Category: blog | climbing kilimanjaro 2016 Page 1 of 2

Follow our adventure as we attempt to summit the tallest peak in Africa – Mt. Kilimanjaro!

my last day in kenya….

On August 11, 2016

In blog | climbing kilimanjaro 2016

Today we all go our separate ways…. Peter is up early and went downstairs to say goodbye to everyone. I follow shortly behind him after I have a chance to shower. I made it down to the lobby just in time to say goodbye to Deb, Becky, Adam and Lynn – they were in their truck and headed off to safari. I join Peter for breakfast – for me I keep it simple – coffee, fresh fruit, fresh juice, one last Maandazi (a form of donut) with honey, and some granola with milk. While we are eating, Cathy joined us for a cup of coffee. Soon we are finished and Peter and I go to our room to do our last minute packing, and then check out. Peter is off to the coastal down of Mombasa for a little R&R. Lilly back to the US and Lacey back to Rwanda.

The coolest honey presentation I have ever seen!

Then Cathy and I are off for a day in Nairobi. She has hired a car to take us around. Our first stop is the Sheldrick Elephant Orphanage. The orphanage is only open from 11 am – 12 pm, when the elephants get fed and it is important that you get there early so you get a spot in. I decided to wait with our driver as I went to the orphanage in 2011 with Aaron on my last climb.

While we are waiting for Cathy, I get to learn more about David, our driver. He’s a very nice man who has built a small business with 5 cars. And he lives near Njabini, so we talk a lot about the Aberdare Mountains and the surrounding area. As we sit, we watch more and more people go into the orphanage – David is also surprised by the number of people – I am not sure if there are so many people as it is Sunday, or is it due to the conference. And he tells me that we will see people pull in late – he’s right – people pull in at 11:45 am, even though they will close at 12:00. Shortly after noon – Cathy comes out – and I am not surprised that she had a great time – although she too comments on how busy it was.

Our next stop – a first for me – The Giraffe Centre. The mission of the Centre is to promote sustainable environmental conservation through education for the youth in Kenya. It too was very busy and we saw many of the same people from the Elephant Orphanage. It’s a small facility – you get a handful of giraffe feed, you get to feed the giraffe’s and you fight to get a picture taken while feeding them. It’s definitely a place you want to go to when it’s not busy. It was cool being able to feed them and be up close, and those tongues!

After feeding the giraffes a snack – I kept it traditional – a Stoney Tangawizi and Tomato Flavored Potato Chips.

Now on to some shopping (with recommendations from Lacey) – our first stop was Kenya Kanga located in the Langata Link Shops. Kenya Kanga is a unique fabric company – they not only sell fabric, but also clothes. The Langata Link Shops are pretty cool – they are group of boutique shops showcasing Kenyan artisans and African designs. Next stop – Kazuri Beads – home to handmade ceramic beads and pottery. KAZURI, which means “small and beautiful” in Swahili, began in 1975 as a tiny workshop experimenting on making handmade beads. And an interesting fact from their website – The factory is located in what used to be part of the Karen Blixen Estate (of the Academy Award winning film “Out of Africa” fame. They too have a pretty cool mission – To provide and sustain employment opportunities for disadvantaged members of Kenyan society.

It didn’t take long, but we were all shopped out. So back to the hotel for a quick lunch, then I am off to the airport. We opted to eat at the hotel as this was easiest. And before you knew it, Stanley – our driver – was ready to take me to the airport.

There wasn’t too much traffic going to the airport – as it was Saturday. But things have changed at the airport – for security – everyone, except the driver has to exit the vehicle, well outside of the airport, and then the passengers go through metal detectors and the vehicle is inspected. You rejoin the vehicle on the other side of the inspection. It definitely makes you feel a little safer – especially in light of the many airport attacks in the recent months. However, I can’t imagine doing this in a monsoon rain!

