Week 42 back from Kili

That right, I made it back from Mt Kilimanjaro in one piece.

 

For those reading the online blog, there is more if you click on the Read more>> button below.

Mt Kilimanjaro was one of the tougher walks I have done, mainly because of the cold and altitude.  This is something I have never experienced before, well not together.  Cold weather I have had before, but altitude was a whole new experience.

 

The trip began with a 1 day safari to Tarangire National Park.  This turned out to be the express version, but I didn't mind as I had seen it all before.  We only stopped for a few minutes with each animal, then off to the next sighting.  I even saw a cheetah, well it's head at least.  That's 1 more than our first safari.

 

Mt Kilimanjaro was done via the Lemosho Route which is approximately 70km from gate to gate over eight days (seven nights).  The pre reading said this route provides a good altitude acclimatization schedule.  The trek begins at Londorossi Gate, located on the western side of mountain, within a lush, fertile rainforest.  The route heads across the Shira Plateau, before circling along the southern circuit halfway around the mountain, exposing the climber to great views from all angles.  The approach to the summit is made from the east, and the descent follows the Mweka trail.

 

With eight days on the mountain, it was said your chances of reaching the “Roof of Africa” are very high, around 90%.

 

The best parts were:

Shallow caves (4-5mtrs) before Moir Hut with trickling water and colourful plant life - like a lush tropical garden;

Seeing the clear night skies, even thought it was freezing standing outside;

Seeing the summit, particularly at night;

Scree skiing; and

Passing groups on the last day.

 

The worst parts were:

The altitude effects in the last km;

The slow speed; and

The cold

Scree skiing - all the way up to the summit there is loose scree and if you're not careful it is 1 step forward, slide back type walking.  Going down is completely different if you are willing to try.  It is a type of ski/run.  The only problem is it went on for 1 hour, and I was going down quite quickly.  I really pity those with sore knees or not brave enough to try it as it would be a very slow trip down.  What took 10hr 15min to get up (I told you it was slow), took 1hr 50min to get back down.  The final person got back to camp at 4.30pm, that was 16hr 40min of walking.

 

The slow speed was partly because of having to go slow to acclimatise (pole, pole = slowly, slowly) and the group I was with.  At least we all got the best chance at summiting.

 

The altitude effects were minimal until I reached Stella Point (5,735m).  The days leading up to summit night/day I had occasional slight headaches and some dizziness, but the head guide said this was normal.  I made it to Stella Point with some dizziness, but felt great.  From Stella Point to Uhuru Peak (5,895m) - the top of Africa, I was walking like a drunk person, with dizziness and close to throwing up - all apparently normal for this altitude.  The walk itself was only about 1-2kms, but by the time I reached Uhuru Peak, all I wanted to do was get back down.  They insisted on photos, so I sat down for 3 pics, got up said bye and headed on down.  That night I asked if there was anything to see, and was told it was quite spectacular.  I have now seen the pics, but at the time couldn't care less.

 

On summit day, the group was split in two and I chose to stay in the slower group.  As a result I never warmed up and my back was frozen, even with 9 layers on including my fleece lined ski jacket.  My legs were fine as were my fingers and toes.

 

That night we were supposed to trek another few hours to a lower camp, but due to the lateness and exhaustion of the slower trekkers in our group we stayed at Barafu Camp (base camp) for another night.

 

The final day saw us descend 3,033m to Mweka Gate.  Once again we split the group, but this time I went in the faster group.  What was supposed to take 8-10hrs took us 6hrs.  The others took just under 9hrs and that included being driven the last bit saving them about 1hr of trekking.

 

Would I do it again - probably, but let me think about that for a while.

 

While I went to Mt Kilimanjaro, Denise had a wonderful girls weekend in Mwanza, on the shores of Lake Victoria (nowhere near Victoria Falls - check Google maps).

 

We have 8 weeks left at school, and in that time 3 more visitors to welcome from Australia.

 

On Tuesday I had a day off work with a sore throat that will probably develop into a cold.  Must be run down a little from Kili.

 

 

Until next time.