, he kept smiling when all I wanted to do was stop and give up... "pole, pole...sleep at kibo hut"

I have no idea how long it took us to get down.  I keep waiting for my headache to go away - because the way you get rid of altitude sickness is to go down the mountain... with every step I was hoping it would disappear... but to no avail... it just pounded and pounded and pounded - I would have cried, but that'd take too much energy.  The darn huts seemed to get farther and farther away (much like the peak had on our way up).  Eventually we made it back... I thanked Gideon and Heidi came out of the tent - worried I was back (turns out she'd turned around half way.... when Alpha said "this is the halfway point" she said "screw it, I'm going back"  quite frankly, knowing what I know now, she's a way stronger woman that I am, because I don't think I'd have made it that far feeling like she did).  I went to the bathroom and came back to the tent and told Heidi I thought I was dying (yeah, I can be a bit dramatic).   She told me to lay down and pass out... I said I needed my shoes and gaitors off... she said "ok" and I said "i can't do it" so my dear friend heidi was kind enough to take off my shoes and dusty gaitors... I rolled over and fell asleep (knowing I'd have at least 2 hours before the rest came down).

After waking up, my headache was still there - I asked Heidi to get Alpha (the guide who'd been with her, so I knew he was at camp).  I asked Alpha if we could go to the lower camp because I was in bad shape... he said take an ibuprofen, it wouldn't be long before the rest came down... we could leave if we had to, but he recommended we wait.  I asked if cook would make some soup, then, because I knew my body had depleted all energy.  Bless him, the cook made some soup and although it took a lot of effort to eat it, it was a welcome, much needed meal.  In the meantime, Dominique had come down the mountain as well - she'd turned around at Gillman's too. Doug was the first down from the Uhuru trip... followed by Sam.... the others trickled in.

When Sally got back, she was in tears and said she was never climbing another !@#$ing mountain again. I said "promise?" she said "promise."  As I listened to them talk about the trip to Uhuru (very difficult) and the view from there (short) and the physical reactions of the group (diarrhea, headaches, Rhiannon having to be practically carried down by Sam), I decided it was a good thing I turned around.  To boot, Sally said they removed the sign we'd all seen in pictures for Uhuru peak and replaced it with a green street-sign... like they had a Gilman's (we find out later this happened in Dec).  I'm not going to lie - that would have really pissed me off if I made it and didn't even get the "authentic" sign picture.

They call us for lunch.  I'm the first one in the tent, followed by Dominique.  I fall asleep waiting for others (waking up when Doug comes in and sits next to me... or was it across from me? whatever).  Everyone is in bad sorts... James thinks Rhiannon might have popped a lung... yes, I'm happy I turned around.

After lunch we get back on the road and have to walk 3-4 hours to Horombo Huts (3720m/12,200ft) - now we are on the Marangu trail.  We were thinking it would be all downhill, but they snuck in a few uphills along the way.  Doug and Shaniz went ahead, Sally and I walked with Hubert and the rest followed behind with Lemeck.  When we got to dinner at the Horombo Huts all of us felt better as far as altitude symptoms (headaches, nausea, appetite) but most of us were feeling a cold/flu coming on.  My nose was running and I had a sore throat... others were coughing.  It seemed our bodies were retaliating for all we'd put them through.  We worked out the tips as the next day was the tipping ceremonies.  The company gave us a tipping breakdown recommendation - which Sally nominated me to oversee since I'd done it on the Inca Trail.  We were happy to have collected more money than the recommended amount, therefore giving the staff a little bonus.

Wonder what they get for all the work they do?  Here's the recommended range/what we gave:
Head Guide (Sam): $70-100/$123
Assist Guide (we had 4): $45-55 (each)/ $68 (each)
Cook: $50-65/$80
Helping porters (we had 8) $25-35/ $43(each)
Ordinary porters (we had 22) $20-25/ $31 (each)

I'll review the tipping ceremony on the Day 6 story.

After working out the tips, we were all ready for a nice long sleep - at the briefing we were told we'd be up at 6 tomorrow and there was no time for dilly-dallying!

