Kilimanjaro Day 6: Kosovo Camo to Summit to Mweka Camp

 We started hiking at 12:10am. It was dark and cold. We were lucky that we had the full moon. We hiked very slow and very steady. I was feeling really good except I was pretty nauseous. I tried to eat some candy at a break and realized real quick I would not be eating any food while attempting the summit. Luckily I could handle the electrolyte water I had. It had a few calories and that it what got me to the top. I think the hardest part about the summit was the mental side of it. It was dark, cold, and long. We climbed from 15,750 to 19,340ft in 3.5 miles, so we gained 3,590 ft in those 3.5 miles. I did not like that it was so dark. I never hike in the dark. I asked the guide why we were hiking in the middle of the night and he said too many hikers turned around when they hiked in the daylight. I get it. It was frustrating to go so slow. It did not feel like we were making progress. About halfway up our guides took our bags and carried them. This made the hike so much easier for us. It would have been so easy to turn around. I think my stubbornness and pride kept me moving towards the summit. 

A little before 5am we got to Stella point. That was a happy sight. Everything I read made it seem like the hike was way easier once you get to Stella Point. Mentally for me it was still challenging because I didn't know how much further we needed to climb. I also couldn't tell where the summit was, that was discouraging. Slow and steady we hiked. 5 hours and 40 minutes after leaving base camp we reached the summit. We were the first team on top! I was freezing because the guide made us wear so many clothes. I knew for me it was too much, but for some reason I didn't feel like I should disregard his advice. That was a very bad judgement call on my part. I have hiked so many miles in all kinds of weather I can trust my own judgement. The problem was I was to hot and I had been sweating on the way up. Now that we were on top I was freezing. We got to the top and it was pitch black. We had to hang out for 15-20 minutes to allow the sun to come up so we could get pictures. I was getting colder by the minute.

But it was worth the wait. So happy I made it.

Ou group of four at the summit. Cyndee was having some major stomach stuff so she stayed back at camp and tried to get some fluid in her body and lots of sleep.

Once we finished with pictures I was ready to head down. Phillip wanted to take more picture so Maro was kind enough to head down with me. He was like don't you want to take more pictures. Unfortunately I was just too cold. I just wanted to get moving so I could hopefully recover. He took my phone and took some pictures for me. Seriously such a nice guy. I really thought he was an excellent assistant guide.

We got to watch the sun come up and it was beautiful. This world we live in is absolutely amazing. I am always in awe at all the beauty I see everywhere.

Maro making me pose for pictures:)

By the time we got back to Stella Point I was feeling much better. The sun was all the way up and my body was warm again. We stopped to grab a picture because it was way too dark on the way up.

So the way down the mountain is not the same as the way up. They way up was steep, short switchbacks. The way down was straight down the mountain. It was like a chute of scree and shell. Take one step and slide for three feet. It was insane! Normally I would not love this but I was tired and it was nice to make really fast progress down the mountain. It took almost 6 hours to get up the mountain and 2 hours to get back to camp. Maro and I went fast because the sooner I got to camp the longer my nap could be. From the summit we had to hike 8.7 miles down, but we got to sleep for a little bit after the first couple miles before continuing down the mountain. I got back to camp. Stripped my layers and took a hot nap. I got to rest for two hours before continuing down.

Before coming to Africa I was most worried about the downhill on summit day. 8.7 miles downhill and descending over 9,000 ft sounded really hard on my body. Luckily my body responded really well and I had a great hiking day. It was long and I was tired but it was not as bad as I was expecting.

We stopped at high camp and used the bathroom on the way down. This is a camp that some of the other routes use on the way down from the summit.

We hiked back into the rain forest and everything was misty and wet again. My least favorite. It didn't bother me too much though, I was so happy to almost be done. I could almost feel the shower I was going to get tomorrow afternoon.

I have to mention the bathroom at some point during these posts. We had our own camp bathroom and it was the best thing ever. If you hike Kilimanjaro make sure you use a tour company that supplies a bathroom. The bathrooms on the mountain are so NASTY, this was amazing.

One porter had the job of carrying and cleaning the bathroom. He did a great job. It was almost the same as using an indoor bathroom.

The last night our cook made us a cake to celebrate. It was not very good but it's the thought that counts. I really appreciated all the workers in our group that made this trek possible.

After dinner I went to bed. My body was worn out. I had been awake for a lot of hours. I had hiked around 12 miles, gained 3,500 ft elevation and descended 9,000ft. I took some ibuprofen and slept amazing. 

