The Highs and Lows of Kilimanjaro

Mount Kilimanjaro, Machame Route, Tanzania
Tuesday, February 19^th, 2013

Day #6 – Barafu Camp to Mwenga Camp
Time Started: 2353 (Monday Night)
Time Ended: 1700 (Tuesday Evening)
Maximum elevation Reached: 5450 metres (17,880 feet)

Camp Elevation: 3100 metres (10,170 feet)
Total Distance Hiked: Approx. 10 kilometres (6.2 miles)

Today was without a doubt one of the mostly physically and emotionally challenging days of my life. It started with a 2230 wake-up call…..technically Day #5 hadn’t quite ended yet, but it would slowly turn itself into Day #6. We had a small little breakfast of tea, donuts and cookies at 2300 and then we finished packing up our gear. At 2353 we started our final trek to the summit of Kilimanjaro.

At 2353 it’s pitch dark (except for the line of head lights leading the way) and it certainly was cold….colder than I remember feeling in a while (I was told anywhere from -15C to -25C (5F to -13F) so much colder than any day I've faced in Saudi Arabia), but that was to be expected. I had on extra layers..…couldn’t have put more on if I wanted to but you certainly still felt it. Moving helped but the pace was slow and would not pick-up….unfortunately I actually had to slow down.

Everyone who has ever been on the mountain will warn you about summit day. About how the late night wake-up and standing around in the pitch dark is hard. Looking up at the endless darkness of the mountain seeing nothing but the moving of people’s head lamps makes the task seem impossible.  That’s once again why they tell you not to look up.

The climb started normal enough…..for a midnight mountain climb, but about an hour into it I was hit (and I mean hit…..it was like out of nowhere and totally instant) by my first altitude sickness of the hike…..and it was bad. Pretty much bent me over. The nausea was of course accompanied by dizziness and a headache. My pace had to slow at this point so the group split. Frankie, Abraham and Arshad were all making the climb with us tonight (you’ll be happy to know that Abraham changed out of his jeans and loafers and put on some boots and hiking pants). They prepared to have the 4 of us move at different paces. Lola, Alex and Greg headed up the mountain with Abraham and Frankie and Arshad and I continued at a much slower pace.

Even with the cold and the nausea and the slight disorientation of it all, my thoughts were clear enough to know that this day would not be my day. I wasn’t going to make the summit  (which sits at 5895 metres or 19,340 feet). I changed my goal at that point to making it to the lower summit, Stella Point. It sits at 5784 metres (18,976 feet)……no easy feat. Over the next few hours of hiking however that goal changed as well.  I started to develop some pretty severe midsternal pain and compromised respirations. It got to the point where I couldn’t walk for more than about 30 seconds without stopping.

We hit 5200 metres (17,060 feet) at about 0330 when we stopped for a breather. It was determined at that point it would be another 3 hours or so to Stella Point. I then decided my new goal would be 5400 metres. There was no way I could handle the breathing for 3 more hours. I know 200 metres does not seem like a long distance, but I assure you it's more like travelling 5 kilometres when you're on the mountain.

At 0420 and 5450 metres (17,880 feet), my attempt to reach the summit officially ended. Arshad and I had sat down for a rest yet again and with my respiratory status continuing to deteriorate we decided it wasn’t worth the risk so we started the climb back down to base camp. At 0545,  just as dawn seemed to be breaking we arrive at base camp. I crawled into my sleeping bag and slept like the dead.

There certainly was some initial disappointment that I didn’t make the summit. You don't go into something like this thinking "I'm not going to make it". I really wanted my picture with that summit sign. I assure you however that the disappointment quickly turned into a smile because now I get to try again. I have a reason to come back. Even with the lung injury and the hard days and everything, the trip has been the most epic thing I’ve ever done and I really have enjoyed every minute of it. I will leave this mountain with nothing but positive memories. And let's face it, the mountain isn’t going anywhere. Kilimanjaro has not seen the last of me.

That being said, Day 6 was still not over. Lola arrived back at camp a little bit later. I must give  big congratulations to her and Alex and Greg who all made the Summit on this day. We all rested up for the morning, woke up, had some excellent carrot soup, pasta and this super tasty vegetable sauce and then at 1305 we left base camp.

A couple of our very amazing boys packing up the tents. With the clouds rolling down the hill, it looks like we were heading out just in time.

That's Frankie......the best alarm clock you could ever ask for.

We pulled into our final camp of the hike, Mwenga Camp at about 1700. It was obvious that I had suffered some sort of a lung injury as anytime I had to breath deep or cough I was nearly doubled over in pain. It once again meant a slightly slower pace for me which was fine by me. Going down is not as easy as it sounds. It is really hard on the knees…...and we basically went down hill for 4 hours.

Looking back down......it actually doesn't help that much to look down either. The trail doesn't seem to end that way either.

Arshad and Frankie sharing a laugh as we take a mini break.

The lower we got, the greener and bluer everything around us became again. Amazing to see the seasons change as you travel up and down the mountain.

Once at Mwenga Camp….where it was much greener and warmer, we had some tea and popcorn, some nice warm water for washing and then a fabulous pre-dinner nap.

A bit of that downhill trail.

Back to the land of a few more birds.

Our final dinner on Kilimanjaro, cucumber soup, rice, beef, green beans, pineapple and avocado. Frankie assured us that both the bread and the beef and just been brought up from Moshi that day, so we "didn’t need to worry about it". I kind of laughed to myself about that……I never ever worried or even thought about the safety or quality of the food on the mountain. It was just always so good.

Summit Day Complete........finally.

Tomorrow the journey ends.

Julie