Day 5 of 8 (16th July 2010), Kili Trek

Believe it or not, dawn is rising again. It’s 5:45 AM, and we hear the bell ringing and again I didn’t sleep much. My mouth was so dry so I drank lots of water that I had to go to the toilet in the middle of the night (around 00:40), and this is when I fell thankful for having that little tent with a toilet inside. Actually, the toilet is just a seat with 2 deposits: one with clean water and a second one where the waste water is stoked. I can’t stop feeling sorry for Arnold who needs to clean and carry the toilet from camp to camp. Don’t think that he's carrying it behind us while we walk, outside the camps you’re free to choose your own pee-spot.

Getting back to the sleepless nights, I now start getting used to it and apparently, it doesn’t affect my performance. I am feeling good, no symptoms of altitude sickness, I feel physically fit (I mean I hardly get tired or short of breath), and my signals are OK.

The dawn it’s very very cold, I can fell the wind striking through my bones. This morning I put my gloves on to keep our hands warm and a wool beanie, but Jonas doesn’t let us overdress thus when you walk you start warming up and then you need to peel off lots of stuff and carry it.

We have our breakfast at 6:15 and at 6:45 we are ready to leave the Barranco camp. I am still looking at the that big wall and feel a bit uncomfortable about climbing it. As we usually say: quem não arrisca, não petisca (kind of: no guts, no glory). Barranco is a scarp 300 high, around 9 story building: it’s rather impressive to look at it. If others made it before we can do it as well.

Today we leave our trekking poles behind, as Jonas clearly explained we will do mostly “Goat Climbing” and we won’t need them for the Barranco itself.

We were the second group to leave the camp, we were very happy and proud of ourselves. The trekking isn’t that hard, as you walk with your hands and feet on the floor. It’s tiresome e and physically demanding in the sense that you need to support your weight in the hands when you pull yourself and legs when you need to propel. One advice: look where you put your hands!! There is lots of spit and sputum everywhere, it’s disgusting.

We keep on climbing until we reach the “Kissing Stone”. I kissed her good, but I found she is too cold for me, so I just kept on going. Up to this point has been 20 minutes walk, we still have another 40 minutes to go to reach the top of Barranco.

Reaching the top is overwhelming. The view is so beautiful, we are above the clouds and it looks like an endless cotton candy cloth. Here you can have a sparkle of what infinity means.

We stopped for a few minutes for a rest and to admire the scenario, and then we left. Lots of people are now arriving and it’s getting crowded.

From Barranco we descend into a valley and there is a brutal change in the landscape once again: semi-Alpine desert. Some trees here and there, with some spots of lichens, meaning that we still have a good air quality. Unfortunately, going down means we will go high again.

Once again, Jonas picks the garbage other groups left. It’s a noble attitude.

In some places we cross water streams that are still frozen, this is how cold it is today, regardless of the sun.

After 3:40h we reached Karanga Camp and, once again, we were the firsts to arrive to the camp site, according to camp’s records. Perfect timing for a “shower”: wash hands, armpits and feet, and change underwear and socks. That’s all we get, and we are thankful for that.

In this Camp there is plenty of signal, so I can call home and talk with kids and husband.

After some rest, we had a wonder lunch: Celery soup, chicken with fries, sauteed vegetables, lots of different fruit (watermelon, oranges and tangerine) to supply us the required nutrients for us to keep fit for the trek.

Beatus, the cook, makes wonders with the scarce resources available in the mountain and Jonas is very careful when it comes to choose the ingredients and nutrients for our daily meals.

After lunch we can finally have some rest, read some pages of my book and had a nice nap. They never let us sleep too long, as they want us to have a nice rest during the night. I have been having problems to sleep during the nights: the mattress and the cold make it very difficult to find a good position to sleep.

The afternoons are endless…most of the times we arrive early to the camps, after the trek, and we have lots of free time. Just don’t forget to bring your book, your sketch book, whatever keeps you busy.

We gave a nice walk through the camp site expecting to find some familiar faces. Here and there we get to meet some nice people, from all over the globe. It’s incredible how these camps look like a Babel.