Kilimanjaro Day 5: Karanga Camp to Kosovo Camp

Waking up to another beautiful morning in Africa. The only time there weren't clouds in the valley was the middle of the night. When I would go the bathroom in the middle of the night I could see all the city lights down below.

Alive and well in Africa.

Group picture at the sign before we start our morning hike. We didn't get one the evening before.

We are headed to base camp. Luckily we are with a company that does a lot of trips up Kilimanjaro and they got us reservations at Kosovo camp. This camp is higher than the base camp the majority of the hikers will use. This is a huge advantage because it will cut off an hour of hiking time when we head for the summit. I didn't know Kosovo camp existed but I am glad we get to use it. Today we will hike 3.5 miles. We will hike from 12,900 ft up to 15,750ft. We will be 650 ft higher than those staying at the normal base camp: Barafu Camp. 

When you reach Barafu camp there are so many more hikers. A number of different routes meet up for the first time. It was a little tent village. It is hard to see in the picture but there were so many tents. The tents were almost all on an incline. It didn't look super comfortable but what do you do.

I wanted to grab a picture by the sign before we continued on to Kosovo camp.

It was steep hiking from Barafu camp to Kosovo camp. It took an hour to hike one mile. It was also pretty hot outside. I was excited to get to camp and start to rest for the summit attempt.

We got to camp and had lunch and then were instructed to try and sleep. We then woke up and ate dinner at 5 and then were supposed to go back to sleep. Then we woke up at 11pm to eat some food and prepare to start hiking at midnight. I slept pretty good during the down time so that was good.

I think I took this selfie at dinner???? Trying to mentally prepare for the summit.

Kilimanjaro Day 4: Barranco Camp to Karanga Camp

The only morning we woke up with frost covering all of our stuff. We were sleeping in a little canyon and it was cold. Luckily not in my sleeping bag, but once we got out it was cold and the sun was hidden by the canyon walls.

Another morning another selfie. Feeling much better after throwing up the night before.

This day we got to climb up the Barranco wall. So apparently this was a big deal. I had no idea. Phillip from New York was telling us about it at breakfast. I guess there are a bunch of videos on youtube about it because it is so scary. Oops, just when I thought I knew what I had gotten myself into. I am not too afraid of heights so I wasn't worried but I was laughing that I had no idea about it. 

The wall itself wasn't too bad. It was like light rock climbing up the wall. The nice thing was we were able to gain a lot of elevation very fast. And it wasn't dangerous like rock climbing because there were very big ledges to place our hands and feet. I didn't get any pictures that show how steep it was. I actually enjoyed this part of the climb. It was completely different than anything else we did on the hike.

It took us two hours to get to the top of the wall. Then we were up above the clouds that had rolled in. It was a gorgeous morning. The wall was all in the shade so the sun felt really great.

My African guides Maro on the left and Abraham on the right.

Great views of Kilimajaro.

Our entire team made it up the Barranco Wall!

My backpack, which I love. It got me through Everest Base Camp and now Kilimanjaro.

This was obviously a good picture spot.

Lots of Cairns along the route.

The clouds were rising as we sat on the ridge.

You can see Mt. Meru in the distance. Another mountain peak in Tanzania.

I decided to try hiking with my hat. I was hoping to prevent any further headaches. I hate hiking with a hat but I sucked it up:)

We took a nice little rest at the top of the Barranco wall. It felt good. We still had two more hours of hiking before we got to camp. This was one of our easier days mile wise. We were only hiking 4.3 miles. We had slept at 13,000 ft and tonight we would sleep at 12,900 ft. There was a lot of up and down on the trail.

It was so cool that we could see Kilimajaro the entire time. The hike was really beautiful. Even without summiting it would be a sweet adventure.

Way above the clouds.

One of my favorite pictures from my trip. It just captures the beauty of Mt. Kilimanjaro.

Another night camping at the base of the mountain.

It is so cool to watch the clouds roll in.

We are getting closer.

The sign that we made it to camp.

This evening we got to meet our entire crew. For three hikers it took two guides, a cook and 12 porters to get us up the mountain. 

It was nice to have a short, easier day. The sun was out so it was nice to sit at camp. I was finally feeling better by the time we got to camp. I was feeling like I could actually eat the food again. As a side note I did not love the food. It was better than backpacking food, but it was a lot of different than what I was used to. I loved the fruit and I loved the soup. They served soup with every dinner and they were all delicious. They also cooked with a lot of potatoes. By this time on the trail I was forcing myself to eat so I would have the needed energy to keep hiking!