The return from Kili

So I made to the top of Mt. Kilimanjaro. It was one of the most challenging experiences mentally and physically that I have ever undertaken. I saw some of the most unique environments and amazing views the whole trek.



The top of Mt. Kilimanjaro is 19,340 ft above sea level, it is the highest point in Africa, the highest freestanding mountain, the closest point to the sun in the world, the only place in the world that has every kind of climate and the only glacier in Africa. It is most difficult because of its dramatic elevation changes in such a short time frame.



The first day was an enjoyable 4 to 5 hour hike from 6000 ft to 9000 ft mainly through the rain forest. There were many kinds of monkeys, and other wild life as well as some beautiful waterfalls. We got to the Mandara huts at around 3pm and had an enjoyable dinner and went to sleep early.



The second day we had about a 6 hour hike to the horombo huts at 12,250 ft. Today was the first day we really started to feel the effects of altitude. It was hard to breath and many of us had bad headaches. But the scenery was amazing and we moved into what is known as Moorlands with small trees, bushes and plants. We made it above the clouds and had some unbelievable views of the cities below. At night the stars were unbelievable there is no where I have seen so many. We all slept well except for the family of mice in our hut.



Day three was an acclimatization day and we just hiked up 1500 ft and back down. We continued enjoying the unreal views.



Day four we headed up another 3200 ft to Kibo huts at 15,450 ft. The hike took us through an actual desert formed of volcanic rock. It looked like you were on mars and we finally got our first full views of the summit and saw how difficult the next day would really be. We went very slow to conserve energy and acclimatize to the altitude. We arrived in the lat afternoon, had an early dinner and prepared for our summit climb in the middle of the night. We all tried to get as much sleep as possible.



We woke up at 11pm I had about 2 hours of sleep which was more than most. The altitude medicine helped with the headaches but I had some weird side effects. Anyway we grabbed a quick snack and suited up with tons of layers. It was freezing and left camp at around 12:15 am. We stayed together at first and went very slowly, it is nearly impossible to catch your breath at that altitude so you must go very slowly. We continued on getting in somewhat of a rhythm and just continued up an insanely steep face for hours and hours. We took breaks every so often but then you just freeze so you continue.



Finally after what felt like an eternity we reached the first summit of Gilmans Point in just under 6 hours which is just over 18,600 ft. At that point we rested and regained a little bit of strength. The adrenaline began pumping and the sun began to rise. It was the most beautiful sunrise I have ever seen and illuminated the unbelievable lunar like surroundings of the summit of Mt. Kilimanjaro. For the next two hours we slowly trekked towards the true summit, Uhuru peak at 19,340 ft.

10 of the 14 who attempted Kili in our group made it to the true summit. When we all reached the summit is was quite an emotional release we had all been thinking about this moment and we all put so much energy into it and we were do exhausted and oxygen deprived combined to one surreal moment that although hazy from the the mild hypoxia will stay in my mind forever. We took tons of pictures and enjoyed the view for about 10 minutes before we were forced to head down.

The trek down was almost as difficult physically but we were all still on some what of a high (no pun intended). It took us about 3 hours to basically run down the steep face to Kibo hut, take a nap have lunch and head down to horombo at just over 12,000 ft where we stayed the night and slept like babies. The next morning we walked the rest of the 6,000 ft of knee killing trail. We finally made it to the entrance of the park battered, bruised and weary but with some great memories and pictures in hand. Overall a great 6 days. And everyday that goes I forget the difficult parts and only remember the enjoyable moments.

I am now back at the hotel and preparing for my flight to Europe tonight. More updates when I get to Italy.