I am at the airport in plenty of time. I buy a couple of gifts for my Swiss family as I am off to see them for a week. The aiport is sparse, not a lot to do, so I catch up on email, blogging and listen to music. Soon I will be off to Zurich – it’s an overnight flight, and they are only 1 hour behind Nairobi – but I do stop in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania first. The flight goes from Zurich to Nairobi to Dar es Salaam – and just my luck – someone is continuing on to Dar es Salaam and sitting in my seat. A male flight attendant comes to help, and at first asks if I can move, I have no issue, but let him know I am going on to Zurich and that I had ordered special meals – opps – hold the presses – the person in my seat now needs to move to another seat. However during this conversation, a female flight attendant comes by, and as I try to move out of the way, my bag with my heavy hiking boots slips out of my hand accidently and falls on her foot. She then looks at me and says “You dropped that on my foot!” News flash – it was an accident! So off we go to Dar es Salaam – we stop there – which seems like an eternity – but they have to clean the entire plane as this is the origination of this flight.

The flight is uneventful – and I am sad to leave Kenya, but happy to see my Swiss family. So the next part of my adventure is Switzerland. I am not sure if I will continue the writing the blog or not as it was really meant to keep everyone up to date on the climb and Flying Kites. We will see . . . .

day 8 – the long drive back to nairobi

By Stephen

On July 26, 2016

In blog | climbing kilimanjaro 2016

July 22 – Today isn’t a terribly early morning – we have scheduled the bus to pick us up at 9:00 am. Peter and I are up relatively early – I decided to take advantage of finally having electricity for an extended period of time at the hotel – and take another shower at the hotel – this time the water is hot, and not just for a few minutes. We head to breakfast and I am surprised we are the first ones there! Normally Lynn and Adam are the first to breakfast, but this morning they are taking their time to organize their things.

The breakfast at the hotel is simple, but nice – coffee, tea, oe fresh juice, – eggs or omelettes cooked to order – sweet chapati – fresh pineapple and watermelon – yoghurt – bacon, sausage and what looks like baked beans – and toast with butter and jam. For me I keep it simple – first coffee with milk, then the pineapple (which is so, so, so delicious!); and finally two eggs over medium with toast. I think visiting Eastern Africa, puts food and life in perspective – I am so grateful for all we have, and realize how overly blessed we are.

Soon the rest of the group begins to join us. We all have a nice breakfast, then we head back to our rooms to gather our gear and load the bus. Before we depart, I head to the reception area to get my boots – for $2.00 – they clean my dirty and very dusty boots from climbing. This is probably the best $2.00 I have spent!

With the bus loaded, we head back to Nairobi. The first order of business – we need to answer a question posed by Lacey – “What did you learn about yourself on this trip?” Over dinner each night on the climb, we would ask each other questions, but as this question was much deeper than most of our questions – so we saved it for last. Most of our questions were simple – such as – “What was the first concert you saw?”

Next on the agenda – I gave the team a task of creating a nickname for everyone based on the this experience. So here they are:

Me: Dad, I think more than once either Lilly or Lacey said to me – “That is such a Dad thing to say.” And as the team leader, I had to make sure everyone was on the bus, where they needed to be, etc.

Peter, or should I say Prince Peter – let’s put it this way, Muhammad would always bring Peter hot tea to his tent in the morning, and when we came down from the summit to Barafu Camp – everyone wanted warm water so they could wash up – but we were told that we were in a desert and that we would have to wait until we got down to the Mweka Forest camp – well, everyone but Peter – Muhammad seemed to find enough water for him to have a bowl of hot water brought to his tent. All joking aside, Peter does make an effort to meet and introduce himself to anyone – be it the support staff on the climb, a waiter in the hotel, the bell staff in the hotel – etc.

Becky or should we say Princess Becky – Princess Becky also received some special treatment. But all joking aside – this is one of the great things about Julius’ team – their main focus is our safety and comfort – they go out of their way to ensure we have everything we need. So back to Princess Becky – well as an example on the last night – we all gathered in the tent, well everyone but Becky as she was truly exhausted and tired from the 14+ hour day – and Muhammad recognized the importance of her needing to eat, so first he brought her soup to her tent, then her meal. I am happy to say, she ate her entire dinner.

Lilly and Lacey – The Sisters – they have know each other for most of their lives, and are just like sisters. And everywhere we went, shop owners, etc. would think that they were sisters. They would fight like sisters, the help each other out in difficult times like sisters, they finish each other’s thoughts like sisters and they look our for each other like sisters.