By misfortune, my phone cord doesn’t work anymore, what makes go around the camp looking for people who are willing to share their charging cord with a perfect stranger. Luckily enough our neighbors (a father and daughter from Australia traveling together since Rwanda), are willing to lend me their cord, if I allow the girl to use our toilet. Seems a fair trade to me. After some easy talk, we agreed to stick together so they can use our toilet and I can charge my phone. It’s a nice symbiosis.

Today Jonas gave us a small stone, very dark from volcanic origin as a gift and souvenir. I am going to label it so I don’t forget my Kilimanjaro experience.

Dinner was vegetable stew, rice and green peas. Seems like we can’t have meet any longer, as after a certain height our body doesn’t tolerate it anymore.

Our heart rate and SO2 are very good and no symptoms of HAS. I am amazed. Having listened to all the experiences of friends I was expecting to feel some kind of unconformable, like headache or bellyache, but I am feeling surprisingly good.

And here we are, ready for some rest again.

day 4/8, Kili trek

It's already wake up time again. It's 6 AM, and as usual they bring us some hot water to wash ourselves. I won’t lie, but my hair is so dirty and greasy that I can’t remove my beanie anymore. At least my feet aren’t that smelly, but by now I am already missing a good bath. Although I almost didn’t sleep, I know I did it as I dreamed. Can't remember anymore.

I need to share with you that the best thing we did was renting our own private toilet. It’s so much more comfortable and hygienic, and I would pay every cent again. I see that the tourist who didn’t rent one don’t use the public toilets, that are shared by hundreds of people, rather they go behind the bushes. Now, this is something you will quickly learn: people don’t respect the Park rules, and you can find toilet paper everywhere. That's not the worse part of it, as toilet paper is biodegradable: you can find old batteries, toiletry items, tea bags, cigarette butts (which aren’t allowed in the park at all), juice pack's, and so on and so forth. All this trash isn't left behind by the crews, but by the tourists themselves and it’s starting to disturb me lot. To see to which extent our presence damages the Park and how big our environmental footprint is, is making me think if i did a good choice by coming here.

Regardless of that, Jonas our leading guide, picks litter from the ground every day. By the end of everyday trek he arrives at the camps with a handful of waste. So let me ask you dear tourist: would you litter in your own country? Can you please behave as if you were in the US or any where else? I know you can do better than this.

 Now that i have pointed it out, it’s time to get back to my diary. 

The dawn isn’t as cold as yesterday, but I can feel the cold getting into my bones. I am wearing a long sleeve shirt, a light fleece and a jacket, and my hands were cold. I had very good socks (my friends take my advice and buy good socks so that your feet don't freeze, burn or hurt your feet), my friend Tiziana amazing boots, so my feet were comfortable all the way through the 8 days.

Unfortunately, we always leave the camp later than planned, and our guide it's starting to be upset with us. He likes to leave early, to walk slowly and arrive early, so we can have proper rest. Our heart rate and SO2 are still quite good.

Today is a very long day: we will do an acclimatization walk for 4 to 5h up to Lava tower (4.600m ASL), and then descend for 2 to 3 h to Barranco Camp at 3.900m ASL. It's one of the longest days, where we will walk approximately 10 km, for 6 to 8 hours. Long, hard day, in an Alpine Desert landscape.

It's exiting to see how the landscape changes, it looks like we've landed on the moon, and it’s full of volcanic rocks and debris. Here and there you will find some proofs that we are in fact in an habitable planet.

 Hundreds of porters cross our way, and as we get a bit closer to Lava Tower, people from Machame route join us. Now we are now a much bigger group than the one coming from Lemosho, number of tourists and porters is impressive. As Lemosho is one of the longest trails, therefore more expensive most people just choose between Machame and Marangu routes. 

There we are ate Lava Tower, and I have a headache that comes and goes, specially when I bend. It can be a mix between altitude sickness, hunger and sleepless nights.

I forgot to mention that both me and Paula we are taking the Diamox, as recommended by both doctors and most of our friends. I didn’t feel much of the effects, except for the tangling in the fingers, which i felt throughout the whole journey. In fact I also recommend you to take it, and don’t forget to start a few days ahead you get in the mountain.

