Climbing Mount Kilimanjaro

September/October 2013

After we completed the Inca Trail in 2011, we set our sights on climbing to the highest point in Africa and the highest free standing mountain in the world, Mount Kilimanjaro. We chose the 7 day Rongai Route and the following is a summary of our time on the mountain.

Day 1

We started at 8 am from Moshi by meeting our guide and checking our packs. We drove for about an hour to get our permits, but were delayed due to issues for about 3 hours (there were two other groups from two separate companies and we were all delayed), so we started late at the gate at 3 pm. Almost as soon as we started it walking....it started raining (a good test of our wet weather gear!), and we arrived at camp about 6:30 pm.

3 hours walking -7 km - 1950 m to 2600 m

Day 2

Day two started better, with us leaving camp about 830 am, with a clear view of the mountain (first time since we arrived in the area), reaching camp at 3:15 pm


7 hours walking - 9 km - 2600 m to 3600 m

Day 3

Today we walk to Mount Mawenzi, which is clear this morning as we start to walk around 9 am. Its a steady climb today, but a short hike in time and km.

3 hours walking -4  km - 3600 m to 4300 m

Day 4

Today is the acclimatization day. We spend the morning after breakfast walking to the base of Mount Mawenzi at 4,500 m. Here we get great views of tomorrows summit and tomorrows camp. After lunch we rest.

Day 5

Leave around 9 am for Kibo Hut, which is at the base of the Kilimanjaro summit. It looks so close but yet so far. Mostly flat walking except for the last hour after lunch. Its very busy at Kibo as this is where those doing the Marangu route also sleep (however in huts instead of tents).

4 hours of walking - 8 km - 4300 m to 4700 m

Day 6 - Summit Day

Up at 1115 pm on day 5 to start for the summit at midnight on day 6. It was a hard slog from 4700 m to 5700 m which is the first point (Gillman's), which we make by 5:30 am. Its another 1.5 hours on an easier hike to the peak, at this point the three of us in the group were feeling unwell. Hitting the peak at 7 am made you feel better for a point in time!

Walking back to the Kibo Huts was easier but still exhausting. But that's not all.....we then have another 4 hour walk (or 9 km), almost all downhill.

12 hours - 20 km - 4700 m to 5895 m to 4700 m to 3700 m

Day 7

Our last day, a relatively easy one, just a long day. The different terrains as we headed down was interesting, reaching the rain-forest by lunch to the Marangu gate. We got back to the hotel by 4 pm.

 

6 hours - 20 km - 3700 m to 1700 m

Its tough but worth it, Zara Tours and the guides we had Dixon and his assistant Isaya were fantastic, and I highly recommend them.

What you need to know: Climbing Mount Kilimanjaro

September/October 2013

 I found information slightly easier to find than I did when we did the Inca Trail in 2011. So here's my take on whats good to know before you go...

Guides/Tour Operators
We thought about doing this with g adventures again and then found they used a local company called Zara Tours. The more research we did, the more we felt we wanted to book with a local company rather than an international company who charged more (significantly) and used a local team you may or may not have been able to research.

Zara Tours was excellent. From the endless questions that the staff answered on email before we left, to the fantastic guide, assistant guide, cook and porters on the trail. The amount of support we received during the hike, particularly on summit day was fantastic and I couldn't have asked for more. I would highly recommend them.

Routes
There are a number of different routes you can do, over different duration's. This website has pretty good explanations of the more popular routes. We choose the Rongai Route, over 7 days (one day of acclimatization). We choose this route and duration for a number of reasons. The first was its a less trafficked route so more quiet (which it was), it uses a different route up and down allowing you to see different aspects of the mountain and park and we choose the acclimatization day to give ourselves any advantage possible.

Gear
There are a lot of lists if you google Kilimanjaro pack lists. Pack as light as possible, for both you and the porters (don't give them things to carry that you won't use). At the end of the climb you will be dirty and you will smell by the end.

• Camera
• A good goretex jacket
• Snacks (if needed, we didn't)
• Hydration pouch for water (1.5L, we could have done with more)
• Hiking poles (we rented these from Zara)
• A cover for your pack
• Fleece jumper
• Gloves and beanie
• 2-3 socks (we used these and they were fantastic)
• Sunscreen
• Good hiking boots with ankle support are a must (worn in)
• 1 spare hiking pants
• 1 spare shirt
• Sports bra
• Thermals (one for wearing, one for sleeping)
• Ski pants (optional but kept us nice and warm, and would have kept us dry if needed)
• Down jackets (a last minute purchase but worth every cent)
• Plastic bags to keep things water proof
• First aid kit
• Sunhat

I wish we had neck warmers, because my nose got very cold on summit day.

Training
We didn't do a lot of specific training for this one. We were training for a half marathon (which we ran the weekend before we left on our trip), running 50 km a week. But we did do a few 15 km hikes in the months leading up. I think general fitness helps for a significant portion of this hike, I don't know if it made summit day any easier. There is NO chance for acclimatization training in Australia, we don't have that high an altitude.

On the Trail
Your guides will tell you to go Pole Pole the whole time (except part of summit night!), which is slow slow. There is no hurry, don't over push yourself, let yourself enjoy the view, take pictures (we didn't take enough of the days prior to or of the summit).

The summit night is the most difficult, the altitude is likely to affect you in some way. Its the only time our guide "pushed" us by telling us not to give up. Don't think that starting during the day instead of at mid-night will mean your refreshed, mentally its much more difficult to see where you are going and keep climbing. Its tough but worth it.