Adam – he became Ansel after the great outdoor photographer – Ansel Adams. Adam is an avid photographer and I am excited to see his photos from the trip. And unlike me, who always uses the automatic settings, Adam adjusted the aperture and shutter speed for perfect pictures.

Lynn – Adam’s Mom soon became known as Mama Mountain Goat. Living in Colorado, she hikes frequently, and it was evident as she hiked up rocks with ease – even with her hands in her pockets. Whereas I was hugging the rocks!

Cathy – she too was looking after everyone, especially Lilly and Lacey – so her nickname became Mom. So be it medicine, money or emotional support – Cathy was there to take care of everyone.

And finally there is Deb – she became JW or Julius’ Wife – Julius would always joke on the trip and say , “Where is my wife?” when he was looking for Deb or he would ask “How is my wife?”

Soon after we finished with everyone’s nickname, the bus ride got pretty quite. I think everyone was still a bit tired – despite a good nights sleep in the hotel. Our first stop – the Tanzanian/Kenyan border – about 1 1/2 to 2-hours from Arusha. I spent most of the trip listening to music (Sugar Free Radio by Ron Seikly – he is Greek – like me – an ex-college and professional basketball player – who played for my childhood team – the Syracuse Orangemen – an now is a DJ in Miami) and I continued writing my blog. I have alot to catch up on as the internet was being a little finicky this trip.

The drive also gives me time to admire the beautiful landscape and countryside as well as watch the Maasai people as they tend to their animals and farms. The Maasai are so thin and tall, and in their native garb look regal and royal.

We reach the border, and we first have to depart or check-out from Tanzania. A fairly quick process, but it is a little busy, and outside of the office, the Maasai women are selling jewelry and such – it feels like a scene out of a movie. We are soon rebound the bus, where we drive across the border and back up a street to enter or check-in to Kenya. The scene is the same, just a different country. However this time we are detained a little – our driver tells me customs wants to check out our luggage and I have to go into an office – I follow him, the driver and a customs agent talk, he looks at me, then he sends us on our way. I am not sure what happened or why, but I am happy we didn’t get delayed.

So we are on our way again – the next stop – the souvenir stand, restroom, drink stop – that we stopped at on the way to Arusha. It is only 5-minutes away and a welcome stop for all. I buy my favorite soda (I actually rarely drink soda, but enjoy this when I am in Kenya) – Stoney Tangaziwi – a Ginger Beer. Other than that, I did’t buy anything. So back on the bus – next stop the Stanley Hotel – Nairobi. I continue to write and listen to music – soon the urban sprawl of Nairobi is upon us – and we begin to feel the traffic congestion. We move slow as we weave in and out of the traffic. And soon the bus becomes a little more lively – I think everyone is anxious to get to the hotel and to enjoy the facilities – hot showers, the pool, the restaurant and the bar. Next on the agenda – guess our arrival time.

As we get closer to the hotel – we get a little bad news – Nairobi was the host for UNCTAD 14 – The fourteenth session of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development – which brings together Heads of State and Government, ministers and other prominent players from the business world, civil society and academia to tackle global trade and economic development issues. And as our hotel is a key hotel for the conference, and the fact that some of the meetings were being conducted near the hotel – streets were closed off, there was a heavy presence of police and they military, and we could not pull into our hotel with the bus. I think this added at least 30-minutes to our trip.

We were finally able to check-in to the hotel – but my adventure was far from over – Peter and I were given a room with a single bed – so back down to the front desk to straighten this out. We finally get it a room with 2-beds – I then find out where everyone else is staying and distribute their certificates from summiting Kili.

That afternoon/evening – Deb, Becky and I decide to go around the corner and eat lunch/dinner at the Java House. We have a nice meal and celebrate our journey with their famous ice cream – a Double Espresso Milkshake for me and a Chocolate Chip Cookie Sundae for Deb and Becky.

The Java House’s Chocolate Chip Cookie Sundae

We head back to the hotel where we are going to meet Edwin from Flying Kites. We end up also meeting the rest of our group who are eating dinner at the hotel restaurant. We enjoy some wine with the group as we wait for Edwin – he too is caught up in the Nairobi traffic. When Edwin arrives – we spend a little time catching up in the restaurant – then a few of us head with him up to the Exchange Bar where Peter so graciously buys us all a round of drinks. It’s a nice way to celebrate and wind-down our trip. As it gets late, and we hear last call, we decide to go to bed. Tomorrow we are all off – Lynn, Adam, Becky and Deb are off to Safari – Peter to Mombasa for a beach vacation – Lacey back to Rwanda – Lilly and Cathy back to the US – and I am headed to Switzerland for a week.

