Kilimanjaro -- Summit Night

Day 5 -- Summit Night

Definition of the day: 
Conquer (verb) -- to overcome by mental or moral power; surmount; to be victorious.

It wasn't difficult to wake up...mainly because I was already awake; nerves and altitude kept me from sleeping more than an hour. After a nerve-filled breakfast of porridge, eggs and toast, we made final preparations. "Packs on!" Jo yelled from outside the dining tent, and we strapped on our packs carrying as little as possible (water, snacks, sunscreen), put a water bottle in our puffer jackets so the water wouldn't freeze, and walked out of camp a little after 1am.

My headlamp showed me the calves and boots of the person in front of me, and little else. We climbed uphill and over rocks, my legs and lungs burning at every rocky step. An hour passed, then two, and steeper and steeper we went.  Eventually the rocks disappeared and we were able to maintain a steady pace on what seemed like a gravel path. At one point, maybe after hour three or so (I began to lose track after the first one or two), we stopped for a quick break, and a guide came over and told me to give him my pack. I was only too happy to oblige. They took packs from a few people, recognizing when some of us were struggling and needed a little help.

With a brighter sky and a lighter load I continued, knowing that if I could keep up my pace (step, breathe in breathe out, step, breath in breath out), then I could hope to make it to the top. Just one step, then another, then another.

Let me be perfectly clear: it was the hardest thing I've ever done. I was exhausted. I felt light-headed and a little drunk, and I'm pretty sure I hallucinated once. I was really, truly blessed and lucky that I had neither nausea nor a headache, but it was still miserable.

All that faded for a brief moment, however, when the sun rose over the horizon. The sky was painted unfathomable colors of red and orange, and I felt like I was in the first scene of The Lion King...
I thought, what an incredible world God has created, and I was so happy to see that part of it, on that morning, on that mountain. Too exhausted to take a photo, I closed my eyes for a moment and breathed in the thin air, relishing the moment as best I could.

We reached Stella Point, 45 minutes from the peak, and I was shocked when everyone started hugging and congratulating each other. Had we made it? Was the walk to the peak not as difficult? Did I really do it?

Evidently so, because after a few pictures at Stella Point, we dropped our packs (or the porters dropped our packs) and walked to the peak. It was relatively flat, but it was slow going because of the altitude. Then, finally, the moment we had been waiting for. Uhuru Peak, and sweet, sweet satisfaction.

You can't see my Texas flag, but I'm holding one in the other hand.

Panoramic of the walk to the peak. Not bad, eh?

After about 10-15 minutes of pictures, it was time to head down.

If going up was exhausting, going down wore. me. out. Not only do you slide down scree (volcanic rock and ash) for about two hours getting dust in your hair, face and clothes, but your knees hurt, you are hungry, and you want to cry from exhaustion. I had to tell myself to not be a brat and remember the incredible, happy thing that I had just done. It didn't work very well...I may or may not have gotten a little snippy with a guide on our way down (I did apologize to him later).

When I arrived back at the camp, three hours later, my guide made me sit down and drink some pineapple juice. I really wanted nothing more than my sleeping bag and to take off my boots. But looking back now, I see that he was just trying to make me relax for a second, get my blood sugar up, and help me, you know, not die. I am so grateful for Efata and his help down the mountain. Without him I'd probably be lying in a ditch somewhere, or freezing underneath the glacier, who knows.

I slept for a couple of hours and then had lunch with the rest of the group. Exhausted, yet exhilarated, we walked with energy down to Millennium Camp, where we would sleep that night.

When we got to camp, I found some of my compadres who were not so lucky with the altitude. I am so proud of everyone in the group, regardless of the elevation they reached. Those who had to go back down did the bravest thing of all: turn around when it was no longer safe. Whether or not they were in the pictures, they were all at the top in spirit, and in our hearts on the way down.

I ate every bite of rice and beef stew that night, and slept like a baby ("kama mtoto") in my tent on the rock hard ground. It was glorious.

Day 6

Definition of the day: 
Beer (noun) -- often used as a celebratory drink after a large accomplishment; the preferred alcoholic beverage for a large group after climbing a mountain, esp. in Tanzania.

Day six began with bed tea (!!!) and a good breakfast. Then it was time to say goodbye to our guides and porters. We sang and danced one last time together, and took pictures with the beautiful peak in the background.

At about 8:15, we began our descent. I think we stopped twice for bathroom breaks (by this point, we were pros at going in the bushes), and were at the bottom in about 4 1/2 hours. There were sweet kids there to wash our boots for $2, and a tasty beverage for the same price.

We were bussed back to the same hotel where we had arrived wide eyed and green only six days before. Now though, instead of nerves and anxiety, there was relief and joy. We had a celebratory dinner, followed by a night out at the Glacier Bar, where we drank Kilimanjaro beers and danced the night away.