Click for pictures

Kili - day 6

It's time to leave the mountain which, at this point in time, we call a variety of names (none of them nice)  - "she that shall not be named" is one of them.  Prior to breakfast we gather things we would like to donate to the staff.  As you can imagine (or have seen if you have been looking at my pictures/videos) many of the porters and guides do not have the best climbing gear.  They often rely on donations from clients to replace worn out clothes (though there is a group http://www.kiliporters.org/ that lends clothes to porters for free for the duration of the climb).  Many of the staff had shoes that were cracked or patched up with stitches and most didn't have the high-tech gear we are accustomed to wearing.  I found Gideon and offered him my wool hat as (if you can see in the pictures) his hat seems to be held on with a sweatband.  Then I found the porter who carried my bag and gave him one of my running shirts that I hoped would fit (luckily he was little, but the biggest shirt I had was a medium).  I put the other running shirts I'd brought in the bag.  Sally had brought an extra pair of hiking boots and Heidi more or less gave them everything except the shirt off her back - so as a group, I think we filled up the rice bag - hopefully our porters and guides will benefit from what we left behind.

We had been told the night before that we needed to get a prompt start, so for probably the first time, all 10 of us were sitting at the breakfast table before anything was brought out to eat.  As soon as we were done, the tipping ceremony began.  The lead guide, Sam, checked to make sure we were all set.  He said he was going to collect the money, but we told him we had it ready for each person.  He seemed surprised that we had exact change (which makes me wonder if sometimes porters don't actually get all that should be given, since it seems Sam is used to groups giving him the money directly).  We were on top of it, though, having done the Inca Trail before - Heidi and I came armed with lots of 1's and 5's to make change and between all of us, we had the exact amount for all.  Sam also told use we needed to give Gideon a little additional money because he was not only a helping porter, but was a summit porter as well - I said I'd give the extra since he helped me, but Sally insisted that we all put in money, as it just so happened he helped me, but it could have been anyone.  So we all added $1 and Gideon got $53 (instead of the $43 the other helping porters received).

Sally spoke words of gratitude on behalf of the group and Alpha (a guide) translated her words into Swahili. When it got time to tell them the tip (we were told to state out loud the tip for the porters.... I'm guessing because sometimes they don't get it unless it's stated) and Sally said the ordinary porters got $31, Alpha looked at her before translating and said "these are ordinary porters"  and she said "yes, $31 for the ordinary porters" and he looked confused.  We all nodding our heads.  (you see, the recommended amount was $20-25 for ordinary and $23-35 for helping - they must have thought we were confused).  So, he announced that the ordinary porters were getting $31 and I tell you, some of them may as well have done cartwheels.  We'd divided the money among our group, so everyone had the honor of giving a tip to someone.  They were so grateful (can you imagine carrying 50lbs for 6 days up a mountain, setting up tents, packing them up again and moving on... and being overly excited that you got a tip for $31?  it's no wonder they think of us as rich.  We truly are blessed to live the lives we do).

Next came the helping porters, who were equally excited about the $43 they received and when we announced that Gideon was getting $53 (and a huge thank you for saving my life -more or less- on the mountain by bringing me down safely) he shook each of our hands with both his hands and was almost on his knees thanking each and every one of us.  It felt good to know that our tip was enough to make them feel appreciated... and at the same time a little sad to know how hard they worked for us and how little they receive.  Next were the assistant guides, cook and head guide (and we were told NOT to announce those amounts).  Once everyone received their money, they sang for us... the second song was the Jambo song I'd learned before.  If you'd like to view the video, click here.


After the song, we took a group picture, gathered our things and headed back down.  With the exception of Heidi (who now had the energy of a spring chicken since she was finally able to eat and keep everything down), everyone was feeling a bit under the weather.  We were all excited about the shower waiting for us at the hotel.  The only problem was it was a 19k (almost 12 miles) walk down to the gate and it would take us about 6 hours.

On any other day, we would have all been in constant awe of the surroundings - the scenery was lush, thick, and full of surprises - after some low-lying trees and bushes we came into the rainforest... and unless you grew up in an area with a rainforest, I dare you not to be impressed - the moss hanging down, the huge trees, ferns bigger than me and of course monkeys (aw, yeah... we had to stop for the monkeys.... twice).  But, alas, our goal was a shower at the hotel and the path seemed to go on forever.  A cruel trick the "mountain that shall not be named"  played on us after sucking us in for 4 days, luring us with her beauty... she then chewed us up and spit us out with a vengeance.