So until tomorrow. . .

day 7 – our last morning on kili….

By Stephen

On July 22, 2016

In blog | climbing kilimanjaro 2016

July 21: Our day per our itinerary: Mweka forest camp to Mweka Gate (1,650 m); A sustained descent through lovely forest with lush undergrowth takes us to Mweka National Park gate. From here will be transferred to our hotel in Arusha where we’ll spend the afternoon resting poolside! Commentary: Truth be told – the pool is too cold and it is not hot enough go in this trip. [ (3-4 hours walking throughout the day)

The last camp – Mweka Camp.

We were all up early this morning. This particular camp wakes up early as people are eager to finish their teak and head to the final time we will check in/out – the Mweka Gate – making it hard to sleep in late – despite how tired we all are. Becky and one of our guides – Hussein – are up much earlier to get a head start on the 3-hour plus hike down to the Mweka Gate.

We begin gathering in the mess tent for coffee, tea and breakfast. For breakfast we have Uji – which I think Adam is the only one who partakes in it, hard-boiled eggs, chapati and fruit. Soon after we have breakfast – we have the tipping ceremony. For the team that worked tirelessly on getting us to the summit and back – this is the key source of their income. Julius stands next to me with the list of the support team, and the rest of the kili climbers, line up next to us. Julius begins by calling each porters name one by one, I hand them their tip, thank them, and then each member of our team thanks them. Many of the team have also contributed some additional gratuities for those members who went above and beyond to make sure we had a safe and comfortable experience. We continue with our cook, Omari; our waiter, Muhammad; two of our assistant guides – Omari and Elias – and then finally our head guide – and the person that made sure we were all safe – Julius. The ceremony concludes with the team sing songs in gratitude and happiness. It’s such a special way to end such a physical and emotional journey. If we didn’t need to get down to the Mweka gate, I think we would have stayed there longer – well maybe just 5-minutes more as we were all dreaming of being able to shower back at our hotel in Arusha.

Julius and I.

The porters had packed up all the tents, well almost all the tents, our tent was still up as we waited for Peter to finish packing and having breakfast. Peter and I are like Oscar and Felix in some sense – I’m fast and always haver everything ready to go, and we are always waiting on Peter. I think the second most thing said on the trip – second to “Porters passing” (as the porters would pass us on the way up or down) is “Where’s Peter?” (as we were always looking for him as we were set to go.

We then began what seemed like and endless descent to the Mweka Gate. The group traveled down together for the most part – spending much of the time sharing life stories and continuing to get to know each other better. An experience like this creates a bond between people – you go through so much mentally and physically that it becomes easy to open up share life experiences with others. For me, it was how much I miss my Dad.

The long trail to Mweka Gate.

K - Lynn and Deb, the final descent.jpeg

Lynn and Deb sharing some life stories.

Shortly into the walk, we reach a spot and get to see Kili for the last time through the trees. As you look at how far away the mountain is, it’s hard to believe that we were on top of it just a day ago!

Our last view of Kili

We continue through the lush forest where we see a variety of monkeys, lush vegetation and streams. And as tired as I am feeling, we walk somewhat slowly and enjoy this beautiful place.

One of the many monkeys we see along the trail.

The lush forest and a stream.

As we get closer to Mweka Gate, were here more singing – more Tipping Ceremonies. We know this portion of our journey will end.

Our journey on Kili comes to an end.

When we reach the gate, we are reunited with Becky. Our final task – to check out at the gate so they know that all 9 of us have made it down safely. Then after checking out, we take time for one last group photo on Kili.

Mweka Gate.

Our last group photo on Kili.

Soon we are on the bus. We head out and stop at a place that has souvenirs and art from the local porter community. When we arrive, we first sit and eat our boxed lunch – Chapati, Mango Juice, a muffin, a fried Sweet Potato Wedge, Chocolate and Orange Wedges. Then we do a little shopping to support these hard working people. But we still bargain as this is the custom in East Africa.

