High Adventure & Global Philanthropy

High Adventure & Global Philanthropy

 

10/11/12

 

86 DAYS TO AFRICA

Mount Kilimanjaro: 19,340 vertical feet, trekking 60 miles through five climate zones from the equatorial rain forest to the glacier strewn summit.

 

 

Mount Kilimanjaro is a beautiful inactive volcanic mountain, the tallest free standing mountain in the world.  It rises out of the African savannah to the awe inspiring height of 19,340 feet (5,900 meters) above sea level.  Our expedition begins in the hot and always misty rain forest, and continues through the heather and moorland zones.  We then make our way through the artic desert and move on toward the glacial zone, where temperatures can reach near or below zero degrees Fahrenheit.  The climb is a total of six nights and seven days.  For those who are able to summon all of their physical, mental and physiological fortitude to endure just one more step, and then another, we will summit on day 6 of the the seven day mountain adventure. 

Our climb will be led by Evans Adventure Tours.  On the first day, we will meet our climbing crew at the gate of Machame Route.  There are three or four crew members for each trekker.  During day one, we will ascend for about five to seven hours through the lush, tropical rain forest.  We will see magnificent birdlife and many unique flowers and plant species. 

Day two will be a short four or six hour climb on a rather steep, rocky and dusty trail.  We will cross many ridges and see the first of many Senecia Trees on the mountain.  We will camp on the Shira Plateau with beautiful views of the peak.

On day three, we will hike through the Alpine Moorland Zone to the Alpine Desert Zone with spectacular views of the Western Breach.  Next, we will continue to the base of the Lava Tower and camp just below the Barranco Wall.  A total of six to eights hours will be spent hiking on day three. 

Day four brings the challenge of scrambling up the Great Barranco Wall.  Once we get to the top, we will have some lunch and enjoy the beautiful views of the Heim Glacier.  After lunch, we will descend into the Karanga Valley and back up to the ridge for camping.  We will spend a total of four to six hours hiking. 

On the fifth day, we experience a short but steep four to six hour climb to our final camp before summit.  We have an early dinner, briefing, gear preparation and head to bed for an early night's sleep.  We wake around 11:00 p.m., dress for the summit, have a light meal and hike three to five hours to the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro! 

The final portion of the climb is on day six, and it includes steep rocks, and a snow covered area to Stella Point.  The hike from Stella Point is slow with frequent breaks.  We will reach the summit of Uhuru Peak (19,340 feet) as the sun rises.  This offers incredible views in all directions from the highest point in Africa!  We will then descend via Stella Point to Barafu Hut Camp.  The total hiking time for day six is eleven to fourteen hours, which is our longest day. 

We will spent our final day - day seven - hiking back down through the rain forest with a delicious lunch waiting for us at the Mweka Gate.  This hike will take three or four hours, which will seem like no time after the endless hours of hiking at the end of day five and the bulk of day six.  After lunch, we receive our certificates for completing the climb and we say good bye to our climbing crew.  At this point, we will all be giddy with excitement to finally be able to take a shower after seven days of climbing and camping in the great outdoors!

Although we will be taking on an extreme physical and mental challenge and there are many factors that come into play, we will be well taken care of by our climbing crew.  All of the guides are certified and trained through the Wilderness Medicine Institute of NOLS (National Outdoor Leadership School). They will make sure we are all safe throughout the climb. 

The following link is a video of Lynn's (our leader's) first climb of Mount Kilimanjaro in June 2011:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M7GqhRmFUi4   Even though it is not the same route we will be climbing, it will give you a good idea of what the experience is like.  Lucky for us, the route we are taking is even more difficult than what you see in the video!  We will also be staying in Northface camping tents instead of huts for our mountain lodging.