That was the most grueling, painful experience of my life!! I have never been so physically and mentally drained! It was a torture walk/death march/horror film! Tom and I clearly had no idea what we were getting into (as I think most people don’t). We were on the mountain for 6 days 5 nights. We both managed to reach the top- I got to Uhuru peak on the Kilimanjaro crater, at 5895 metres above sea level (amsl) and Tom reached Stella’s point, the rim the Kilimanjaro crater, at 5769amsl (he had really bad altitude sickness so the guide recommended he not risk his life going to the very top). I will recap the adventure from hell day by day, although honestly, I would prefer to block it out of my mind forever!
Kilimanjaro climb, Machame route, 6 days:
Day 1: Machame Gate (1800m) to Machame Camp (3000m)—We were picked up at the hospital just before 10am and the day started out in a safari-like way with our minibus getting a flat tire, so we had to switch to another minibus that brought us up to Machame gate. We had to wait in the ‘tourist area’ for about an hour as the coordinator and guides dealt with permits and weighing things. Each porter is allowed to carry a maximum of 25kg up the mountain so there is a lot of regulation at the gate entrance. We were also initially delayed because the credit card machine was not working and Tom was supposed to pay the park fees with his visa. Ofcourse, out of all of the people sitting in the tourist area, we were among the last to get through the gate. There were lots of other people climbing the mountain that day, from the USA, Australia, Russia, and Norway to name a few. It was a good turnout considering it is the low season at the moment (there are short rains on the mountain so the weather is not ideal). Our first day was a 4 hour hike through jungle to Machame camp at 3000m above sea level. It would have been a pleasant walk if it had not started pouring rain about an hour into the hike. It was a torrential downpour for about an hour—everything was soaked from head to toe! Not my idea of a fun start considering we had 5 days to go on the mountain! We reached the camp cold and wet with our 2 guides and 6 porters in hand. Quite the crowd! Among the 6 porters, there is a chef as well as a waiter for us. We settled at camp, tried to dry some things, ate dinner, and went to bed. Already on the first day I had a bad headache—I probably caught a head cold from my wet hair and the rain, however, I was scared that the altitude was already getting to me! It was still quite warm at this elevation and the first day of camping was almost pleasant. I can’t say it was pleasant the rest of the days :P
Day 2: Machame Camp to Shira camp (>3800amsl)—We got up at 6am and left the camp at 7am to head up to Shira camp and beat the days rain, which usually started at 1pm. It was a 4 hr hike roughly straight up rocky terrain! I felt better on day 2, although I still had a mild headache. We were slowly getting above the clouds and we had a beautiful view of Mt. Meru from a distance, as well as intermittent glances of the peak as the clouds cleared. It was still fairly warm on this hike up; I only wore a long sleeve dry fit shirt and some wind pants. It was not as warm at Shira camp, but Tom still managed to frolic around in his shorts during the day. I felt better on Day 2 and was more confident about the climb at that point. They fed us well with breakfast, lunch and dinner. There was never a moment where I was hungry. I also joked that at Shira camp (and at the camps at higher altitude) they had the most scenic toilet in the world—perched by the edge of the cliff overlooking the clouds. Our guides also showed us the Shira caves near the camp, where porters used to sleep during Kilimanjaro climbs because they did not have their own tents! They banned this practice about 20 years ago…
Day 3: Shira camp to Baranca camp (>3900amsl)—This was a terrible day. It started off pleasant as we left Shira camp, but the walk was uncomfortable and I developed another headache within 2 hours of walking. The path on Day 3 consisted of a steep walk up to 4600amsl to Lava Tower (with a beautiful view of the mountain) and then back down to Baranca camp where we would spend the night. The idea was good because you get a feel for the higher elevation and then you descend and sleep below 4000amsl again, but it was not a pleasant walk. My headache started before reaching 4600amsl, and once we got to that level, we both felt fuzzy and almost drunk-like, and with a worsening headache. Then, foolishly, we tried to descend quickly, thinking we would feel better faster, but only overexerted ourselves and felt horrible once we reached Baranca camp. We both had headaches and felt very cold. Apparently, it’s not good to descend too quickly either --the slower, the better, because your body has time to adjust. We felt terrible most of the day, and Baranca camp was very cold that day—there was frost all over our tent the next morning. Eventually we felt better and tried to eat well. We decided we would go very ‘pole pole’ (slowly, slowly) the next day. Day# 4 & # 5 are considered the worst days so we really had to feel up to it….