The next morning we would all be heading out to various locations: some to Zanzibar, some home to England or Wales or Ireland, and some back to Texas. All week we had been as one unit, getting to know each other and supporting each other in the process. I knew it was almost over. But for that last night, I still felt part of a team in the midst of an incredible journey, ready to embrace whatever may come next.

--

Next stop: London!!

Did you miss Days 1-4? Check them out here:
-Days 1 and 2
-Days 3 and 4

Kilimanjaro -- Days 1 and 2

To those of you who follow this blog (all 7 of you??), it would seem that I fell off the face of the earth after London almost 10 days ago. Au contraire, mon amis. Quite the opposite, in fact. I've been living it up in Southwest Virginia, eating maple and discussing water with basement-dwelling, rat tail-having individuals. I promise I will get to all that in the near future, but I'm gnawing at the bit to talk about Kilimanjaro. I journaled throughout the whole trip, so my handy handwriting will help me remember the most important parts. I am going to break it up into 2-day intervals, so be sure to check back the next few days to get the whole story. I'm so excited to share this experience with you!!


I'm glossing over the hotel stay in Moshi, but just know that it was a lovely place, with palm trees and an outdoor bar. Oh, and showers! Always a good thing..

Day 1

Definition of the day: 
"Pole pole" (adverb) -- Swahili for "slowly, slowly." Said many times over by Kilimanjaro guides to remind novice mountain climbers to walk slowly and steadily. Accompanied often by "sippy, sippy," to remind said novices to keep drinking water.

We woke up at the hotel in Moshi around 6am to pack, eat breakfast, and get going by 8am. It is 45 minutes to an hour to the Machame gate, and on the drive, we could see the peak of Kilimanjaro to our right. I remember seeing it and thinking, "there is no way I'm getting to the top of that thing." It is breathtaking, its snow-capped peak commanding the landscape like a king on a throne. I wondered briefly what I had gotten myself into...

I mean...

We arrived at the gate and all (33 of us) had to sign in, and then wait in a covered picnic area while the leaders organized our porters, guides, etc. All together, we would have over 100 porters and 23 guides. While we waited, the porters set out a table cloth and provided us with tea and coffee. It was the first time we saw how accommodating our porters were going to be that week; they did not disappoint one bit. 

At around 10:55am, with cheers and smiles, we passed through the gate and officially started our climb! The group thinned out to a single-file line to make way for porters passing us on either side, but conversations continued. We had thirteen guides walking with us, and I met and talked with a few of them that first day. Most of them are from the area and have climbed Kili well over 100 times. Their abilities are so impressive...talk about being in shape!

The first few hours passed with little pomp: gradual uphill walking through a beautiful rainforest. I was out of breath many times, my heart pounding, although I still don't know if that was the hiking or first-day jitters. But "pole pole" we walked, until our hourly breaks where we refilled our water bottles, our bellies, and our well of energy. We stopped for a picnic lunch around 1:30pm, where our porters had set out tables and chairs, and served sandwiches and salad. It was nice to have a little break and literally cool our heels.

We got to camp about 4:30, where our porters welcomed us with singing and dancing. What an encouraging pick-me-up it was at the end of a long day! Our tents were already set up, our bags were in our tents, and tea and snacks were waiting for us in the two large dining tents. Talk about service. I wish I could describe how incredible our porters were. Not only were they carrying all of our stuff (bags, tents, food, camp toilets), but they rushed ahead of us every day to make sure camp was ready by the time we got there. I was already thoroughly impressed.

After dinner, Jo, our fearless leader, gave us a briefing about the next day, and then we turned in early. It took some time to get used to the hard ground under me, but I eventually drifted off into a restless sleep.

Day 2 

Definition of the day: 
Bed tea (noun)  -- the act of being brought tea or coffee in your tent in the morning by a porter; serves as a form of alarm clock. Consequently makes getting up at 5:45am much easier for Jennabeth. 

My tentmate, Monal, and I packed our tent, drank our coffee, and got dressed. Not sure if it was the excitement or the jet lag, but I felt ready to tackle day 2. We ate a delicious breakfast of porridge, toast and eggs, and sausage, and enjoyed swapping stories about our first night on the mountain. Strapping on our day packs, we left camp around 7:15, leaving the porters behind to pack up our tents.

During day 2, we left the rainforest and began our trek through the mountainous moorlands. It was much rockier and physically challenging than day 1, and my quads were burning. Although it's more difficult, scrambling up rocky terrain is much more interesting than just walking uphill, so the time passes much faster.

It was a short day of trekking, and we got into camp in time for lunch. We were greeted again by our singing and dancing porters. This time, some of our group timidly joined in, although by the end of the week, we would all be dancing and singing our favorite song, "Kilimanjaro," in Swahili.

Coming into camp!