With our stomachs full and our wallets a little lighter, we begin to head out – well not before someone saying “Where’s Peter!” As we are backing out, we see him walking from the restroom. Now that we are all on board, we make the final trek back to Arusha – about 1 1/2 hours on the bus.

The bus ride is somewhat quite as we are all a little tired. We finally arrive at our hotel – L’Oasis Lodge. We pull in and the bus is unloaded – I check in and I debrief the team on a few details – the hotel is retrieving our stored bags, the items we left in the safe, I address the lack of hot water on our last stay, and we coordinate the time for dinner with Julius and some of his team. And a note on the hot water – the hotel was out of power for a bit that day and unfortunately we didn’t have a ton of hot water. I do know that everyone had a chance to shower, but we all probably cut our showers short to conserve hot water for our roommates.

At 7:00 pm Julius pulls in with three cabs to take us to dinner in downtown Arusha. We all didn’t recognize him – the tall Massai man we had seen for the last 7-days in hiking gear and with a backpack, was all dressed up, complete with a leather jacket. We met the rest of his team at the restaurant – his three assistant guides, Hussein, Omari and Elias – our waiter, Muhammad – our cook, Omari – and the assistant cook – Chimbe. It was a great night, we all got to know the team in a more intimate way – learning more about their lives and families.

Before you knew it, it was time to leave, we called our cabs back and headed to the hotel. We said on last goodbye to everyone at the restaurant and to Julius at the hotel. A few of us had a night cap in the hotel lounge – Becky, Deb, Adam, Peter and I – however we did not stay up late as we all were looking forward to sleeping in a bed for the first time in a week. It’s amazing how the smallest things in life can be the best things in life!

Tomorrow we head back to Nairobi!

day 6 – summit night turns into summit day

By Stephen

On July 22, 2016

In blog | climbing kilimanjaro 2016

July 20 – we are back at Barafu Camp. After a little rest, we eat a little and relax in the mess. Today is an unusually windy day, so much so, our sleeping tent collapsed a little and our mess tent felt like it was going to take off. Luckily our tent did not take off, but as we sat in the tent we heard that roar of the porters and guides outside. I went out to investigate – there were indeed tents flying through the air. It was a crazy and wild scene.

A tent flying through the air!

The tent about to land on an outhouse.

We eventually had to vacate our camp for new climbers. The hike down to Mweka Forest Camp was short, but seemed like it took forever. Along the route down, we saw the Kili stretchers, these are metal stretchers with one wheel, and giant shock absorbers – they are used to transport people down the mountain. Soon we were at the half way point on our journey to Mweka Forest Camp – a camp called High Camp.

High Camp – Half Way to Mweka Forest Camp

Unfortunately while we were resting at High Camp – a stretcher came into the camp with a young woman who obviously needed to get down off the mountain. And after looking at her carefully, we all recognized her – her friends were literally dragging her up to Uhuru Peak from Stella Point. I am not sure why her friends, and the guides would allow this. I realize you are so close – but your health and well being should take precedence.

We were soon on our way down, all very quite and tired. It has been a very long night and day – our bodies are exhausted and running on fumes. I know we are getting close when the landscape begins to change from the barren desert to the more lush Moorland. I did take a moment to take a picture of this, and of the city of Moshi – one of the cities that people use as a starting point for Kili.

The Moorland Zone of Kili – Desert turns to Green Vegetation

Looking Down on Moshi.

So we arrive at Mweka Camp – it is quite the site. We are all happy to have scaled Kili, but also happy to know that we are almost down. I know tonight will be an early night – dinner, followed by final packing, followed by an early night to bed.

Tomorrow we head to the final gate, then back to our hotel in Arusha.

a quick update – we are all safe.

By Stephen

On July 21, 2016

In blog | climbing kilimanjaro 2016

We are all safe and down from the mountain. We checked out from the last gate and we are enjoying lunch in the countryside. It was a tough and challenging climb for all. Adam, Lynn, Cathy and I summited at 6:15 am; Lacey and Lilly followed and summited at 6:45 am and Peter summited at 6:48 am. Becky and Deb tried hard, but did not make it to the Stella peak, the first peak. It’s always hard when you have made it so far, but I know they will be back to reach the top of Kili soon. Julius our guide has promised to help them. I’ll catch you all up when we get back to the hotel in Arusha.

day 5 – we begin our trek to the summit!