Day 4: Baranca camp to Barafu camp (4600amsl) – This was another terrible day. It is the day before the climb to the summit, and [for some reason] it is also the longest day of walking (7 hours)! You would think that they would try to give you a bit of a break before the grueling summit climb, but instead you are exhausted on Day 4! You do a similar method as in Day 3, where you ascend to 4200amsl (with another amazing view of the mountain), and then you descend down to 3800amsl, then ascend again to Barafu camp at 4600amsl, which is where you rest. This is where the day becomes even more torturous: you eat lunch on the way to Barafu camp, and you are given an early dinner once at Barafu camp. Then you are told to sleep after dinner from about 630pm to 11pm. Ofcourse, at this elevation, just about everyone feels like absolute crap! You have a nagging headache, you are nauseous with no appetite, and it is hard to rest because the campsite is on a ridge that is incredibly windy! Then you get up around 11pm, have some tea/coffee + biscuits and get ready for the midnight climb up to the summit!!!! So you are not well rested, you have barely eaten anything at dinner, and you have to prepare for the hardest hike of your life……splendid! Now moving on to Day #5…
Day 5: Barafu camp (4600amsl) to summit (Uhuru peak at 5896amsl)/ back down to Barafu camp/ down to Mweka camp (3000amsl)---Before I describe this adventure, it is fair to say I never want to relive this again and this was definitely (physically & mentally) the hardest day of my life. I did not know that my body could actually feel so terrible, and that my body could actually physically do what it did in a day! So after some coffee and snacks at 11pm, we literally put on every item of clothing that we had with us, and put on our headlights to head for the summit. To give you an idea of how much I was wearing, I will recap my wardrobe for the night:
Head= 1 face shield hat + 1 north face hat + 1 more hat + hoodie of sweater + hood of rain coat + headlamp+ winter scarf
Top= 4 short sleeve shirts + 1 long sleeve dry fit shirt + 2 thick sweaters + rain coat + wind coat + wind vest + 2 pairs of gloves
Bottom= 2 pairs of tights + 1 pair dry fit adidas tights + 1 pair warm long johns + wind pants + 2 pairs thin socks + 2 pairs thick socks
So we headed off from the camp just before midnight. The stars in the sky were absolutely brilliant. It was incredibly windy and cold, and we both did not feel well, and were probably not physically ready for the journey (but not too many people are doing well at this point). The reasoning for leaving at midnight is to make the summit at sunrise or shortly after, because the morning is the clearest view from the mountain (as we noticed during previous days- always clear in the morning, with the rains starting around noon each day and not clearing until almost sunset). The trail itself is quite steep, mostly dirt and rocks (very dry at this altitude- reminded me of an arctic tundra landscape). You walk very slow because it is so dark, and the trail just never ends. I didn’t feel great but I tried to focus on my footing so as not to think about the long walk. My stomach felt ok and I had no headache (surprisingly!). Tom was not so lucky and had a pretty bad case of altitude sickness probably mixed with some exhaustion and weakness from not eating at dinner. He felt nauseous the whole way up and had a few vomiting episodes. We were incredibly slow walkers that night but made it to Stella’s point (5769amsl) just after sunrise. At this point, Tom was only feeling worse, so our guide encouraged him to get to Stella’s point because he still got a certificate for getting that far (the volcanic crater rim). After a few pictures at that altitude, one of the guides headed back down with Tom, and the other guide continued with me to the summit. The summit was only a 45 minute walk from Stella’s point, but it was better for Tom to be safe than risk his life, as per recommendation from our guides. Also, the higher you go, the less oxygen you breathe in, so you only feel worse. At one point (I was about 25 mins from the summit), I had to stop and try to suck in some air because it was so hard to breathe. I felt like I couldn’t breathe and had a bit of a panic moment. It feels like you can only suck in about 70% of air at that altitude, and with every step you feel the it worsening! If anyone would like to know what restrictive lung disease feels like, climb to the top of Kilimanjaro! We got to the summit at exactly 7:13am and I celebrated with my guide and with Tom’s ‘Kilimanjaro stick’ which I brought to the summit for him. This may sound odd, but I don’t remember the moment at the summit very clearly. I was so hypoxic and so tired at that point that it all feels like a blur to me. I was above the clouds looking at glaciers in every direction with the sun beaming down on me. I couldn’t really see straight and my body felt like it would fall under me, but I made it! It was the most surreal view I’ve ever seen, and no picture could do it justice! Like I mentioned earlier, I will NEVER do something like this again, BUT I am incredibly proud of myself for reaching the top of Africa!!!
