{kilimanjaro climb, part 1}

climbing mount kilimanjaro

july 12-19th, 2012

one of the things on my bucket list has been to climb mount kilimanjaro.  i have my sister, lindsay, and brother-in-law, matt, to thank for inspiring me to do this as they successfully climbed a few years ago. i climbed with an amazing company called kiliwarrior expeditions, one that i chose because of their years of experience, reviews, summit success rates, and porter policies.  though this company is one of the more expensive ones, you definitely get what you pay for.  seriously, these guys are the best, and my head guide, wilbert, was amazing. 

though a lot of people don't consider it to be one of the safest routes (there have been a few deaths and climbing the breach can be a bit tricky given the "danger zone"), i signed up for the western breach trek. this route is definitely the road less traveled (most companies trek the machame route), but that's what i loved about it.  it really felt like we had the entire mountain to ourselves.  this climb was one of the most challenging but truly amazing things i've ever done.  it was freezing cold just about every day and night - some nights below zero - and it was just mentally grueling.  but there is absolutely nothing like reaching that summit.  it's a sense of accomplishment that i've never felt before and i hope to remember that feeling for the rest of my life.  

 there were 2 other people in my climbing group, but due to some altitude sickness and tiredness, they weren't able to make it to the summit and both had to go down the mountain early. 

warning:  this post is kind of long...

 

day 1:

after meeting our porters (we climbed with an entourage of 22, i think, and they were all wonderful and so fun) we hiked to 9,222 feet and camped at forest camp.  

 

(most of our porters on the first day singing us a welcome song)

 

(trekking through the "heather zone" - the first 2 days of the climb was in rainforest-like conditions)

 

(jim, rachel, and me with wilbert)

 

(my tent the first night)

 

(our toilet tent.  after using drop toilets and "bush toilets" for weeks, this was the GREATEST thing ever.)

 (table set for one of our delicious meals in our mess tent)

day 2: 

we hiked to 11,520 feet and camped at shira 1 camp 

 (i was pumped when we hit 10,000 feet)

 (some shots of the summit from our camp)

day 3:

hiked to 13,700 feet and camped at moir camp

(enjoying some tea at our lunch spot on the way up)

(a few of our porters during lunch)

 (stopping to check out the scott fischer memorial)

(moir camp)

 

(view of the summit from our campsite.  it was starting to get COLD!)

(view of the amazing sunset from our camp)

day 4: 

we hiked to 14,940 feet and camped at lava tower

 (another shot of the summit on the way up)

 (each day it seemed i had endless energy, so i decided to climb pretty much everything i could along the way)

(a shot of some other porters on our trail)

(posing with our cook, louis, who i lovingly called "mama louis" or "dr louis")

(our camp at lava tower)

day 5:

day 5 was a rest day at lava tower.  if it had just been up to me, we would've kept going as i wasn't having any issues with the altitude and had plenty of energy.  but, i had to keep reminding myself we weren't in a rush, and i just relaxed and enjoyed the time.  we were able to climb the lava tower, which was really fun, and as i realized a few days later, a bit of a test of our rock climbing skills for the breach.  luckily, i passed! 

 (a shot of the tower from our camp.  it doesn't really look that tall in this photo, but it was 200 feet or so i think)

 (a shot of me at the top of lava tower.  the wind was really strong up there)

 (rachel and me posing with my day porter, kanini)

 (wilbert lounging at the top of the tower)

 (a few of our camp from the top of the tower)

after we climbed down from the tower, i had more energy, so climbed another 500 feet or so which was about halfway up to our next camp.  when i came back i realized wilbert had climbed onto another one of the towers, so here's a shot of him to give you some perspective of the size of the small tower:

day 6: 

we hiked to 15,968 feet to arrow glacier camp.  the climb was fairly steep this day, and getting even colder!

(a shot of lava tower on the way up to arrow glacier)

 (hi, kanini!)

 (this is a shot from arrow glacier camp.  nothing like being above the clouds!)

 (a shot of our camp)

(the sunset at arrow glacier camp. i barely got this photo because it was so cold at this point, i did not want to leave my tent)

we settled in for an extremely cold night at arrow glacier camp.  as we had to start climbing the western breach at 5 am the next day, i got in to my sleeping bag about 730 pm.  it was so dreadfully cold though - 3 layers of pants, 2 pairs of socks, 5 layers of tops, turtle fur on my ears, 2 scarves, a wool hat, gloves, hand warmers, 2 hot water bottles in my sleeping bag, and zipping myself into my sleeping bag like a cocoon didn't even keep me warm.  it was a long night!  

next it was on to the western breach and the summit!

{a few days in arusha and preparing for my climb}

arusha

july 7-12, 2012

i had 5 days total to kill in arusha, 3 of which were completely on my own before i could check in to the hotel which was included as part of my kili climb trip. so after treating myself to a delicious breakfast at africafe (way better than the last week's worth of camp food), i settled in to a mini routine at the hotel impala. 

