Mount Kilimanjaro
Aug 13, 2003 - Aug 13, 2003
Our group of 15 piled into 4-wheel drive Land Rovers and headed off towards Kilimanjaro. We passed through numerous villages and I couldn’t help but noticing the amount of people walking and bicycling along the roads, as the vast majority of people in this part of Africa do not have access to motorized transportation. Parts of the road were extremely bumpy and at times we slowed to a snail’s pace.
Upon reaching the Umbwe trailhead, we signed the registry and waited for the porters to begin ascending ahead of us with our tents, food and gear. We began hiking at approximately 5,000 ft and hiked through the rainforest until we reached our camp of 10,000ft. The hike was not overly strenuous, as we went very slowly. We were originally scheduled to take the Marangu route up, however the route was very crowded which caused a large portion of the trail to turn into a muddy mess.
We arrived to camp and everyone choose a tent. The campsite was not the most ideal, situated on a slope, but it was fine for a night. There had been a delay in one of the Land Rovers and we had to wait awhile for the food, but it was delicious. I had never been on a guided climb until this trip, and this was a new experience. You only carried what you need for the day and your tent and meals were prepared for you. Pretty plush, but I wasn’t about to complain…
Day 2 – Friday, August 15
We set off about 9am in the morning after a hearty breakfast and it didn’t take long to ascend from the rainforest through the montane forest and into the Heather Zone, characterized by mist and fog near the forest, and an assortment of strange looking plants native to the high regions of Africa’s mountains.
We eventually left the heather zone and entered the Apline desert. At 5pm we reached Baranco camp at 13,000 ft and had a great view of the summit. It finally set in how large this mountain was, with Uhuru Peak and its glaciers towering over us.
That night I noticed the elevation, developing a headache shortly after dinner. However, after hydrating, the headache dissipated. I developed a minor cold that night and spent some of the night coughing, but otherwise felt fine.
Day 3 – Saturday, August 16
Since we ascended the Umbwe Route in 2 days rather than the 3 days allotted for the Marangu Route, we had a rest day. Most of the group decided to go for a day hike up a ridge to an elevation over 14,000ft. I decided to accompany one of the guides, Kent Wagner, and we scrambled down to a waterfall and explored a canyon that cut through the plateau. Kent and I both took a bunch of photos and spent a couple of hours in the canyon before heading back to camp.
The dust in the camp was a bit irritating and it didn’t help my cough, which seemed to get slightly worse that night. But I ended up sleeping pretty well once I feel asleep. I had hydrated all day and didn’t seem to notice the effects of the elevation that night.
Day 4 – Sunday, August 17
After an 8am breakfast, we packed our camp and began our climb. After a short walk we begin an ascent up a steep wall which I had been eyeing the day before. It didn’t look nearly as steep now that we were on it, and we made it up fairly quickly. The landscape made me think of the moon; there was basically no vegetation and everything was rock and dust.
We reached our camp, Karanga Valley, which is at the same elevation as the previous camp (13,000 ft). There is a stream coming out of a slot canyon about 300 yards up from our camp, and after dinner everyone went up into the canyon.
Day 5 – Monday, August 18
We began our hike to the final destination before the summit, Barafu Camp. One of our group members, Pam, is having trouble acclimatizing to the elevation and she has to be helped up some of the stepper parts.
After four hours, we reach a flat section where we see the camp perched atop a ridge. Our guide Chris makes the decision that Pam should head down as her condition is worsening. Pam, Chris, an African guide and Gary (her brother) head down an alternate route. Chris and Gary accompanied Pam part of the way and arrive at Barafu in time for dinner.
We ear dinner and the guides pass around a device which monitors the amount of oxygen in your blood and your heart rate. My heart rates is pretty high, but I have one of the highest levels of oxygen in my blood, which is good. As you climb, the changes in the atmospheric pressure reduces the amount of oxygen in your blood. If it becomes to low, you can develop serious complications – something I am about to experience first hand.
After dinner we all head to bed, although no one really sleeps. We are getting up at midnight to begin the final ascent and the anticipation plus the high altitude keeps everyone from getting any sleep. My couch begins to worsen that night. It only seems to come when I am resting, not moving, and other than that I feel fine.