After 10 mins at the peak we headed back down. You can’t stay at the peak for long because you will eventually develop altitude sickness, beginning with a headache. Humans are unable to acclimatize beyond 5500amsl so you cannot spend long lengths of time above that elevation—Hence why you need oxygen for Everest! It took less time to get down but it was not easy. I was so exhausted by then that I kept falling in the dust. The sun was strong by then (8am) so it was more pleasant weather at least. However, my legs just wanted to give up so many times. I got back to Barafu camp with my guide just after 10am and found Tom resting in the tent, still not feeling the greatest (but better). I collapsed next to him and at this point my legs were jello. The worst part of all is that the day was not done yet! Within an hour of getting back to the camp, we had lunch, and then had to pack up our stuff and head down to Mweka camp! The hike to Mweka camp was another 3.5 to 4 hours!! And we were descending so there was more chance of getting caught in the rain (luckily we didn’t, but there were many sinister clouds around). We FINALLY arrived at Mweka camp before 5pm, had dinner, and passed out immediately. I slept like a baby from about 6pm to 6am! The exhaustion was paralyzing! And FINALLY the hardest day EVER was OVER ! J
Day 6: Mweka camp (3000amsl) to Mweka Gate (~1800amsl)—The last day we just had a short hike down to Mweka gate. We woke up so exhausted and so sore from Day 5 that even this short day was difficult! Our bodies were finished. We had no reserve left. We arrived at the gate at about 1030am. Our coordinator/organizer George met us at the gate and congratulated us. We then headed to a local nearby café to celebrate for a short time. I was in no mood to do anything at that point, so even celebrations were tiring! The guides and porters did a victory dance for us and there was lots of singing and clapping. We both got certificates for reaching the top of Mount Kilimanjaro (I will be framing it I think!). The end of the celebrations were quite awkward because of ‘tipping’. The way they do it here (at least for the Kilimanjaro climb) is that you sit around a table with the porters and guides and you either tell each person how much tip they are getting or you write it down on paper and give it to the head guide. Therefore, either everyone knows what tip they are getting before they get it, or the guide has the paper and knows everyone’s projected tip including his own! Very awkward and inappropriate from a Western point of view, but that is how they do it here. It is obviously to stress people into giving more—they know you must have money to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro (total cost anywhere from $950, which is what we paid, to over $1700!). The guides and porters also do not make much money from the companies they work for, so they strongly depend on tips for their living! So they are clever with how they do it, and even though it was awkward, I do understand the need to do it this way. We were VERY NICE tippers and I think they were happy. We got such a discount initially, that it really didn’t hurt us to tip better….
So that is the horrific 6 day Machame route Kilimanjaro climb recap. A memory I would prefer not to keep with me for future reference! Would rather block it out ! :P But I am proud to say that we stood at the top of Africa :)
