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| One of our first views of the Uhuru Peak |
I have long been at odds with writing this last blog post.
If I am completely honest, I lost interest. Having been back from the adventure
for so long I no longer felt the thrill of telling the story. I began my first
term at the University of Exeter and I became distracted, the blog was moved to
the back of my mind. However, I had never truly achieved closure with it and I
irritated me not to have completed it. After all, My Gap Year is now long over.
Many more than 495 days have passed since my first post and so I went back and
took a look at the things I have written. I realized the magic of it all. What
I had done, what I had seen and what it meant to have it recorded in this blog.
Here is my account of Kilimanjaro.
Uhuru Peak had always been the final destination for my gap
year. It would be both a figurative and quite literal way of topping off
everything I had done. Kilimanjaro is perhaps one of the most famous mountains
in the world. The dormant volcano looms over the vast Kenyan Tanzanian savannah
in all its mysterious grandeur. Its beauty and exotic appeal beckon climbers of
all ages to test its slopes. Enthralled by this igneous temptress, Jacob and I
had at last reached the town of Moshi that lies at its base. After the drive
from Arusha we spent one last night in the Honey Badger Lodge, a hotel
reminiscent of a European youth hostel, so we could get an early start the next
day.
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| A porter making his way past with Mt. Meru in the background |
Our guides, Filbert and Robert picked us up on the morning
of August 3rd in a van with our equipment and of course our cook,
Paul, our waiter, Pascal and two of the eventual 5 porters. At first Jacob and
I thought that having 9 people along was simply unnecessary but seeing them
balance 20kg bags on their heads in addition to their own belongings quickly
made us think that perhaps they weren’t enough! As is typical of this time of
the year, the view of the peak is blocked by a permanent cloud layer, leaving
everything to the imagination. This meant that when we reached Machame Gate we
were stood in the middle of a sprawling moist rainforest abandoned by the sun. In
fact, we would stay within the cloud layer for the whole 10km that day feeling
slightly confined and desperately curious to see the top. And yet the jungle retained
its own eerie allure, the moss covered trees and hanging vines giving the
impression it were under some kind of spell.
Despite the 1200m climb to Machame Camp, it was probably the
easiest day considering the relatively easy terrain and our energy levels still
being high. Upon arriving, the first thing that happens – after dropping our
bags and taking a photo with the sign showing the altitude level – is signing
into a book as proof to the mountain authorities that we made it. This is
followed by a relaxing tea in the ‘dining tent’ just before having an excellent
dinner prepared for us. The food was actually surprisingly good, normally
consisting of well spiced fried chicken and fries. As our tent was already set
up, all we had to do before going to sleep was to set up our sleeping bags
and zip shut the tent door. Of course, this door would have to be regularly
opened during the night as for some reason when sleeping in tents the bladder
becomes significantly weaker – perhaps the second most worst part of climbing a
mountain after altitude sickness. The freezing temperatures combined with the
reeking shacks guarding a hole in the ground was unpleasant to put it mildly.
The most significant observation to be made on the hike to
Shira Camp at 3800m is the change in environment. We transitioned from
rainforest to bushes to shrubs until the landscape finally became rugged and barren.
It was a terrain formed by the lava flows of the once active volcano. However,
the position of Shira Camp which overlooked Mt. Meru in the distance gave one
of the most spectacular sunsets I’ve seen. The dimming sun cast its orange
light over Uhuru Peak giving it a profound majesty.
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| Sunset viewed from Shira Camp with Mt. Meru in the back |
The third day of the hike was the first time I experienced
difficulty with altitude. Rather than consistently gaining altitude, we
ascended quickly to the Lava Tower at 4900m and then descended again to
Barranco which is only slightly higher than Shira. The purpose of this was to
be better physically and mentally prepared for the much more dramatic change of
altitude coming up. Just the 900 meter difference from Shira to the Lava Tower
gave me a throbbing headache. The Lava Tower is an impressive 100m high pillar like formation of lava
rock emerging from the grey lava plain.
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| Behind us looms the Lava Tower |
The hike was nonetheless stunning as it took us through
fields of stones covered in orange moss. The forces of erosion had for some
reason allowed these rocks to remain like petrified trolls. Some rocks were
eroded in a way that made them look like mushrooms where it seemed that only a
little nudge was needed to shove the top off. After having lunch at the Lava
Tower, we descended to Barranco which took us through a very different
landscape as we found ourselves following a stream bordered by oddly shaped
small palm trees endemic to the mountain. Going downhill, even if only
slightly, almost immediately makes one feel better. By the time we reached
Barranco I was feeling a lot better, particularly as on the way down we passed a
man who must have been no younger than 70.
Barranco camp gave us another beautiful view of Uhuru Peak,
this time from a very different angle. Whereas the slope had previously seemed
quite smooth, we could now make out how rugged and steep it really was. It
became evident that the hardest part of this ascent had yet to come. Alas, we
were proven right within the first five minutes of the next day when we faced
the Barranco Wall.
