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Published: December 22nd 2012
Day 1: Drive from Moshi to Machame Gate (4,890 feet) / Hike from Machame Gate to Machame Camp (9,780 feet)
Anne's perspective: We met our guide, Living, at the hotel and then we were off for our first hike. It took about 7 hours in the rain forest, following pre-made paths, but overall it was easy-peasy.
Tyson's perspective: Hell...
Note: We also discovered that, at camp, we got our own dining tent (for just the two of us) and also our own bathroom tent. It was some guy's job to carry a portable toilet and tent cover to follow us throughout our trek. Amazing!!! We were also served all our meals in our dining tent (or mess hall as it was called.)
Day 2: Hike from Machame Camp to Shira Camp (12,600 feet)
Anne's perspective: This day was basically walking through a path with rocks around. It was also a wet day. It took us 6 hours but it wasn't too strenuous. Nighttime got to below zero, so I was CHILLY.
Tyson's perspective: Much better than the day before. A nice hike through the country side.
Note: The porters actually brought us
warm water every morning and after every hike so we could "wash". We basically just rubbed some water on our face and hands when it wasn't too cold.
Day 3: Shira camp to Lava Tower (15,190 feet) to Barranco Camp (12,960 feet)
Anne's perspective: This day was basically about making our way through rocks. Another wet day. We hiked a lot higher than we slept in order to help us adjust to the altitude. It took us about 7 hours to hike and still no altitude sickness issues for me.
Tyson's perspective: At Lava Tower I was definitely having issues with the altitude. Although the hike overall was a success given it's length.
Note: Every morning we took a picture of the summit since it was the best time with no cloud coverage. We could easily track how much closer we were getting.
Day 4: Barranco Camp to Karanga Valley Camp (about 10,000 feet)
Anne's perspective: This was my favorite trekking day. We basically scaled the rock wall of the mountain. It was super fun, plus no rain! We trekked for about 4 hours.
Tyson's perspective: A more challenging
climb than just walking up a mountainside, which definitely kept things interesting and the time flew by.
Note: This was a short day because we added an acclimatization day to the route. Otherwise day 4-5 would be combined. We also learned our two guides had been responsible for getting Coldplay to the summit 6 months earlier.
Day 5: Karanga Valley Camp to Barafu Camp (14,930 feet)
Anne's perspective: Another short 4-hour trekking day. This one was a little tougher because it was quite steep. Still no altitude sickness issues from me.
Tyson's perspective: I made it to the camp relatively easily, but quickly succumbed to the altitude. I ate a huge lunch to keep my strength up, but it definitely worked against me. Shortly after eating I became nauseous and got progressively worse throughout the day. I was unable to eat anything at dinner and it became increasingly clear my summit attempt wasn't going to happen.
Note: At this point we were really wishing we had brought something to pass the time. We had left the laptop, ereader, etc at the hotel so our bags wouldn't be too heavy.
Day
6: Summit day! Barafu Camp to Uhuru Peak (19,340 feet)
Anne's perspective: This was actually part of day 5 because the summit trek began at 11pm. I reached the summit at 5:34am. Holy crap it was hard. There were people throwing up on route or having other issues, but again I seemed unaffected by altitude. The only issues I had were fatigue since I hadn't slept all day, and cold (mainly hands and feet). It was SO HARD, but I DID IT!!!!!!!!! Sucks that my camera flash wasn't working for the picture at the summit, but my guide helped me figure something out using headlamps. He was actually pretty awesome. He carried my pack most of the way, he gave me his warm mitts when my fingers were cold, he fed me (literally) my Snickers bar and helped me any way he could. Thanks Kilian! (It's the assistant guide who took me to the summit.) I also got some good pics on the way down since the sun was rising.
Tyson's perspective: While Anne was making her summit run, I was passing in and out of consciousness. It was a rough night for me. My biggest regret is
that Coldplay beat me....
Day 7: Barafu Camp back to Moshi
Anne's perspective: This day was actually combined with Day 6 (summit day). Because Tyson was so sick, he wanted to head back to our hotel in Moshi and I agreed (probably due to the summit high I was on). So after I got back to camp from the summit climb, we packed our bags and went off trekking down the mountain for 6 hours (going down is a lot easier than going up). At that point I had already been on my feet trekking overnight for 8 hours so I was EXHAUSTED. I was really happy to make it back to the hotel, with showers and a warm bed though.
Tyson's perspective: The 6.5 hours down the mountain was probably worse than the initial climb to Machame Camp, since neither of us had slept and I hadn't eaten since breakfast the day before.
Pics to come as we are waiting for our shuttle to Arusha for our safari.
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Lyne
non-member comment
wow!
Anne tu es une inspiration! Bravo! Dans ma classe on a fait des predictions et les amis vont etre content que tu t'es rendu!