 

(yum!  i know it looks pretty basic, but this was the best thing ever that day)

 

since I'd just been camping for a week, the impala, which is maybe a mid-range hotel at best, felt like paradise. a shower, tv, and free wireless?  i'll take it.  since breakfast was included in my room rate (and because i'm cheap), i ate enough for probably 3 people every morning.  then i'd walk into town each day after breakfast, peruse around, pick up some passion fruit and avocados at the fruit stands on the side of the road, and would be back at the hotel by dark.  

 (my favorite treat in africa!)

while the hotel did have free wireless, the biggest challenge was finding a spot where the wireless actually worked.  i'm sure the other guests loved it when i parked myself on the floor just outside the 3rd floor elevator for a few hours each day and skyped with my family. luckily in africa, anything goes.  

   i also enjoyed catching up on the news with the free nairobi newspaper. my favorite "new" fact? please refer to the paragraph in the second column below:   

(per the US government, mermaids don't exist!)

after 3 days at the hotel impala, i didn't think things could get much better.  and then i checked in to the mount meru hotel just across town for 2 days of all inclusive luxury.  it was a 5 star hotel by both african and american standards and IT. WAS. AMAZING. though i grumbled a bit about the cost, it was completely worth it.  the first thing i did was give housekeeping every article of clothing that i had with me as laundry was included in my stay.  prior to this i'd only been able to wash my clothes in buckets, so you know my clothes were in need of some serious washing.  i also lounged by the pool (although arusha is really not that warm), used the work out room (which surprisingly did not have a treadmill), got a massage, ate amazing meals (i had a salad with LETTUCE(!) for the first time here), and drank diet coke.  such a treat.

 (my room. this picture does not do it justice.)

on the afternoon of the 11th, i met with Wilbert, my head guide for the kili climb, and the other 2 climbers (a father and daughter pair named jim and rachel), packed my duffel bag with my climbing gear, and took one last long, hot shower. the next day we were off to start climbing mount kilimanjaro!

 (early morning, july 12th.  ready to go!)

{safari, part 3}

ngorongoro crater to arusha

july 5-7, 2012

we spent another cold night camping on the edge of the ngorongoro crater and since i still didn't have a sleeping bag - and this was the coldest night of the safari - 2 of my friends were nice enough to let me share their tent.  with all of my layers, some borrowed blankets, and some extra body heat, i made it through the night without freezing to death. we also shared our campsite with a number of zebras, which was pretty cool.  

(not the best view, but this is one part of our campsite on the edge of the crater)

the next morning we split into groups of 6 and climbed into our jeeps for our game drive inside the crater. though the permits are expensive and you can only get one for 6 hours, this day was definitely one of the highlights of my trip!   
 
 (safari friends will, andy, fiona, kelsey and cara.  it was freezing and foggy that morning!)


(another shot of us in the crater. still freezing!)

  




the crater was beautiful and the animals were incredible - we saw more of the usual - buffalo, wildebeest, zebras, giraffes, and hippos, but also got to watch a number of lion prides stalking some zebras.  unfortunately, we didn't have enough time to wait out the kill, but it was still amazing to see these animals in action.  one lion was even using our jeep to shield itself from its prey, so we got some great photos.  there were also a lot of ostriches and flamingos in the crater, which was strange, but amazing to see.    
 


 

 (these were a few of the zebras that the lions were stalking)














(these hippos were really enjoying lounging in the sun)



(thousands and thousands of pink flamingos)





there are also 15 protected rhinos in the crater and though they are a bit hard to find, we did finally spot one at the end of our day.  
 
 (i didn't get the best photo, but he's there, i promise!)

 
(there were some serious baboons that greeted us after we left the crater)

after we left the crater, we were off to meserani, with a quick stop in a village along the way where i snagged some more cheap avocados, oranges, and passion fruit, and some nice views of lake manyara. 

that afternoon our guide, david, kept mentioning that we were headed to the snake park in meserani.  i guess when i signed up for this safari, i didn't realize that a stop at the snake park was on the agenda and given my last experience at the snake zoo near mikumi national park, i had absolutely no interest in going.  i asked david if there was a way some of us could skip the snake park and just go to the campsite and that's when he looked at me excitedly and said "meg, the snake park IS the campsite!"  yes.  it's true.  i camped at the snake park.  and luckily, i lived to tell about it.  

i took zero photos of the snakes, but would like you all to know that the cages were generally the exact same as the cages we saw at the other snake zoo from which the snake escaped.  glass window in the front, wooden door at the back.  and the front of the python cage was even adorned with a photo of the same kind of snake eating a human. it was the strangest, most random campsite ever, even down to the very odd dutch couple who ran the place.  my friends and i decided that a kilimanjaro beer was in order to ease our nerves, and since my kili climb was in my near future, this tshirt seemed absolutely necessary.  and comical.    

 

(kilimanjaro beer is also great when you CAN climb it)

the next day i hopped off the safari bus in arusha (and said sad goodbyes to my new friends who were all continuing on back to nairobi), found a hotel room, and took my first shower in a week. it's true...campsites with no electricity means no hot water. you may start to notice a declining trend in the number of showers i took the rest of my time in africa...   

 (most of the safari group on our last morning together.  don't be jealous of my awesome 80s outfit.)