day 1 – our kili climb

Day 1:
So, I know I have to get caught up on yesterday, but as I want to capture today – our first day on Kili.
We started the morning with breakfast at the hotel. Everyone was in great spirits for our first day. For breakfast we had eggs and omelettes cooked to order, chapati, fruit, yogurt, potaotes and sausage.

We gathered our bags – leaving the items we didn’t need for Kili at the hotel – and waited for our guides. Our head guide is Julius and I was happy to another guide, Omari – who helped me and AJ summit in 2012.

We boarded the bus for our two-hour drive to the Machame gate, our starting point for Kili. When we got off the bus – we were handed a boxed lunch, we ate lunch, signed in and then waited for the team of 34 – yes 34 – to gather our gear, tents and food for the climb. The wait was a bit long – to kill time we took the typical pictures in front of the gate and watched the monkeys in the tree.

Soon we were on our way – the team full of energy. The trek today will be about 5 hours and we will climb 1200 meters. The journey will take us through a dense rain forest. The trail today was wet and muddy. It’s a beautiful walk – the forest is lush – it’s peaceful – and it was nice talking with the other hikers. About a 1/4 of the way into the hike we split into three groups based on how fast everyone was walking.

We eventually reached a ridge – where we walked for about an hour. The forest became less dense – and then suddenly we were out of the forest – and the path dusty, and the sky clear – we were out of the clouds! We walked for about 15 minutes – turned a corner and there she was – Mt. Kilimanjaro – rising majestically into the sky. Everyone was in awe of it’s beauty.

Two of the groups had met up for the last hour of the climb and when we got to camp we checked in at the first station. Our tents were set up and we had time to get settled before the tea and popcorn were ready – our post hike snack. As we were having snacks – Deb arrived. We were so happy to see her!

Soon dinner was ready – we started out with a leek soup, then an avocado salad, potatoes, spinach and fried fish. As we were eating dinner our last hiker arrived – Becky. (As an FYI – there is always a guide with the hikers). We were ecstatic to see her. Climbing Kili isn’t a sprint, it’s a marathon and everyone goes at the pace that’s comfortable to them. We talked a little – and then everyone went to bed. Everyone is in good spirits, a little tired though. 

Until day 2 . .
I’m having issues uploading pictures right now. 😕