Getting back to Lava Tower. The place is in fact impressive: it’s a huge rock that stands alone in a small plateau. The place is amazing. What i also find astonishing is the amount of people gathered in this small space. All people coming from Machame, Lemosho and Shira routes come together in this point. From now on we will be a lot of people. According to Jonas, last year 50.000 tourists visited the park. knowing that each tourist has in average 4 crew members, this means that in total around 250.000 people climbed the mountain.

The effects of the over-crowded is obvious: lots of garbage everywhere, lots of people walking everywhere (meaning outside the trails), lots of open air toilets... don't imagine just the solid wast, imagine as well the smell you are able to feel.. This is outrageous, and as you pass by Senecio forest you can understand the dimension of the impact. There is not much left of the so called "forest" and lots of the trees are dying, because tourists are overtaking the territory by stepping and depleting the soil, because people want to take some souvenirs home and take parts of the trees, because and because and because. Please, bear in mind this is an unique ecosystem: you won't find it anywhere else. That's why it's a World Heritage Site.

While we pass by Senecio Forest, we cross several stream, the water is freezing by the way, and we have Kibu Point on our left hand side. The weather is cold, and gets colder everyday. 

We finally arrive to Barranco Camp, after 6:02h of trekking, longest trail so far.

After registration and taking the usual photos, we head to our camp site. The weather here isn't as bad as in Shira I but it's very very cloudy, thus you can not warm up at any moment. 

1. 

This is one of the dirtiest camps we been so far. Lots of food leftovers (bones and horrible stuff), tea bags, juice packs, batteries... just pick something, you will find it here.

To enable me to have some rest I decide to have some ipobrufen, and I get much better. 

We walk around the camp, as usual, trying to find some signal. After several trials i can finally reach out to my family and talk to the kids, and i am so much happier.
You don't know how lonely you can feel in the mountain. It can be either bad or good, as you have the chance not to think in anything else, or you can think about everything thus you have lots of free time.
The days are always the same and time goes by so slowly... we had diner at 6:30. It used to be my afternoon tea break time, look at me now. We had some soup with lentil balls, past and minced meet and veggies.
we had our briefing for the next day as we were about to cross the daunting Barranco Wall. as we get some explanation i start to get really anxious and scared. I hear lots of heights and danger and crawling, and start wandering why i decided to do this in first place. I didn't remember anyone mentioning that Barranco wall was that scary and dangerous. Why could that be.
Jonas wants us to be the firsts to leave the camp to avoid getting jammed... You see, lots of technicalities that i wasn't expecting at all.
We explained Jonas that Barranco (written with 2 R) is a Portuguese word, that means exactly ravine, so the word wall is a bit redundant here.
Before getting to sleep we packed our stuff and had some reading. after a short while we shut down the light. this is the end of day 4.

Kili trek: day 3/8

We follow the same routine everyday: wake up at 6:00 AM, wash yourself, get dressed, pack your bag, head for breakfast (where we had again some porridge, which we couldn’t eat), have a morning briefing, measure your heart rate (67bpm) and SO2 (95%), and leave.

When we woke up this morning everything was frozen, literally frozen: the ground, our tent, it was very very cold. Everything was covered in a white crystal cloth, and we are not even close to the summit.

We took a last glance at Kibu point before leaving, and that gave us the strength to keep on going and face the new day ahead. Although it was a very cold morning, it was splendid. The sky was clear and blue, we were above the clouds and we could see mount Meru above the clouds. As it was so early in the morning, we could still see the moon and some stars bordering Kibu point.

Today we walked from Shira 1 camp to Shira 2 camp, towards Shira Cathedral, through the Shira Plateau. We crossed the small water stream that borders the camp, which barely had any water, and started our course leaving the camp behind. Most trekkers head straight to Shira 2, but Jonas planned an acclimatization walk, meaning we will walk higher (3.872 m), then walk down, and them climb go higher again to Shira II (3.850m ASL). The next 3 days we will have small increase in altitude (from 3.610m in Shira I Camp to 3.900 in Barranco Camp), but will climb higher during the day to have a better acclimatization. While in Shira Plateau we will find Mount Kibu on our felt hand side, for most of the trek. It's beautiful, although you can see there is not much snow left.

