Welcome to the Keyes Hotel in Moshi, Tanzania, the rendezvous point for trekkers and guides preparing to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro.

Ravenala madagascariensis

Our detailed plans began two years ago, carefully selecting a week with a full moon during the season with the greatest incidence of clear skies, coinciding with the great migration.

Cocos nucifera with full moon

After months of training and preparation, we have reviewed the checklist with our guides; our bags are packed and ready.

The mountain awaits.

We are a group of eleven hikers with three guides; our transportation arrives:

Some of the guys speculate this is a troop carrier from World War II;  we think it more likely dates from the 70's.  The important thing is, we all fit in the back!

Of the many trails up the mountain, we will take the Machame Route, which is jammed with trucks, hikers, and porters when we arrive at the gate.  To our surprise, our group of eleven requires more than 40 porters who will carry our tents, sleeping bags, food, chairs, tables, as well as their own necessities, and they will do it with ease and grace, loads balanced on their heads.

Machame Gate

The trail begins in the lush rainforest.

The rainforest:

It seems to get wetter as we hike up the trail, and the mosses and epiphytes get thicker.

The porters have arrived and set up camp long before we make our appearance.

Machame Camp

There is hot water and bowls for washing up, and the mess tent is waiting with hot tea and snacks.

Still Life with Blue Carafe

Kim,

    A trip of a lifetime! Can't wait to see more pictures. I really look forward to this.

Jeff

Sunset behind Mt. Meru

After a full day of excitement and exertion, we sleep soundly at 9,750 ft. on the mountain.  In the morning, the mists have lifted, and our destination is in full view:

The second day we quickly leave the trees behind, and it's a long steady climb to Shira Plateau through heathers.  Along the way we see our first Lobelia deckeranii.

The blue flowers are tucked under the green leaflets.

Arriving at Shira Plateau, 12,480 ft., we realize the large numbers of hikers making the ascent with us -- it's a tent city here.

Morning is very cold, ice crystals all over the rocky ground, and the early sunlight brightens the view of Mt. Meru:

This day is a long slope upward through fields of rocks tossed out by the volcano in ages past.

WOW!!!!  WOW!!!!   More! More!!  

Kim!

Great pictures!

More, of course!

Hmm.  That Lobelia looks a lot like the ones in Hawaii, if my memory serves.

Love the potted Pritchardtia in the background of your second pic (I assume you and your DH arm-in-arm?)

Picture brat wants more, now!

Whaaaaaaa . . . . . . !

dave

Dear Kim  

thanks for the lovley stills and the sun set still was fentastic & the camera seems to good a very good job and that perculier plant with blue flowers,is a sought of out of the world experience(Heaven!)  

lots of love,

Kris  

Kim,

The pictures of the trek are great so far. I can't wait to see pictures from the rest of the trip up the volcano.

After watching an IMAX film on Kibo, that's when I decided climbing it is a must before the glaciers melt.

We crouch behind some rocks to get out of the wind while we break for lunch, with a view of the Lava Tower beyond. (Note the tiny people on the trail to the left.) So many people have fallen to their death while climbing the Lava Tower in the last few years that our trekking company does not permit its hikers on the tower, but we can see many people clambering up the rocks.

The guides enforce a slow pace to allow for acclimation to the higher altitudes.  I don't mind it when going uphill, but on the downhill slopes after the Lava Tower, I feel like I'm in a nursing home pushing a walker.  It seems to make the day even longer to walk so slowly, but eventually we can see the camp in the distance as we pass giant Senecio kilimanjari growing alongside the stream crashing down the rocks.

Feet weary, we stumble into camp and are greeted by an enthusiastic round of song in Swahili from our porters.  These guys put on a great show.

We are in Barranco Camp at 12,850 ft., only a little higher than yesterday's camp, although the trail peaked above 14,862 ft. today.  After tea, the clouds part for a moment to give us a glimpse of the glaciers on Kibo.

The next morning we eye the vertical face of the Barranco Wall that we will climb after breakfast.  It looks intimidating, but turns out to be my favorite part of the hike.  There is a lot of scrambling over boulders and up fissures between rocks, and the views are boundless.

After a hot lunch on the trail we begin a long steady ascent across a lunar landscape.  Everything seems really big and open up here.

It is early afternoon when we reach craggy Barafu Camp.  'Barafu' means 'icy' in Swahili, and it is very cold here at 14,950 ft.

We layer on more clothes and rest.  At midnight we will begin our last leg of the hike to the summit under a full moon.  After hiking with our companions these last few days, we are now bonded as a team, and are looking forward to every member reaching the summit around sunrise.

At the appointed hour we assemble and take our places in line according to the guides' instructions.  We are nearly unrecognizable to each other in our bulky layers with headlamps blinding each other's eyes.  The trail starts off moderately, then hits a very steep section.    Scrambling up the steep granite slabs takes my breath away for a moment, then the slope moderates a bit, and we continue.  

It's really cold now and we have to remember to blow back the water in our drinking tubes so it won't freeze.  If I remove a mitten to adjust a zipper or open an energy snack, it takes a very long time to warm up again inside the down mittens, and my toes are cold inside my boots.  The temperature is estimated to be - 10C, or 14F.  The wind kicks up, and after awhile the gusts are pushing us sideways.  It continues to blow harder and harder, slowing our progress and intensifying the cold.

Afterward we discussed the wind and how it affected us.  We all agreed it had an isolating effect because we couldn't see well in the dark and had to concentrate very hard on our footing, plus the wind made it nearly impossible to talk to each other.  So for hours during the climb, it was like we were alone inside our heads with only our thoughts for company.  Funny what goes through your mind in that situation...