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| Jacob learns to fly |
This is a 257m high cliff face where a path reminiscent of
the stairs in Lord of the Rings: Return
of the King winds up the whole way. For the first time, we were required to
use our hands to help pull us over and around obstacles. Not surprisingly for
those who know me, I found this to be a great start to the day! However, while
I was only carrying a small backpack, the porters were somehow managing to
climb up with 20kg balanced on their heads. The porters really do give an
impression of invincibility. Neither the weight, the incline nor the altitude
seem to bother them. You’ll see them taking short breaks now and then but
otherwise they will be darting past you as you struggle to take another step. Of
course, if you like our guides have climbed the mountain around a hundred times
then perhaps it does become second nature. In fact, there are some truly
impressive record holders on Kilimanjaro. The fastest ascent and descent was
made by Karl Egloff who did it in 6 hours, 56 minutes and 24 seconds! The
youngest to make it up was 7 and the oldest was 86.
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| Enjoying Paul's good food |
In addition to climbing mountains our cook, Paul, would make
us exceptionally good food. For lunch that day we stopped at Karanga Camp where
we ate traditionally spiced chicken with French fries along with two kinds of
salad. This was actually quite similar to what we ate on safari (or almost
every day for that matter), leading me to guess that Jacob and I weren’t the
only Westerners who enjoyed it!
From Karanga we made our way up to Barafu Camp, therefore
returning to the 4600m altitude we experienced at the Lava Tower. As we
ascended through passing clouds and the temperature slowly decreased, the headache
came back. By the time we had climbed over the last ridge and arrived at the
camp we were knackered. We didn’t get much time to rest however. The plan was
to have an early dinner and try to get some sleep before waking up at midnight
to begin the final ascent to the top. A mixture of excitement and paracetamol
ensured that we would be up the task.
When Jacob and I got out of our tent (not having got any
sleep), it was dark. The moon and the stars shone down on a trail of lights
slowly making its way up the mountain. Once we were ready, we joined that
trail. Although we felt a lot better than a few hours before, it was extremely
important that we only inch our way up pole
pole, slowly slowly. This was to avoid having to be rushed down because of
altitude sickness as with one poor guy who was guided down past us. Jacob and I
were also both strongly affected. After a few hours our heads were throbbing so
badly that we were on the verge of quitting. It was dark, cold and the top was nowhere to
be seen. But Filbert and Robert didn’t allow us to stop. They told us that it
almost never happens that they have to turn around. So we took another
paracetamol, drank a bunch of water and kept going. Then at around 6:00, we
reached Stella Point – the first point on the rim of the crater. Now that the
sun was slowly rising behind us, we could see how far we had come from Barafu.
We now saw the crater of the volcano, what is left of the glacier covering the
side of the peak but most importantly, Uhuru Peak was in sight! All that was
left was to walk the last few hundred meters around the rim. It was at this
moment that I felt my determination replenish. The agonizing headache and sleep
deprivation were now only half as bad with the destination in sight. At about
7:00 we finally made it. We stood among the cheerful crowd of people who had
made it just as we had, standing in line to take a photo with the famous wooden
sign.
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| At the top with Jacob, Robert and Filbert (left to right) |
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| Exhausted! |
We spent about 20 minutes at the top before heading back
down again for what was still a long day ahead of us. Furthermore, as the
‘high’ of reaching the top faded, the headache came back full on and so I
wanted to get back down ASAP! Instead of walking down the same path, we
basically sank back down again by sliding down grey sand. It was far from safe
but it meant we could make our way down fast. We were so excited to get rid of
the headache, get back to the warmth and get some rest that we were actually
running down the mountain. Although it took 7 hours to reach Uhuru Peak, it
took little over an hour to go back down again.
Back at Barafu we didn’t have long to relax. We had some
breakfast but soon enough we had to be on our way again in order to reach our
last campsite of the climb. At 3000m, the descent to Mweka was pleasant for our
heads. However, soon enough pain in the brain shifted to the knees as the
downward slope began to put a lot of pressure them. I guess you can’t have it
all! Going back down also meant that we were returning to vegetation. We began
to see shrubs, then bushes and finally we were surrounded by the jungle once
more. Our view of the peak was once again hidden by the clouds.
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| Our last view of the mountain |
Before we set off on our final morning, our team of porters
came together and sang us Kilimanjaro,
Hakuna Matata. In Swahili they named each camp/place we reached followed by
hakuna matata (it means no worries). It was a fantastic way to see off the journey
and we thanked them profusely for all they’d done for us with a handshake and
of course, the necessary tip that they need to support their families. For many
young men becoming a porter is a way out of poverty, particularly if they study
tourism and return as a guide. Whereas porters are tipped about $20 each, the
guides receive around $100 (and we gave the whimsical student tips – the worst
type of customer!).
The final descent through the jungle was a comfortable walk
in comparison to what we had done in the previous days. At a leisurely pace we
made our way down with satisfied smiles on our faces. We managed to get one
last glimpse of the mountain through the trees before the clouds hid it for the
rest of our trip. Eventually, we reached Mweka village where our transport back
to the Honey Badger Lodge was waiting for us. We signed our names into the
mountain records a final time and received our certificates for reaching Uhuru
Peak. This official recognition gave the accomplishment the final stamp it
needed. Kilimanjaro is undoubtedly one of the most challenging endeavors I have
ever completed. It was mentally and physically taxing and pushed me to my
limits. My gap year was now sealed off having achieved everything I had set out
to.
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| The team |