The Shira plateau is one of the highest plateaus on Earth, and it is beautiful, it is a combination if moorland and grassland. The Plateau is actually a caldera from what was the smallest of the 3 volcanoes (4.005m) on Kilimanjaro, that collapsed. As we walk, we are stepping on the lava of the last eruption of this extinct volcano and we can see the remaining rims of the caldera.

We were lucky enough to see a Dick Dick, but that was all. Jonas explained us that before we could find herds of elephants, buffaloes, but due to the increasingly human presence in the area they were chased away.

We were walking for a while when we started to see trees and bushes that were ripped off. Jonas explained that these were maintenance works, to keep the road passable for tourists, but it seemed like was being done randomly, without any supervision or planning. Men were working to widen the trek, but we couldn’t find any reason to do so. It’s a small path, that is not taken by many people and it should be left as it is in order to ensure the renovation of the ecosystems. We asked a few of them what were they doing and they didn’t know. It was heartbreaking to see how the mountain is being devastated and ripped off for no reason.

here and there we stop for picture, rest and for fun, as you can see...

We started climbing, and it was steep, till we get to the base of the cathedral. We took a short break for snacks and toilet. Up to now we were alone, but a big group joined us to climb to Shira Cathedral. The place was busy now, and they were much faster than us. As you can see, i didn't take of my light fleece of, plus the base layer and a Tshirt.

For this particular trail the trekking poles were of no use, so Isaac kindly carried ours so we could use our hands and find the balance to climb the rocks till we made it to the top (3.872m ASL). The sight is beautiful, we can clearly see Mount Meru, and the landscape is shaped by big monoliths covered in green. It’s completely different from what we saw until now. After taking the pictures that testify we made it, we started descending, and headed Shira 2 camp.

Here the landscape changes again, is drier with many rocks and fewer greenery and it is warmer than before. We kept Pole Pole, the trail is very rough and after the heliport, I was feeling so hungry and tired due to hungry that I had to ask Jonas to stop.

Sometimes, is hard to deal with the Guides, because they want to stick to their plans and routines, and we have different needs. We had a rest and I ate a snack close to some caves (that worked as toilet and it was disgusting), thus I was feeling stronger we got back on track.

We keep on climbing, and after 6:02h of walking, we arrived to Shira 2 camp where as usual, we made our registration and headed to our campsite for lunch. 

We are in between Mount Meru and Kibu point, and this is one of the most beautiful and scenic camps of all. We can see mount Meru with its cloth made of clouds, and Kibu point with its snows. It’s astounding.

Beatus prepared us a beautiful lunch: chicken with sweet and sour sauce, chips and avocado salad. For dessert we had an ultra-sweet pineapple, that gave us enough sugar to compensate our tiredness. After lunch it’s nap time, and I use it the best I can. I slept until 4PM. We walked around the camp, trying to find a signal spot to call home and to see the sight. We watched a beautiful sunset over Mount Meru and we went for lunch at 6:30 PM. We had a delicious pumpkin soup with croutons, for main we had a meet and vegetable goulash with sautéed potatoes and for desert pineapple again. I can’t recommend enough Beatus and Jonas, they kept us very well fed and were able to keep the diversity. Many others just have potatoes for all the trek. They couldn’t stop surprising me with the quality and diversity of the food.

Jonas came to render us some company, to explain us tomorrow’s trek and measure heart rate (77bpm) and SO2 (93%). Still OK, but we can see it’s slowly changing.

At around 7 PM we went to our tent and try to have some rest. Whereas Paula falls asleep in 3 minutes, I have to role from one side to the other and wait for the tiredness to come. I continue to struggle with sleep. The nights are getting colder and it also contributes to worse resting nights.

Day 2 of 8 - Arriving to Shira 1 camp

We started the 2nd day (13^th July 2019), before the sunrise. Jonas likes to leave early, so we walk slowly (pole pole) and arrive early to the camp.

Today’s journey is long, around 7km long, and we will move from Mti Mkubwa to Shira 1 camp and we will ascend from 2.650 m ASL to 3.610m ASL. Distances and height are never precise, as different people will give you different figures. Just ask you guide, they are a living GPS.