By Stephen

On July 20, 2016

In blog | climbing kilimanjaro 2016

July 20:

From our Itinerary: Summit day: Mweka forest camp (3100 m) We will start our ascent by headlamp at about 12 a.m. so that we can be up on the Crater rim by sunrise. The climb over volcanic scree has some well-graded zig zags and a slow but steady pace will take us to Stella Point (5,735 m) in about five or six hours. We will rest there for a short time to enjoy the sunrise over Mawenzi. From here we’ll continue along the crater rim to Uhuru Peak (5,896 m), passing close to the spectacular glaciers and ice cliffs that still occupy most of the summit area. The descent to Barafu is surprisingly fast, and after some refreshment, we continue to descend to reach our final Mweka forest camp (12 hours walking throughout the day)

Deb and Becky are up early, and begin their quest for the summit at around 10 :00 PM, the rest of us begin our ascent around 11:30 PM. We all meet in the mess tent for some cookies (biscuits) and tea or coffee. We really did not get a lot of sleep at camp, maybe a couple of hours at most. I think we are all cold and tired, but this is why we came to Tanzania! It’s a beautiful night with a full moon. The moon illuminates everything and it’s almost not necessary to for our head lamps – but we do want to see the rocks as we walk, so we do use them.

With our head lamps on, off we go in the dark. It is a slow, almost endless hike up to Stella Point. I am actually glad that it is somewhat dark – if it were lighter, I would be constantly looking up to how much further we need to go. I just put my head down and follow the Julius’ footsteps – one step at a time. As we continue to hike, the group begins to break up – this is natural and why we have so many guides and porters – everyone goes at their own pace. In the lead group we have Adam, Lynn, Cathy and myself. We are led by Julius and have Paolo assisting. Lacey, Lilly and Peter follow – and soon it is Lacey and Lilly followed by Peter. As we continue our ascent, tired and cold, we meet up with Becky and then Deb. They are pushing hard, but it’s a difficult climb. I know for myself, I did not have diamox for the altitude, but had Zorfran. I was feeling a little nauseous as I climbed, but it would soon go away. I think I was willing it away! As I hiked over rocks, I did feel a little dizzy – a natural feeling when being so high. On the way down to Mweka Gate, Adam and I talked about it as he was behind me on the way up to the summit. He said I was definitely walking as if I were drunk at times. We all fought off our cold and tired feeling and eventually reach our first milestone – Stella Point at around 5:40 am. We huddle near some rocks as we added hand warmers to our gloves and as we tried to bundle up more. The wind coming over the point was bone chilling and strong. During our ascent, I wished I had more to eat and drink as my body felt depleted. I know the rest of group felt the same way. It was still dark, and the hard part was behind us as the climb from Stella Point to Uhuru Peak, is a gradually climb.

As we continue our climb, we pass other climbers on the way down from Uhuru Peak, who gives us encouragement – “Congrats, you are almost there!” they say. We press on and the sun begins to rise over – it is one of the most beautiful sites on can see – and with the full moon it is even more specular. On one side you see the full moon and on the other side you see the sun rising.

The Sun Rising over Kili.

We finally reach the summit at 6:15 am- Uhuru Peak – standing some 5,895 m or 19,341 feet above sea level! Our group shares a moment and we huddle together with Julius, excited and happy we reached the peak and we are all good and safe. We spend a little time on the summit taking photos and enjoying this breathtaking view!

Steve, Cathy, Lynn, Adam and Paolo on Uhuru Peak.

Celebrating our Summit with Julius!

We decide to begin our descent, on the way down we pass Lilly and Lacey, then Peter. We are excited to see them and know they will summit shortly. And off in the distance we see the majestic glaciers of Kili. We are soon back at Stella Point, we stop briefly and then decided to make the long journey back to Barafu Camp.

One of Kili Glaciers.

