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10/2/2022 0 Comments TRAIL: Mount Kilimanjaro - PART III - the Lemosho Route (Days 6-8 including Summit night!) For five days we had been walking towards base camp, towards the top of Kili, towards our ultimate goal. While it's just one foot in front of the other, each step was getting me closer to the moment I had been envisioning for seven months - standing on the peak touching the sign that so many others have touched before me. We were high above the clouds now at 4,000+ MASL. For someone who lives at sea level, it can be a rather strange sensation to look down at the clouds instead of up at them. And, as someone who has a (sometimes debilitating) fear of heights, it really played with my brain that the ground and clouds were so far below. The third highest peak in Tanzania - Mount Meru - was the only point of reference poking through the clouds at 4,565 MASL. That's how high we were. My brain thinks we should be looking up at mountains not down at them. But, we still had a lot of upwards to go so the best things was to keep my eyes on the prize and not look back down the mountain.  Day 6: July 16 - KARANGA CAMP (3,995 MASL) to BARUFU CAMP (4,673 MASL) Today's was a short hike as we had to conserve our energy for the next night and day - summit night - but it was still an early one. Wakey wakey at 6:30am, washy washy at 7:00am and breakfast at 7:30am. Thankfully I had found a groove in my morning routine and was now even early for breakfast. It was a three-hour hike up to base camp. The day was clear and the mountain never disappeared from sight. I was feeling great except my sister experienced the burning eye pain that I had a few days ago. It really knocked her out like it did to me. But the remainder of the day called for rest so that's exactly what she did and thankfully she recovered in time for tackling the summit. We arrived about noon at base camp and had lunch. You could sense a bit of anxiety in the air - tonight was THE night we'd been waiting for. I don't think I was the only feeling a little apprehensive and excited and also not at all hungry. I don't know if it was nerves or the altitude but the last thing I wanted was food. We had an early lunch and then an early dinner so that we would have time for a short nap before starting the long hike to the summit. I forced myself to eat some soup but that's all I could manage. I got everything ready for the 'early' wake wakey and once again cocooned myself in all my clothes around 8pm in the hope that I could get a couple hours of sleep. But, sleep can be elusive when your body is vibrating with anticipation.  Day 7 (PART 1): July 17 - SUMMIT NIGHT - BARUFU CAMP (4,673 MASL) to UHURU PEAK (5,895 MASL) When your wakey wakey is at 10pm you know it's going to be a long night! And an even longer day! But it was going to be a once-in-a-lifetime summit night and sleep could wait until tomorrow. Our guide divided us into two groups for the trek to the summit - a slower group and everyone else. I was in the slower group with my sister and one other hiker. We started our trek at 11pm while the other group started at midnight. That extra hour relieved us of the stress of having to keep up with the quicker pace of the fast (er) group. The last six days had prepared us for this night. We were ready. I was wearing seven layers on top (merino wool tank, two merino wool base layers, a vest, a fleece, an gortex rain jacket and a down jacket) and four layers on the bottom (thin merino wool leggings, thick merino wool leggings, pants, and rain pants). I had gloves and mittens, two toques and a fleece neck buff. So what I can say about the long trek to the summit? It took us 7.5 hours of walking from base camp to Uhuru Peak. Was it tough? Absolutely. It takes grit and determination to do this section. My body was screaming at me that I should be sleeping and not hiking up a mountain in complete darkness (except for the light from my headlamp). Meanwhile, my mind was focussed on every step and staying awake. It felt like it was taking forever. It kind of was - the distance was 5 KMS but it took us 7.5 hours so, yes, it was slow moving. Sometimes it felt like one step forward, with one step sliding back down on the loose gravel. We didn't speak much on the way up. Every once in a while one of the guides would ask how we were doing. To which we would respond "Sawa sawa" (okay in swahili). And, sometimes the porter in the back would loudly say "good! good!' as words of encouragement or to make sure we weren't sleep walking, in either case it worked. In a way the cold air is good - the brisk freshness can keep you more alert. But, the cold makes it difficult in other ways. I kept taking tiny sips of water to keep the tube to my camel pack from freezing, but you can't fight mother nature. I was about half way up when the tube froze. I also carried an insulated water bottle in anticipation of this happening. We walked slowly and let others groups pass us. We were all going to get to the peak, so what's the rush? And then it wouldn't be too long where we'd pass those same groups while they were stopped because some of the hikers were clearly suffering altitude sickness and throwing up. We also saw another man being assisted down the path while we were walking up. These are reminders that hiking Kilimanjaro isn't a walk in the park and must be taken cautiously. Slow and steady gets there just like everyone else, onlty without the altitude nausea. Looking back, it's hard to imagine that we hiked all night through to the wee hours of the morning. Towards dawn, or what we hoped was dawn, it started to feel like we would never get to the top. We hardly took any breaks because you couldn't stop for more than a few minutes - it's cold and you want to keep your muscles engaged. Our guides would never tell us how much farther we had to go. Sneaky or strategic, you decide.  