Training Log Archive: Sandy

Another easy day to Lava Tower Camp at 15,213 feet.

In the alpine zone so lots of cool rock formations but not much else. Took a spill on the trail - not sure if I slipped or caught my foot but went down and bent my knee too far. Screamed because when I do that the pain is intense. Had to spend the next 20 minutes explaining to each guide that I was fine, that this happens frequently, that it is the surprise of the pain that makes me scream, that it subsides in a minute or so and that I will not have any lasting effects. It took a while for them to believe me, but I was strong on the rest of the climb so they eventually did.

The final few minutes to the camp was uphill and as we neared the crest all the porters in their orange goretex suits (provided by Thomson) popped out from behind some rocks to greet us and take our packs and lead us into camp. It was just so endearing and energizing especially when thinking about the fact that they wait until we start trekking, then break down the tents and pack up, then pass us on the trail carrying these heavy loads, get to the camp and set everything up and are waiting for us when we arrive. So, so impressive.

Sleeping is getting hard. The tents are almost always on a good incline and while putting clothes and other gear under the sleeping pad to level it out helps, it's tough to get comfortable. And sleeping at altitude is difficult - breathing is not normal and so I wake up a lot. I generally fall back asleep quickly, but am not getting really deep sleep.

But, the hiking is spectacular and the people are all so interesting and I'm enjoying every minute of it.

Another easy day to Shira Camp 2 at 12,795 feet.

In my journal I wrote "that's what I get for feeling cocky". Came down with some serious GI issues making for a very uncomfortable day of hiking even though the hiking itself was not bad. Several others in the group also were having issues but it cleared up for all us in a day or so and with Imodium.

"King David" as we dubbed our head waiter was very solicitous and gave me rice and other bland food. We were encouraged to eat as much as possible at every meal all the time. The idea was to store up lots of calories in case we couldn't eat higher up. So I stuffed down a lot of rice and some pineapple and bread and pound cake (dessert) that I thought would be okay. And I was fine by the next day.

After we made it to the camp - which was always set up and waiting for us and Haji (the porter that carried my duffel bag) greeted me with high fives and showed me which tent was mine - we had a bit of down time until dinner. Within the space of an hour it rained, had bright sunlight, got all foggy so you couldn't see more than a few feet, then cleared up. They weren't exaggerating when they said the weather could change minute to minute.

Scrambled up Shira Cathedral, a very cool rock formation. The guides wanted me to leave my hiking poles at the bottom (we left our day packs there with some porters to guard them) but I said I needed them. They weren't happy but the "client comes first" so they didn't argue much. Afterwards, they came up to me and said that they had watched me climbing up and down and how I used the poles and they understood now about my knees and that I used the poles differently than most people and they wouldn't give me any more grief about it. Pretty funny actually. Had to sit down a few times to make it down the big boulders.

Hiked to Shira Camp 1 at 11,500 ft. Beautiful views, easy hiking.

They call pit stops "monkey breaks" and I was certainly queen of the monkey break. I started taking a very low dose of Diamox (125mg once a day) but it's a strong diuretic and I was being good and drinking my 3-4 liters of water on top of coffee, tea, soup and hot water at meals and I pretty much had to pee every hour or more. And every night I filled my pee bottles in the tent and even had to go empty them one night. The other two women in the group (wives of MIT people) were a little prim about going in the bushes or behind rocks, but my orienteering training has me totally comfortable with that.

Times are estimates - just not disciplined enough to keep careful track.

Drove to the Lemosho gate and signed in. Met our guides: head guide Onest and assistants MC, Philip, Andrew and Emmanuel. Met my personal porter Amedeus and the cook Feliciano and head waiter David (yes, we had a head waiter!). And then found out that in addition to these folks, there were 50 additional porters assigned to our climb of 11 "clients". We were a spoiled group! They lugged portable toilets, propane tanks for cooking, tables and chairs, tents for each of us, cups and plates and silverware, great food, all our gear and safety equipment including a couple of oxygen tanks and a portable hyperbaric pressure chamber.

Thomson, the company that organized the trek, does top-of-the-line treks and safaris and we really had it good. Our route was one of the longest (9 days total) and because of this, most people are able to acclimatize and make it to the top. The company has a 97% success rate while the success rate for the mountain is more like 45%. Only one of our group was not able to go all the way to the top, and she had a pre-existing heart condition that gave her trouble at about 16,000 ft. when exerting herself. She was perfectly fine at 15,000 ft. where we were camped and just waited there for us to come back down.

Anyway, we spent several hours at the gate going through the official weighings (legal limits on what porters can carry), and then got back in the jeeps to head to the trail head. We were held up for about an hour as a potato truck (the foothills of Kilimanjaro are planted with all sorts of vegetables that are tilled by hand and it was potato harvesting week) got stuck, all the potato sacks had to be taken off the truck, the truck was then able to get unstuck, and then all the sacks had to be reloaded. We eventually made it to a place where the road was too mucky to go further and started about 2 hours lower down the mountain than is sometimes possible.

Distances on Kilimanjaro are measured in time we learned and not feet or meters or anything else.

Hiked in the rain forest in some misty rain for a few hours and eventually made it to our first camp, Forest Camp, at 9,281 feet.

Amedeus was great - his English was excellent, better than all but Emmanuel - and he was very happy to talk about his background and Tanzania and the mountain. He was licensed as a head guide and had led many treks up the mountain, specializing in ones where people wanted to go fast. His brother held a speed record on the mountain. But, he wants to work for Thomson, and so has to start at the bottom and work his way up in their company. But it meant that I got a personal porter who knew a lot and had stories to tell. He carried very little for me - an extra liter of water and some of my jackets and hats as I took off layers during the day, all things I could have stuffed in my pack but he was happy to carry them. It was really nice to have someone who was always looking out for me. He kept reminding me to drink (I hear "sip, sip" every time I see his face). On the third day I gave him my camera and he took lots of pictures for me including many that have me in them which is nice. It was really interesting to hear his perspective on the whole tourist industry and the way he thinks of the people that come over as "clients" and that his job is to make sure the clients have a good time because in the long run that is good for the country.

An easy first day of hiking just getting to know everyone and know the routine.

We stayed in Ndarakwai Lodge the day before the climb. It's a very cool preserve with everything being as eco friendly as possible. Took a hike in the afternoon where we saw lots of wildlife and stretched our legs. A very easy stroll.

Kilimanjaro

C • woo hoo! 10