The descent back to camp is long and hard on our knees. As we are going down, Julius tells me that much of the descent down is the same route we went up – I hardly recognize it, and I am glad that we went up in the dark. The trail is filled with volcanic rock called scree. It’s a little treacherous and tiring, but we finally make it down and back at camp – it’s time to rest before we make the 3-4 hour hike down to our final camp – Mweka Forest Camp.

I’ll continue later….

day 5 – summit night!

By Stephen

On July 19, 2016

In blog | climbing kilimanjaro 2016

July 19: Barafu campsite (4,600 m.) A short but steep climb out of Karanga up to the Barafu Campsite. The remainder of the day is spent resting and preparing for our midnight summit attempt (3-4 hours walking throughout the day).
I’m not sure how much I can blog – low battery and updates aren’t going through. Tonight we summit – yeah! All of our group made it to camp within 15 minutes. And Deb led the group up the last hill. We had our boxed lunch here at camp.

So today we were up later than normal. It doesn’t make sense to push out early or fast on such a short day. If so, you end up standing around. As it stands our mess tent was up, but the table and chairs not ready and only one of our tents have been set up. We are waiting for people to come down from summit and clear the website. It’s a bit of a bummer as some people want to lie down and rest.

The hike today was a long ascent, followed by a short decent and then a steep ascent to camp. At each camp we check in, then go to our campsite and relax. I know the team can’t wait to do that.

Anyway, more later….

day 4 – the barranco wall and adam’s 20th birthday!

By Stephen

On July 18, 2016

In blog | climbing kilimanjaro 2016

July 18: Karanga camp (4,000 m) A steep climb up the Barranco Wall leads us to an undulating trail on the southeastern flank of Kibo, with superb views of the Southern Icefields. From here the trail gradually ascends and descends until we reach Karanga camp. Here there is plenty of time to rest, or take a short acclimatization walk above the camp (4-5 hours walking throughout the day).

At breakfast we checked in to see how everyone is doing. Lacey was sick to her stomach last night – probably due to the altitude – but she had a strong appetite at breakfast, which is a good sign. Some of the group are experiencing headaches – which is normal and Deb and Becky are moving a little slow today.

We decided to get part of the group going – So Elias took point and Adam, Lynn, Cathy, Lacey, Lilly and I followed – and Omari followed behind the group.

Julius and Hussein stayed behind and we’re going to lead Deb and Becky to the next camp.
Our day starts out with a short hike from camp to the base of the Barranco Wall. This wall look massive and treacherous. We begin our ascent up the wall, climbing over rocks going higher and higher. The wall is relatively easy to scale, but there are points where the adrenaline kicks in – such as the Kissing Rock – so named because you literally hug and kiss the rock as you pass by it – you just need to take one step at a time. For someone who doesn’t like heights – this and a couple of other passages were not my favorite parts of the day.

We continued up the wall until we reached the top. I will have to say there were many points along the way which I remember from my last climb- probably because I hated them! But reaching the top gives one such a great feeling of accomplishment.

From the top of the wall we traverse the ridge before descending into the Karanga valley. The hike to camp was very deceiving, we could see it off in the distance, but had a long descent down into the valley, followed by a steep uphill ascent. The descent was a little challenging, it’s dry, full of small rocks and sand, and you can easily slip. You just need to take it slow.

After 5 hours – we reached camp. It was one of our shorter days. We had a nice hot lunch – fresh watermelon and oranges to start, followed by pasta with chicken sauce, potatoes and an avocado salad. Over lunch I checked in with the group – everyone is a bit tired, but doing well!

As we ate lunch – Julius brought us great news. Deb and Becky were having lunch in the valley below us. The will soon rejoin us at camp!

Update:

As I was making my way back to the mess tent, I saw Deb and Becky coming up the hill towards camp. It’s the best part of the day when the group is back together. They were tired, but seemed like they were doing well.

Soon it was dinner time. I am sorry to say, some of the notes I wrote didn’t save and I don’t remember what we had for dinner. What I do remember is Julius and much of the team came into the tent with muffins and candles for Adams birthday. I know it was a very special way for him to celebrate his birthday!

Day 4 – Team Comments: Low Point followed by High Point.

Lilly: Being hungry. Conquering the wall.

Lacey: I feel spent. It was cool climbing the wall and kissing the Rock. And getting Sour Patches when I got back to camp.

Lynn: Struck me to go slow to go fast. Loved the wall.

