I woke up Sunday morning with a jolt of anticipation. Today was the day we were leaving for Kilimanjaro. Months of preparing and years of dreaming about it, I was finally on my way. It felt surreal.
Since the beginning of mankind, men and women alike have challenged themselves by climbing mountains. Scaling all of the seven summits – the highest mountain peaks on each of the seven continents – was first achieved by the late American climber Richard Bass in the spring of 1985. Kilimanjaro, the fourth highest peak among the seven summits, soaring at 19,340 feet (5,895 m) and one of the world's highest freestanding mountains, has long been one of the most popular climbs given its relative ease of climbing (no technical climbing ability is necessary) and beauty. Located 200 miles (330 km) south of the equator in Northern Tanzania, the snow-capped volcanic dome of Kilimanjaro dominates the skyline like no other mountain on earth.
Image of the 7summits v2″ by Anurag Paul. Licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Free Commons.
We set off for Machame Village shortly after breakfast with the van packed with our gear and a couple of our guides. Our group of nine climbers – six of us from the United States and three from Nigeria were all part of the #SolarSisterSummit in honor of Solar Sister's five-year anniversary of providing clean energy and women's empowerment in Sub-Saharan Africa. Our climb would be the culmination of months of fundraising and training.
Our one-hour drive to the Machame Gate took us through lush green, tropical vegetation. While the others talked excitedly in back, I sat up front next to the driver to get a bird's eye view of the passing scenery. The driver pointed out the beds of drying millet that farmers use to make "mbenge" a local beer and also showed me how they planted coffee underneath the foliage of the banana leaves to provide shade which helps the coffee grow. It was a beautiful drive and very different than I had expected. I had no idea that the Kilimanjaro region was so lush and tropical.
Looking excited and ready to leave!
The drive to Machame Gate is verdant and lush.
We arrived a little after noon to the Machame Gate where we would have a bag lunch, register with the Kilimanjaro Park Office, meet up with our porters and start our trek. As we drove inside the gates, I tried to capture on film all the local vendors hawking their wares. Tanzanian flags and other fun memorabilia for the summit were readily for sale.
June marks the high season for Kilimanjaro climbs given the normally dry and warmer climate and of course summer vacation for many trekkers. We weren't sure what kind of crowds to expect but were prepared for hundreds of fellow climbers joining us along the way. (Click on any image to enlarge size).
Inside the gate, there were hundreds of climbers, porters and guides getting ready to set off for the climb.
The Porters all have weight regulations so each pack must be hand weighed before setting off. The maximum weight was 33 lbs (15 kg).
I loved all the warning signs.
Before we headed out, we met our four guides and were each given a handmade wooden plaque with the words to "The Song of Kilimanjaro" which we all learned by heart by the end of the trek.
Hello, Hello! Welcome everyone to the beautiful view of Kilimanjaro. Welcome to Kilimanjaro, no worries! Go slow, slow…no worries.
Hmmm? We would just have to see if there really were hakuna matata! No worries! 62 miles (100 km) up and 24 miles (38 km) down did not sound like no worries to me.
Ha Ha David! I had no idea that my elephant had a horn!!!! That is hilarious. Must be a new breed! Hope you and Neha are doing well. Will have to let you know when I'm in DC this October. Hopefully you guys will be in town.
Thanks! I did check out your blog! It is great! One idea is that you should make your photos larger on the posts. They are a little bit small so it is hard to see them! 🙂 Thanks for stopping by and I like you list of travel wish places you'd love to go! Sounds like a lot of places I'd like to go too!
Do you know how to make those images larger?
Ha Ha That is true Janet. I guess I just go with the flow when I'm traveling. The leg is finally better thank goodness! It has been three weeks since I've been home and it took that much time to mend. Lots of icing and no running. Guess I'm not as young as I used to be but so relieved I'm feeling good again!
Anxiously awaiting your trek. Beautiful area, and it is very tropical looking. How was your leg that morning?
Thanks Debbie! Lots to share. The leg was swollen and huge but at least I could walk. I seriously couldn't walk for a few hours after the injury. It was so sore. I had to deal with it swelling the entire trip but other than that it did not hurt until the hike down. I could hardly walk when I got back to the hotel and it has been three weeks since I've been home and finally today I was able to take a walk pain free! My knee and quad ended up becoming inflamed because of the injury. It was a mess but I am so happy to have completed a walk around the lake today pain free! I'm on the mend now!
I so admire you Nicole! How do you train for something like this?
Darn good question LuAnn! It really depends on your overall athletic ability I think. I've been active all my life and have done these kinds of long distance hikes before with not that much training. For this, I just did my normal running 5 miles three times a week, walking, biking and inline skating. I did a few four hour walks but they were flat. Some people do stair masters or other hikes but I really believe that if you are in moderately good shape anyone can do it. The altitude can be hard but with seven days most people can do it and just go immediately down on summit day if they are not feeling well. It is a very doable climb which is why it is so popular.
That picture of Kilimanjaro through the clouds was breathtaking Nicole…..and of course your entire journey is awe inspiring.
I love those words of wisdom "go slow" – that is my mantra on every trek I go on!