But make it we did... because we are strong... even though we might not have felt it (well, again, except for Heidi who suggested we go for a trail run), we are determined and strong (in body and mind) and because of that, we do amazing things (these are the things we kept telling ourselves, hoping we'd eventually believe it and make it thru!)

Back at the hotel, after one of the best showers ever (nothing special about the actually shower, just the "first shower in 6 days" feeling) I had to get to the internet (which was slow as molasses going uphill in January) to make sure everyone knew I was safe.  (After arriving home, I learned its a good thing I did because y'all were really worried about me!)  Then we headed to the bar to toast our survival and share a drink with a few of the guides who took us up on the invitation to have a beer.

What I thought would be one beer then dinner at 7:30 and bed by 9 turned into many beers (not for me, I didn't feel well so I stuck with one) for the guides and our group, ordering a pizza at 10 (you'd think it was impossible to mess up a pizza... but I tell you, this hotel made the worst tasting pizza I think I've ever had) and not getting to bed until after 11.  All of this after the guides asked us to pay for their ride home because we invited them for drinks and now it was going to cost a lot of money to get home.  Well, they told us it'd be $25 for a taxi... I excused myself to use the bathroom and went to the front desk to ask the cost of a taxi.  $10.  And that's for me... the muzungu... the white person.  It left a bad taste in our mouths... especially since we felt we'd been so nice to offer to buy a drink and had been generous with the tips.  We tried to keep in mind that they look at us as crazy rich and if they can get a little more out of us, why not.  Still, like I said, it left a bad taste.  In hindsight I wish we hadn't asked them for a beer and we'd all have left happy as clams.

I slept that night like I'd never slept before - straight through until my alarm woke me up.... it was soooooo nice to be in a bed instead of a sleeping bag.  I was looking forward to sitting on my butt and being driven around for the next couple days as we headed towards the Serengeti for our safari.

Click for Pictures

Made it down the mountain

Jan. 20, 2012

I only have a few minutes on this (very slow) computer - so I'll try
to update more later... but for now, I wanted to let you know I made
it back to the hotel safely... it's nice to have showered after 6 days
:-)

I made it to Gilman's point on the Kili summit - it's the one where
you can say you officially summited, but it's not the official summit
I hoped to reach (Uhuru).  My body just couldn't take it anymore... it
didn't even want to go to Gilman's but I forced it on.  3/4 of the way
up a "summit porter" took my bag... when we weren't far from the top I
wanted water and had to ask him to get it from inside my bag and feed
it to me like a baby because I just couldn't hold the bottle. We got
to the top, I had someone take my camera out of my jacket and take a
picture of me and my friends at the sign then asked him to take a
couple other pictures for me (you know I'm in bad sorts when I don't
have energy to take pictures).. then I said "i'm going down"  and the
head guide said "that's a good idea"  I just couldn't do another 2
hours to get to Uhuru... the wind was wicked from the beginning and
only worse on the crater.

on the way down i just sat down at one point, laid back and closed my
eyes.... guidean (my summit porter god) said "no sleeping on the
mountain, sleep at kibo huts"  something he had to repeat many times
as we went down the very long trail.... while every so often giving me
water (again, feeding me like a baby).  when we finally got to camp,
heidi (who made it to the halfway point and turned around...she'd had
mild alt. sickness since day 2) was there and i had her take off my
shoes for me bc I just couldn't move... i passed out on the mat..  My
headache finally went away for the most part last night when we went
to the lower camp (3,700m I think) but it was replaced with a sinus
issue - thinking my body held out as long as possible and is now
getting back at me.

The first 4 days were BEAUTIFUL... the experience for those days was
awesome... we had a great group of 10 people who all got on well...
the guides and porters were amazing.  Summit night, the 4 hours of
walking that afternoon and the 7 hours of walking today I could do
without... The people who made it to Uhuru were in just as bad as
shape as me.... on our way up I told Sally we are not doing the
"highest mountain outside of the himalayas" which is in Argentina
(she's suggested it prior to the climb) and when she got down, in
tears, she agreed.

Looking forward to sitting in a car and being driven around while
looking at animals for the next couple days... back stateside on
Weds... hoping to be home Weds night, but likely Thurs.

Thanks for all your happy thoughts and well wishes!

I'll do a day by day update when I get home... along with pictures to
accompany the story.