We had climbed up to 3800 meters, or 12,500 feet, and I still felt pretty great. It bolstered me for the next few days, when we would climb even higher, but the prospect of altitude sickness still loomed over us all like an imminent fog.

An afternoon of rest did us all some good, and dinner that night was lively and full of laughs. We had a wonderful group of fun, positive men and women, and I'm glad to have met and gotten to know so many lovely people from all over the world. Being with a good group truly makes or breaks an experience, and I'm grateful that we all got along and enjoyed each other. The sunset that evening was incredible, and looking out over the clouds just below us, I made sure to remember how lucky I was to be on a trip like this.

Sunset, day 2. Of course, the photo does it no justice..

Tune in tomorrow for Days 3 and 4!!! 

Taking Flight

In about 27 hours, I leave for London!! and in exactly 10 days, I will (hopefully) be on the summit of Kilimanjaro, waving to the world. Our wonderful outfitters have provided us with all the information, and our "cruise director" for London, Danna, has set everything up for us so beautifully, that I'm not even worried that it's supposed to be raining the entire time we're there.

I'm a bit like Bilbo, heading off into the unknown, with only a map and a wizard to guide him and his hairy little feet. Okay so not exactly like that, but I do feel the same. I'm also reading The Hobbit right now, in case you couldn't tell.

There are so many details to sort out for a big trip: passport and visa, packing the right things, getting shots, calling credit card and phone companies, and generally making sure you have all your ducks in a row while you're gone.. But after everything is ready, after all the late-night trips to Walgreens and drives to Backwoods in Fort Worth, the only thing that's left is the delicious anticipation of what's going to happen, who I will meet, and how I will be changed up there. That's how I'm feeling today...I'd also be lying if I said I wasn't super super nervous. But that usually goes away after the first glass of wine on the plane.

As is usually the case with events where months of preparation are required for only a few hours of enjoyment (think weddings, 5k races), I want to relish every moment I am there, because I know it will be over quicker than I can say "Jambo." Preparation for this has led me to some great moments, personal accomplishments, etc, and that was only the training! It's time to see what the actual event has for me. In one of the many guides I read about climbing Kili, and they said to write down or say aloud to your tent mates five "miracles" that you witness every day on the mountain, without repeating one miracle. I am promising myself that I will look for those miracles, be it an African sunset, spotting a random bird I've never seen before, or simply making it through another hour of hiking.

Next time I write, I'll be in the middle of an adventure, with the world either on my shoulders or below my feet. Let's get this thing started.

“There are no safe paths in this part of the world. Remember you are over the Edge of the Wild now, and in for all sorts of fun wherever you go.”  --The Hobbit

Breaking 'Em In: My Mountain Climbing Gear Woes

Talk about a reality check: I'm climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro in a less than a month (eeek!!). Training and getting ready physically and mentally is crucial, and I'll talk about that once I get closer to the trip, but it is just as important to have the right gear.

The group we're going with sent me a Kit List, so that I can mark off each item once I've gotten it. Handy, but incredibly daunting. When I pulled the list out of the packet, I gasped and hid under the couch for about 30 seconds. Then I remembered that I'm an adult (sort of?), dusted myself off and tried to wade through it all.  Some things are listed as simply Recommended or Optional, but the majority of items are Essential. My dad has done this before, so he has a few things that I will be able to use like walking poles, sunglasses and a lot of fleece.

Kili kit list. Wouldn't you freak out, too, if you saw this? But look at all my check marks. #responsible 

The "right stuff" includes equipment like boots, fleece jackets, fleece pants, actually just a whole lot of fleece, gloves, backpack, duffle bag, sleeping bag, sleeping bag liner, wool socks, mountain socks, sock liners, gaiters, waterproof shell jacket and pants, a down jacket, insect repellant, hiking pants, floppy hat for the sun, wool hat for the cold, head lamp for summit day, mittens, tshirts not made of cotton, underwear not made of cotton, travel pillow and towel, trekking poles, sun glasses that block out the sun on both sides, hand and feet warmers... Not to mention the copious amounts of Advil I'll probably be taking on a daily basis, snacks, energy gels or bars, a camera and phone... and I could keep going.

Many stores around North Texas are uniquely suited to equip people for trips like these, and of course there's my friend, the internet. The REI store in Plano was a tremendous help, and I recently drove over to Backwoods in Fort Worth to try to find a few things that I am still missing. I'm having problems finding hiking pants and waterproof over-pants for summit day. The rest of the things I don't have I'm pretty sure I can find at Academy here in Abilene. They're things that I have never thought of in my life, like a floppy hat and hiking pants. Also, aren't hiking pants just regular pants? and why does this list say 4-5 season sleeping bag? Is there a 5th season on mountains that I'm not aware of? Let's just say that no class in college educated me about all this.

Have any tips for hiking/mountain climbing/Kilimanjaro? I'd love to hear them!