Wish List: Zion and Bryce National Parks, Utah, USA

We love travelling in National Parks, even when we weren't that active (or correction I wasn't that active, DH has always been) we've always enjoyed checking out National Parks, some of our favourites being based in USA (think Yosemite, but also Kings Canyon, Valley of Fire). We also spend a fair time visiting Vegas, so Zion and Bryce are natural choices for our wish list

Zion National Park 273 km or 170 miles from Vegas, in Utah. The subway is a well photographed area and permits must be applied for before hiking into the area. Its also popular for bird watchers and nature lovers in general.

http://www.nps.gov/zion

Bryce Canyon National Park is located in a similar area in Utah, with Vegas also being the closest major airport.

http://www.nps.gov/brca

They have a shuttle system to minimise traffic disruptions, and of course there is plenty of hiking to do. But with sunsets like the one above, I can only imagine what the sunrises look like!

Cross Island Track, Rarotonga, Cook Islands

Each time we've been to Rarotonga I've wanted to do the Cross Island track, but it's been hot and humid, or I haven't been fit enough so we've never done it. This time the weather was perfect (winter and a lovely 26C) and after the Inca Trail, I could no longer say I wasn't fit enough!

The Cross Island track is 7 km in total, from the harbour to the old Sheraton site. It's about a 40 minute, 2.25 km easy walk from the bus stop at the harbour to the car park where most people seem to start.

It's then a steep walk through the forest to the Needle. It took us about 75 minutes for 1.5 km, mainly due to the path being slippery and having to keep an eye out for tree roots and rocks.

The next stage for me was the most difficult, I am not the most sure footed person and it's a steep, but the view about 100 m is is pretty spectacular. It's a slow decent, with many steam crossings. It evens out at the end just before you get to Wigmore falls. This took us about 1 hr 45 min for 1.7 km, but we were going slow.

The final section is along the road from the falls, leading back to the main road. It was an easy 30 minutes for 1.3 km and comes out at the old Sheraton site. You can catch the bus from this point, but we took the easy 3 km walk back to the hotel (Sanctuary).

All said and done, it's a nice way to spend half a day. You spend a lot of your time eating, sleeping and swimming on Rarotonga (or we do!) so it's good to get out and do something else. Make sure you take some insect spray, water and let someone know where your going before you head out.

South America Day 15: Inca Trail Day 4: Machu Picchu to Cusco

January 2012

Up at 3:45 am (when most were probably just heading home after bringing in the new year) and on the trail by 4:45 am. Waited at the checkpoint for 30 minutes before making our way to the sun gate (about an hour at a brisk pace), all up doing 6 km today.

The view was clouded over so after about 20 minutes we headed down towards Machu Picchu.

We went down and out the main gate to get our passports stamped, then did a 1.5 hour tour of the very impressive complex. We spent about another hour exploring ourselves (the weather never did really clear up, but the view got slightly better) before catching the train back down to the main town.

After a pizza lunch we caught a very nice train, with glass roof to Ollantayambo, driving past more ruins and km82.

We then caught the bus back to Cusco, having dinner at Jacks cafe before heading back to the hotel.

Stay
Corihausi, Cusco

Eat
Pizza at Hot Springs 2
Jack's Cafe, Cusco

Do
Machu Picchu complex

South America Day 14: Inca Trail Day 3 (the clouded forest)

December 2011

What a way to spend new years eve, walking 16 km on the Inca Trail. Up at 4:45 am and on the track by 6 am. The first 2 hours are straight up, with a nice break at a Inca ruin, Runkurakay, about half way.

We continued on a flattish path, with DH and some others stopping at another Inca ruin and myself and one of the other girls continuing through the clouded forest. This was definitely my favourite part of the whole Inca Trail, the path was moderate (up and down) but it was so peaceful and beautiful.

We stopped for lunch at a peak, where there were Llamas grazing.

We walked another short distance to another Inca ruin, before continuing downhill on unsteady rocks for the remainder of the day (my least favourite part of the trail).

We got to camp around 5 pm, making it a very long day of walking. We were surprised with a cake that the cooks had made at lunch on the trail that day, before celebrating New Years Eve with an early nights sleep.

South America Day 13: Inca Trail Day 2 (aka Dead Woman's Pass)

December 2011

Woken up at 5 am with coca tea and breakfast at 5:45 am. We left the campsite at 6:15 am and started our walk uphill. The group separated at about 7:30 am, each person setting their own pace, for the accent from 3,300 meters to 4,200 meters. DH and I walked alone at the back of the pack.

We reached the last store on the trail about 9:30 am for a snack break before continuing the accent. The walk up to Dead Woman's Pass is slow but scenic, it means you can also see every step you still have to take in front of you, but I would choose a spot and that would be our next aim, breaking it into manageable chunks.

We made it to the top of Dead Woman's Pass about 12:15 pm to horrifying weather - wet, icy and windy. We took a few pictures and started our decent to much warmer weather.

It took us about 2 hours to reach camp, all downhill, the last 30 minutes in pouring rain. But we were glad for lunch  (soup, stuffed chicken with pasta bake and mashed sweet potato) and a nap at 3,600 meters.

All in all we walked 10 km (6 km up and 4 km down), acceded 900 meters and descended 600 meters. Definitely the toughest day of the whole trail.