At 6:00 they come to wake you up and bring a small bucket with hot water. That’s all: there are no lavatories or showers. As we say in Portuguese : “banho à gato”, meaning cat baths, just wash where it smells bad. Best thing we did was to rent our own toilet. When we took a walk around the camp, we could feel the smell and we even took a pick to testify it. It’s disgusting. I do encourage you to rent your own, best well spent money ever.

After waking up we you need to pack you stuff  (including the sleeping bag), and finally get into the mess for breakfast. Jonas comes in for tests, and our SO and heart rate are very good. For now, I can’t feel any symptoms of altitude sickness.

For breakfast, we had a maize porridge that we simply couldn’t eat, so we just asked them to give the traditional tea, fruit and toasts. You have to remember that there is nothing on the mountain. No shops, no drinking water… the porters carry everything you need for the 8 days you stay on the mountain. Don’t expect to eat mangoes and tomatoes during the whole trip, food becomes more scarce in variety.

We took of around 7:1AM, and we were one of the first groups to leave the camp, and it was freezing cold (according to Jonas 5ºC). 

For me, it was the hardest trail. The only one where I felt short of breath and tired. At this point, I was already feeling cold, not freezing cold, but cold enough to wear a light fleece during the trekking. After a while I could take off my jacket, but my hand remained cold for a long time.

There are lots of ups and downs, it’s a steep trail, and we were overtaken by lots and lots of porters and some more experienced and well trained trekkers.

Soon we found there are not many porter women, although it is encouraged they say. I think it is really tough, not only for the weight you need to carry, but also concerning the bad shape of the toilets and lack of minimum hygiene conditions during the trek. Worse than that, is that you will not find a women as leading guide during your trek. We saw one junior guide and our guide mentioned a couple of them. But as you can see, they can name them easily, as they are only a few.

The environment changes from Mountain Forest to Mooreland, as you get higher. The landscape is breathtaking and you can perfectly see, for the first time, mount Meru, and even little Meru, surrounded by its clouds cloth. It’s beautiful. We can’t barely see any wild life, except small rats and lizards.it is a very long walk today, so we stop many times along the way for toilet (meaning behind a tree), get some rest and pictures.

There is no signal during the trek, except for one precise place where everyone heads to. You can see the porters rushing into this place and putting the luggage on the floor. It’s also time for a short rest. Jonas doesn’t like to stop very often, but we have our own rhythm, as we are the ones setting the pace. As you stop, and although it is forbidden in Tanzania, you will fell the smell of weed. People seem to smoke it, as they also believe it is good for heights.

We also called home. It’s heartbreaking to hear the voices of our little ones, and it makes me miss them a lot.

The journey is long and rough. The weather is changing and dark clouds cover the sky. There are no chances to perceive Kibu point. Where is it? Besides walking slowly, to allow your body to adapt to the weather, the height, the mountain and the physical strain, you must also drink lots of water and eat your snacks. It is easy to forget to feed yourself, and you can get weak and tired if you don’t it properly.

As we approach Shira 1 camp, we met the one and only park ranger in the whole park. You don’t find them patrolling the park at all, they are all confined in the camp site and It’s a shame.

The final track to Shira one is wonderful and beautiful, thus some rain drops from the sky and it’s a bit chilly, it looks like you’re walking on the Yellow Brick Road. We can see the camp from far.

As we always arrive early (it took us 5,5 h only (against 7 hours as planned)), we proceeded to Kinapa office for registration.

When arriving to the camp were given some hot water to wash ourselves. Again, don’t delude yourself: only enough to wash your feet, your armpits, hands and face… We had a great light lunch: potato soup and pizza (with minced meat). After lunch we are allowed to have a nap, which I did for about 1,5h, and after I was ready for a new start, We had some tea, and went for a walk to a water stream, where porters are charging jerry cans with water to supply the camps. We also filled our own bottles with water and add a little disinfection tab. It was wonderful. Later we were able to see for the first time Kibu point, with what is left of the eternal snow. It was an amazing view, I will never forget it.

We had dinner at 6:30 PM. The time goes by so slowly, we have enough time for everything, not nothing to do. After dinner we went to bed. Again, I had troubles sleeping, seems like I am struggling with the height and with cold.