But then, in what seemed like a mirage, the sign for Stella Point was illuminated by a group of hikers in front of us. It was still pitch black (no idea what time it was!) but finally, we could see that the finish line was within reach! It was like having a shot of adrenaline, suddenly we all seemed to find more energy. That and the promise of a cup of warm tea once we reached Stella Point was all the encouragement we needed to keep pushing upwards. FYI - tea does not stay warm once poured into a cup at 5,756 MASL. Onwards. And then, as if on cue, the sun came up lighting the way to Uhuru Peak. If only the sun's warm rays reached the peak. It was very cold. I'm Canadian and I know cold. THIS WAS COLD. There is nothing to block the wind. It seeped through all my layers - all seven layers! Instantly my fingers froze through my gloves and mittens. But I managed to take some photos and videos as I knew that in my oxygen-reduced delirium I may not remember the details of this moment. I reached the summit at 6:38am. Envisioning this moment helped me get to this point, but I hadn't thought of how emotional I would be once I got there. Did I cry? Absolutely. Was it a flurry of emotions? Certainly. Was getting here one of the hardest things I've ever done? Unequivocally, yes. Just as we (the slow group) started to take our pictures at the sign, the rest of our group (the faster ones) arrived. The timing was perfect! See? Slow and steady gets there just like everyone else. And we also liked (bragged) that we, the slow group, reached the top first. And, being the oldest woman in our group, I felt a huge sense of pride.  Day 7 (PART 2): July 17 - UHURU PEAK (5,895 MASL) to MWEKA CAMP (3,100 MASL) What goes up slowly must come down quickly - that's climbing Kili. Our descent began soon after we took the last group photo. You know what took 7.5 hours to ascend? That would take us only a few hours to descend. This was not my favourite part of the hike. I don't think it was anyone's favourite part. Looking at the tiny graph from my Garmin watch, it's easy to see how much quicker the descent was compared to the ascent. This is what I remember: tackling the loose shale was like slalom skiing down a moving escalator that has come loose from its conveyer belt, in the blazing sun, all the while trying not inhale the clouds of dust from the person in front of you or fall down because your body and mind are exhausted. And then doing that for hours. All part of the adventure. Remember some of the groups who hiked faster but who also suffered altitude sickness? Well at least one of them needed assistance coming down. We saw one being "carried" by two porters. The hiker couldn't stand and looked really out of it. I don't know what group they were with or what they were trying to prove by going faster but evidently reaching Uhuru Peak isn't always as great an experience as it was for us.  We arrived back at base camp in what seemed like a blur. I am certain that spending a short amount of time in less than optimal oxygen affected my brain. I couldn't remember simple words. Like pole - the thing I held in my hand for 10.5 hours. I couldn't remember the word pole. Clearly I needed sleep. I've never been so happy to see our tent and to sleep on the ground! We had a two hour nap, although I could've slept for hours it was only meant to be a pit stop. We packed up everything, had a small bite to eat (again, still not all that hungry) and started back on the trail towards Mweka Camp. Sure going up the mountain was hard but add a bit of vertigo, to sleep deprivation, physical exhaustion and dehydration, and you've got a descent that rivals all descents. But we had no choice but to go down the mountain. And you know what? Our amazing porters came out to greet us about 45 min from camp to carry our bags the rest of the way. Seeing my porter come up the trail, was always one of my most favourite moments on Kili. The tipping ceremony also took place on that last night on the mountain. In our exhaustion we had to calculate how much tip in total we had as a group and then divide it accordingly among the whole crew. This required basic math, but in our exhaustion you'd think we were trying to figure out the hardest trigonometry problems. It was just addition and division. Clearly if we weren't all so tired it wouldn't have been so complicated to figure out. Eventually we got the right amounts sorted out. Then we presented the tip to the whole crew in the ceremony. This involved announcing how much the total tip was and how much the porters and helper porters would receive. This process allows for transparency so they know how much they will get. If you're not used to this kind of thing (like me) it can feel a bit awkward but we couldn't have done this mountain without them so it was a great chance to thank the whole crew. Tip: to estimate how much cash to carry with you for your portion of the group tip, factor 10% of your trip's total cost. Then include a little extra for your porter.  Day 8: July 18 - MWEKA CAMP (3,100 MASL) to MWEKA GATE (1,600 MASL) to the Lodge I couldn't believe it was our last day on the mountain! I don't think I was the only one who found it difficult to get out of the tent that morning given all the downhill walking yesterday, let's just say my quads were a wee bit tender. I will say that my trusty knee support wraps (oh, hi old lady!) helped a lot and unlike everyone else, my knees were okay. Today's hike took us through a rainy rain forest. It was absolutely beautiful. The mist shrouded the moss covered trees. The rain did however make the path very slippery - which most likely acerbated anyone's knee issues. It rained just enough that we all got a little bit soaked but we didn't really care all that much as we knew that very soon we would get a long awaited shower and clean clothes. The trail ends rather unceremoniously at a parking lot. But, the good news is that there is a washroom with a real toilet, in a real building - after eight days of using the 'pump and flush' toilet in the toilet tent, this was luxury. From there we hopped into a van and went to a gift shop / lunch spot. One last lunch! This is where all the tours end. Buy a souvenir, have a bite to eat and say goodbye to the crew. From there we headed back to the Lindrin Lodge where we said goodbye to our guide and assistant guides. And just like that, the trip I had been prepping and planning for, dreaming of and talking about for seven months was over. As I post this entry it's been 11 weeks to the day since I reached the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro. When people ask me 'how was your trip?' all I can do is smile and say it was amazing. Maybe one day I'll come up with a better answer, but for now, hardly a day goes by that I don't think - hey, I did that! I hiked to the roof of Africa. What an incredible adventure it was.
ICYMI: Part II: The Lemosho Route Days 4-5 - click here Part I: The Lemosho Route Days 1-3 - click here
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