During the night, we hear some commotion and it turns out that Gary has altitude sickness. Gary was sharing a tent with Chris (a guide) and began to lose cognitive ability – he didn’t know where he was and couldn’t respond questions. The guides set up a gamov bag and put Gary in.
Day 6 – Tuesday, August 19
We get up at midnight and make our way to the mess tent. Gary is in the bag and is able to respond to questions. The gamov bag mimics a lower elevation and once Gary is recuperated he will have to descend to a lower elevation.
Around 1am, we begin our ascent. It is around 17 F and we move extremely slowly to conserve energy. I underestimated the cold and my feet and hands are completely numb about a half hour into the climb. I have spent a lot of time in the cold and usually am not bothered by it, but I didn’t realize we would be hiking this slowly and my body would not be generating the “normal†amount of heat.
Every hour we take a timed 10 minute break. At the first break, I put on all the clothing that I had and kept it on for the remainder of the hike. I begin to warm up, but I was cursing myself for not bringing a down jacket. By the end of each 10 minute break, I am completely frozen again and ready to start moving. The guides give us hot tea at the breaks and this helps warm me up. I was not hungry, but I forced myself to eat some Goo and cheap Spanish powerbar knockoffs that I bought in Madrid. Now I know why you are supposed to bring food that you really enjoy – I am having a hard time forcing myself to eat the powerbar knockoffs, but the Goo is much easier to stomach.
The hike itself seems like a dream. We are bunched together in a line and my head is bowed down, concentrating on each steep. My headlight illuminates the hiking boots of the person in front of me and I use the boots to establish my rhythm. I go for what seems like hours without ever looking up, completely focused on following the person in front of me.
Everyone in the group is doing well. I imagine some people are having doubts in their heads as we continue to climb, but no one even suggests he or she can’t make it. We have had conversations about the last day before. It is mind over matter. Your body may feel like it can’t go on, but it can.
The sun begins to rise as we approach the crater rim. I have been pressure breathing the whole way up, but I am beginning to have trouble breathing. It feels like a tennis ball is lodged in my lungs. I assume it is the phlegm from my cold and try to cough it out, but it hurts too much to try.
Once we reach the crater rim, I realize that something isn’t right. I can’t talk and am having considerable trouble breathing. I actually felt ok endurance wise, but I knew I had altitude sickness. I tried to tell my mom that I was sick, but couldn’t even get out the words, it now felt like my lungs were full of fluid. She got the guide Chris and he gave me some medicine to combat the pulmonary edema.
The true summit was only 300 ft more, so I decided to quickly get to the top. I made my way up and actually felt good, spurned on by a mix of euphoria and lack of oxygen. Once at the top, I waited until my mother came up and quickly got her to take a picture of me next to the sign. Most of our group was still on their way up and I decided to descend back to the crater rim and wait for my parents and brother to come down so we could descend back to the base camp.
While waiting at the rim, I began to feel worse and worse. I started to lose me balance and feel very sick so I laid down on the rocks. Finally my family came down to the rim and I learned that my dad had developed cerebral edema. One of the assistant guides accompanied us down to Barafu camp. We were walking on small, loose scree that was almost sand. I was taking huge steps in a partial run, trying to get down as quick as possible.
Once at Barafu, I crawled into my tent and laid there. Other groups members began to make their way back to camp and the porters began to prepare lunch. I still felt extremely bad and had the worst headache I have ever experienced. I couldn’t eat any food or drink any water and just lay there. My lungs began to clear and I coughed up a lot of phlegm. After lunch we made our way down to another camp located at 9,000 ft. By the time I made it to this camp, I felt fine. My headache was gone, my lungs were clear and I was tired!
We at an early dinner, had a beer (there was a ranger hut that was selling warm beer) and went to bed.
Day 7 – Wednesday, August 20
We made our final descent down to 5,00ft. My knees are a little sore from all the descending and I am glad to finally see the exit gate. We made it back to the hotel in the early afternoon and everyone cleaned up for a celebratory dinner. Overall it was an amazing trip. I was proud that both of my parents made it to the summit (I knew my brother would) and it is an experience that I will never forget.