Day One Kilimanjaro

 

Climbing Mount Kilimanjaro

The Second Half of Our Journey Begins

Day One of Climb

1/12/13

 

Welcome to the second half of our absolutely fantastic journey to Africa.  The safaris were amazing, but the climb has always been the heart and soul Kilimanjaro Challenge.  We began our journey with an hour long bus ride from our hotel to the Machame Gate of Kilimanjaro National Park.  Along the way, we took a brief moment as we approached the gate area to take pictures with the mountain behind us.  It is hard to imagine (let alone capture on camera) the scale of the mountain.

 

 

 

The Machame Route is also known as the "whiskey route," and it is one of most scenic trek's to the mountain's summit.  The Machame Route is also often described as the second most challenging path to follow.  The route takes trekkers across the face of the mountain with several elevation changes giving hikers the opportunity to acclimate to the higher elevation during the day, and then returning to a lower elevation for the evening's camp.  The hike begins at an elevation of 1,800 meters, and ultimately leads us to a peak that rests at over 19,000 meters.   Assuming the hike goes well, it will take us five days of hiking to reach the top.  We will then spend another day and a half to make our way down.  We have trained for months and dreamed of this hike starting for the same amount of time.  Therefore, there seemed to be only one thing to do... get started.

 

As with most activities, there were a set of rules, guidelines and suggestion designed to keep us safe, enhance our experience and maintain this majestic place for others to enjoy for years to come.  The following signs gave us a glimpse of the trek ahead. 

  

 

 

 

With the ground rules in place, it was time to gather ourselves, meet the rest of our crew, and prepare for our departure.  We took several pictures before the hiking began.  The gentleman pictured below is Emmanuel.  He is the father of Evans from Evans Adventures (our outfitter), and of Rodin who was one of our guides for the trip.  Emmanuel is a successful businessman and wonderful person to visit with.  We had the pleasure of his company at several outings prior to the start of our journey and, in fact, he had even given serious consideration to joining us on our climb up the mountain. 

 

 

 

 

Pictured below is our group of travelers.  The ten of us began the journey with smiles on our faces.  Will they last?  How many of our crew will make it to the top?   The pictures that follow also show us hanging out while the porters (the true heroes of our trek) stood in line to weigh the bags that would carry our equipment, food, and other necessities along the way.  Porter's loads were limited to 20kg, but that did not include their own personal packs that they carried on their backs.  Many of the porters have made the trek before, and the wages they earn help to support their families in an economic environment that is difficult.

 

 

 

Once the bags were weighed and our farewells were exchanged with Evans and Emmanuel, we began our hike.  As you can note on the board below, the first leg of our journey was from Machame Gate to Machame Hut.  The hike was estimated to take 4.5 hours.

 

 

The first portion of our hike followed a service road that allows emergency vehicles and supplies to be transported a bit further up the trail from the gate area.  Along the way, we took in the sights, including this creature that was not entirely unfamiliar to what one might see in the United States.  However, it was much larger than what we might find back home.  

The hiking on the first day was not particularly challenging, but did offer a primer for what was to come.  As you can see in the pictures below, the paths were pretty well maintained and compacted.  We had the good fortune of hiking on a dry day, and so there were no issues with mud or slippery rocks.

 

 

 

After approximately 3.5 hours of hiking, the first members of our group arrived at the Machame Hut Camp Area.  We were introduced to the check-in process that we would follow each day when arriving at a new camp.  We would first locate our camp where the porters (who take pride in leaving the previous camp after the hikers have left and arriving at the next camp with sufficient time to set up camp before the hiker's arrive) had set up our group's tents.  After a brief break, we would then stop in at the camp station and sign ourselves in, indicating our previous night's camp, our age, our profession, and other demographic information.  Interestingly, some of our group members proved to have a variety of professions depending upon the day and the creative juices that were flowing through our heads as we signed in.

 

 



 

Everyone arrived at their own pace.  Once in camp we were provided with "water for washing," and we were given the opportunity to have tea in the mess tent and rest our weary legs while chatting over a snack.  We had completed day one of our hike.  We were at 3,000 meters, and the temperature was cool but comfortable.  A soft fog and cool dampness was in the air, but the general vibe amongst our group was a warm sense of accomplishment and the thrill of being underway.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Arusha National Park

 

Arusha National Park

Day 4 of Safari

1/11/13

 

The original travel plan called for a day of rest after our three days of safari before setting out on our climb up Mount Kilimanjaro.  However, our group had such a fantastic experience at the first two parks, we could not resist the opportunity to visit a third that was only one hour away.  Arusha National Park provided a unique safari experience distinct from Ngorongoro Crater and Tarangire National Park. 

 

We started at the Ngorongare Gate, and paid the required entry fee.  We were fortunate enough to have been able to secure our guide, Joe, for a fourth consecutive day and he had been equally fortunate to be able to borrow Eric's truck as Joe's vehicle was still being tended to after receiving a flat tire the day before.

 

 

From the park entrance, there is a beautiful vista of nearby Mount Meru which is a frequent stop for hikers wanting to do some preparatory climbing before ascending Mount Kilimanjaro.  Mount Meru is over 16,000 feet and is known for being a fairly rugged climb.

 

After taking in the scenery at the park gate, we got into the vehicle and traveled up the side of the crater rim to a fantastic view down into the Arusha Crater floor.   

 





 

We spent approximately twenty minutes atop the crater rim before hiking back down to the vehicle.  We then moved on through a wooded area and made our way to the grassland below.  Along the way, we kept our eyes open looking for signs of wildlife.  According to Joe, Arusha is home to a variety of species of monkeys and that meant keeping our eyes on the branches above us.  The task proved to be a bit of a challenge, but eventually we began to have some success in picking out a variety of monkeys sitting in the trees.

 

When we made it down to the grassland, we had a chance to catch sight of a field full of baboons.  The volume and proximity of the baboons made Greg more than a bit nervous despite Joe's assurances that they would not try to enter the vehicle. 

 

 

 

From the field of baboons, we made our way around the rest of the park.  We saw a few cape buffalo, and we saw a saltwater lake that was home to a number of flamingos.  The park did not have the widest variety or the largest quantity of animals, but it served as a great place to unwind.  It also beat the alternative, which was to spend the day in Moshi attempting to fend off street vendors while shopping in the city. 

 

 

 

As our visit to the park drew to a close, we were fortunate to catch a glimpse of the, to date, elusive Colobus Monkey.  The monkey features a long white tail contrasting with its jet black body.  They almost look like skunks sitting in trees.  We have no idea how they compare in terms of scent as unfortunately we did not get very close to them.

 

With that, our safari experience came to its conclusion.  We made our way back to Moshi where we took a brief break before heading out for a wonderful dinner.  Aside from the delicious food, the other exciting component to the dinner was that we shared the table with all of the guides who would be leading our journey up to the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro.