On the mountain!

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On the mountain! Hard to believe. It feels so good to be here. Sitting in camp with dad now. The drive in to Kili took two hours. I think I have a whole new outlook on things and the way I view the world. Scratch that. I KNOW I have a new view. The villages and towns were tough to drive by. 70% unemployment in Tanzania. And you can tell. 45 year life expectancy. Many were just standing around as you drove by. The eye contact made was almost heartbreaking at times. Here I was with all my expensive mountain gear. Here were others with barely any water for day. The women would carry buckets on their heads, and the children (who should have been in school) were running around, or just sitting still and staring as you drove by. 600$ is the supposed yearly income. It made me physically sick to think of this as we continued toward the mountain. Guilt is the biggest emotion I've felt all day.

After arriving at the mountain we had to wait about an hour to register, have the porters gather our gear, and then get everyone together. We are taking the Machame Route. Or the "Whiskey Route" for it's "intoxicating views." RMI, our program, has it down. 6 nights and 1 extra day in there to acclimatize. The anticipation was huge as we watched monkeys beg for food, and sat in the rain waiting to go.

Sitting here at the Machame Camp, I've been amazed at the porters here. Our climb to our first camp at 10,000 ft elevation was a big success. What blew me away was when we arrived at our first campsite. Our tent was pitched, their was fresh hot water for washing our face, and our community area was set up with a big table with a table cloth, silverware, hot tea, popcorn, coffee/cocoa, and chairs with the RMI logo. The porters beat us to camp AND did all this work in the time it took us to walk with just our basic hiking packs. These guys are young, fit, and carry astronomical amounts of weight on their heads, necks and backs. In the car, Dad and I got to know our local Tanzanian guides who would help our team. Our guide Seth would not be able to manage so many on his own, so he hand chooses guides from the area. Charles was the first guide we got to know. He had a deep voice that was so distinctive, it made us smile. Then there was Eric. Eric is someone I will never forget, and someone I call a friend. At 28, he moved up quickly from porter to guide. His English was remarkable. He told me "My dear, my Bday wish for you is to make it up this mountain. Game on! Rock and Roll!!" Game on is right! So far, so good!

The climb with Eric, Charles, and the rest of our group was great. Physically, I felt good. The training paid off this summer, and I was ready. The African plants and birds were so exotic. Of course, good old Dad was pointing out all kinds of birds on the way up. We hiked about 5 hours and got to know everyone on the way up. The trails were narrow, so we had one big line. We also had to move to the left for the porters, and we were all continuously amazed at how graceful these guys were as they ran past us with our gear. No real altitude sickness except for one time when my breathing became very rapid. It was like "boomboomboom" with no time between breaths. It freaked me out a little, but it also made me smile because I realized "I am ACCLIMATIZING!" It was like magic, text book acclimating. Thank goodness I'm normal!!



Tomorrow we venture to a steeper and shorter route, around 12-13,000 ft. I took a pill to help regulate any altitude sickness. I think I should be good, but better safe than sorry!



Until next time Kili...

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