Adam: Nine. Rock climbing on the way up Kili on his 20th birthday.

Peter: Trekking down. Climbing the wall.

Cathy: Coming down the steep hill aka Desert Slope – before camp. Climbing the wall.

Me: None. Conquering the wall for a second time.

Deb: Being with Becky and feeling the support of the guys. This morning waking up feeling incapacitated.

Becky: Not feeling nauseous and II could eat while hiking. Seeing Deb depleted this morning.

day 3 – a long ascent, then descent

By Stephen

On July 18, 2016

In blog | climbing kilimanjaro 2016

July 17, 2016

Today was a long, long day of hiking – about 6-7 hours for our group.

The Day:
The sunrise in the morning was breathtaking.

Great Barranco valley (3,900 m.) A morning of gentle ascent – in honesty it didn’t seem like a gentle ascent – it was long. The views along the way we’re so panoramic views, leaving the moorland plateau behind to walk on lava ridges beneath the glaciers of the Western Breach. The landscaping was barren and filled with lava rocks.

As we ascended – it was awesome as we would pass Becky and then when we would rest she would pass us.

We had lunch near the Lava Tower junction (4,550 m.). It was nice as we all had lunch together.

We descended to the bottom of the Great Barranco valley (3,900 m.), sheltered by towering cliffs and with extensive views of the plains far below (5-7 hours walking throughout the day).

So the thoughts from the day:

Cathy: Oh my god – that hill coming down Lava Tower! As a note: it was pretty treacherous going down.

Adam: The higher the altitude the less coherent I got.

Lynn: The view of Lava Tower from the decent was magnificent.

Lilly: At one point, I felt like you could touch Kili. And it was great meeting my friend Curtis House and his sister Meghan.

Peter: Very fortunate to have Julius as a guide. He pointed out so many things along the way.

Deb: I enjoyed getting to know Peter more. We are all doing this intense thing together and it’s great to get to know someone better.

Lacey: I was happy when I was feeling sick and Julius took control. He took my day bag and had Elias take me to the next camp to get a little lower in altitude.

Me: On a climb like this, it’s about team work and helping each other out. And I am so happy we are all still at it!

And for all its the hugs from Julius when we aren’t feeling great.

For Dinner: Zucchini Soup and Macaroni with Meat Sauce and Vegetable Sauce.

Another tiring day, and all to bed early. We had some clouds come in, which helped warm things.
Tomorrow the ominous Barranco Wall!

day 2 – lynn’s 60th birthday!

By Stephen

On July 17, 2016

In blog | climbing kilimanjaro 2016

Day 2: July 16, 2016
Today we celebrate Lynn’s 60th Birthday! What a way to celebrate! 🎉🎂🎈
So last night I didn’t sleep much. Our tent was downhill slightly and I kept sliding down my sleeping pad. I hope I sleep tonight.

Peter and I were up early around 5:45 AM. We began organizing our gear, and packing up our sleeping and other items for our large packs. As we were packing we heard a voice at the tent entrance – it was the waiter Mohammad – he had tea for Peter. I couldn’t believe it. As it stands, Peter joked with him last night about tent service and he actually took him seriously. He then brought me a cup of tea. We finished up and went to the mess tent for breakfast.

Today’s hike was very sunny. It was nice, but the sun leads to dusty trails. We had some of the most spectacular views as we rose above the clouds. And as we look behind us, you can see Mt. Meru standing majestically in the distance. The hike today was a lot of climbing uphill. And at one point we traversed the side of a rock face – it’s was pretty cool.

For lunch we had boxed lunches and those who eat meat raved about the chicken in their lunch

Lacey, Lilly, Lynn, Adam, Cathy and I finally made it to camp. After Mohammad brought us hot water to was up, it was popcorn and tea time.

And before you knew it Deb and Peter arrived, then Becky. It’s always exciting when you know your entire team has made it.

For dinner we had pumpkin soup, pasta or rice with vegetable sauce or meat sauce and pineapple. The food has been great on this trek. After dinner we sang Lynn Happy Birthday. And then everyone called it an early night. We all were really exhausted from the climb.

Before bed, one last look at Kili. I love the sunsets on Kili and the stars at night.

Day 3 tomorrow!