Somewhere around 18,000 feet I begin to notice my vision is foggy.  I think it is the wind drying my eyes, or my hair whipping my eyeballs, or maybe the volcanic dust irritating them.  My vision gets worse and worse, until I can just make out the black gaiters of the person in front of me.  I realize if I fall behind by more than a couple of steps I could get lost, so I alert the guides to my problem.  Since it is only an hour until sunrise, they assign a guide to hold my arm and point where to place my feet (I have lost all depth perception), and we continue the climb.

The sun has risen, the wind has died, and we reach Stella Point where we take a break.  What?  This isn't the top?  I can't find Steve; he's behind me somewhere, but I cannot see people's faces.  Murray from Toronto says it's the altitude changing the shape of my eyeballs and reassures me that I'll be able to see fine when we go back down.  Steve arrives and has been taking oxygen to help relieve his exhaustion brought on by the altitude; otherwise he is cheerful and ready to make the last dash to Uhuru Peak.

About forty minutes later, we stand on the highest point in Africa, Uhuru peak, 19,340 ft.

A picture- and hug-fest ensues.

Glaciers

Crater view with Mawenzi Peak in the distance

Ho-kay!  So now all we have to do is get back down again...  Fortunately, we take a different route down, which mostly involves 'skiing' down volcanic sand banks.  It's very fast.

We get a 2 hour break, then pack up and hike down to the 10,000 ft. level at Mweka Camp.  Hurray!  I can see clearly again!  It's our last night on the mountain, and we relive our experiences over dinner in the mess tent.

In the morning the porters thank us with a rousing round of song.  These guys have done an amazing job of carrying the bulk of our gear, setting up camp, and feeding us, and they have earned our affection.

It's a short 3 hour walk down to Mweka Gate to sign out, pick up a souvenir, and board the truck.

Patch of honor

Back at the Keyes Hotel we can relax and sample the local brews while preparing for the next leg of our adventure.

Cheers!

Thats amazing, from the rainforest to the frozen tundra.

Gary

What awesome memories to last a lifetime!

WOW WOW WOW

Sensational, thank you very much. What do the beers taste like ?

Kim!!! You were just here hugging my ropalostylis palm and now you're on Kilimanjaro at 19,000ft! You are incredible!!!

What a great hike. Impressive from every angle. Do you have any stats, like total mileage hiked or elevation gained? I'm liking the idea of having porters carry all the heavy stuff!

Great pictures Kim.  I am sure it was an incredible trek.

dk

Fantastic.  Absolutely fantastic.  I bet that was hard going by the end at that altitude!  Kim - any more senecio/lobelia pictures?  Theyare just THE most awesome plants.

amazing!great pix & the narration had me feeling like i was right there.thanks for sharing this with us,kim!

To answer questions as best I can:

Greenleaf:  What do the beers taste like?  Beer, as best as I can judge.  The Serengeti was a bit darker and more bitter than the Kili, but be warned, all beer seems like a byproduct of large animals to me...

Jeff, Dave, Gary, Bill, Kris, and Gene, glad you enjoyed the photos!

Jake, you must plan to do this hike, and the younger you are when you do it, the better!  So get on it!

Pogobob, I need a hug from your Rhopalostylus after this hike.

Terry -- We converted kilometers to miles and came up with just under 50 miles total.  Beginning elevation is 5905 ft. and the top is 19,340, making the gain 13,435 ft.  Yup, that's a lot.

Thanks for your comments, Amazondk and Pohonkelapa, but you didn't feel like you were there unless you're having trouble catching your breath...

Paul S., looking for more plant pix just for you..

Bear in mind, these are about 12 ft/4 meters tall, and that is a significant cascade a distance behind them.

You'd have liked all the aloes I didn't photograph in Tanzania also; sorry, you'll just have to go see for yourself, nice shades of blue.  Lots were in bloom in Madagascar also, gigantic inflorescences, no photo, sorry.   Well, I'll look...

What an adventure! Thank you for taking the time to share it with the rest of us! I really appreciate the photos! What great scenery!!!!!

(Kim @ Mar. 14 2008,21:40)

QUOTE

You'd have liked all the aloes I didn't photograph in Tanzania also; sorry, you'll just have to go see for yourself, nice shades of blue.  Lots were in bloom in Madagascar also, gigantic inflorescences, no photo, sorry.   Well, I'll look...

You are just teasing us aren't  you ???    

Say it isn't so

Kim, fantastic pictures and commentary!  I can't tell you how much I enjoyed this.  Thanks for posting.

Kim,

What a fantastic adventure and incredible accomplishment! The second photo in post 5 of Kilimanjaro really looks intimidating! And the first two photos in post 3 look almost exactly like the forest in my "backyard" here!!

Seeing the photos was almost like being there - but without the altitude sickness and extreme cold!

Bo-Göran

Absolutly amazing! I enjoyed every detail of your doumentary.

Fantastic! You did it Kim! My respects!

Good to know that you are safe back and thank you for letting us "be" there with you step by step.

Kim,

Thanks for sharing your fantastic climb with us.....must have been the trip of a lifetime. I must admit I was rather surprised at the huge support team,   but it is clear its no walk in the park !.   So,  whats next.... or did Kilaimanjaro cure your penchant for exotic hiking experiences ?

Great pictures of the an incredible journey .When comes Everest? Ernest Hemingway would be proud!

Bravo Kim!!!!!!  Thanks for the travel log.

Kim, thanks for that extra picture.  Those skirts!!  Marvellous.

Kim, thanks for taking the time to take those pictures!

Glad you got over the altitude sickness . . . .

dave

Wow Kim!!!!

I got tears in my eyes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Kim

I hope you are well rested from that journey.  Who would've thought that the altitude would affect your vision like it did.  

How big were those lobelias?  They look huge in those pictures.  

Thanks for posting your story and the photos....if you have any spare pics, please post.