We started the next morning in a van full of our crew: one guide, one cook, and six porters. I was surprised at the number of porters, considering I had been carrying all of my own stuff in Nepal, as well as on the NOLS trip. But apparently three porters per person was standard on the Machame route (two for the easier Marangu route, where you stay in huts instead of tents). I figured the loads were around ~35-45 pounds, quite manageable, and ridiculous compared to the Nepali porters. In fact I was carrying about the same myself when I was trekking Annapurna. But I was glad not to have to carry more than my daypack of food and cameras. I think that porter labor is cheap and plentiful, if unskilled here.
Our first day was a 5 hour hike up through continuously changing forest. As we ascended we passed through many different vegatation zones, keeping the lush scenery ever interesting. We camped near the Machame Huts, an altitude gain of 1200 meters (from 1800-3000M). The camp was crowded; the night spots were all part of a standard route up the slope, insuring we would see many of the same people throughout. But the landscape was beautiful expansive rolling terrain, with a great view of the peak in the distance. The scenery was exceptionally beautiful at dusk, when the evening sky served as a brilliant backdrop the the hill and trees.
The second day was an easy one, 3 hours up the slope and across a blackened treescape, remnants of an enormous forest fire last year. We camped in a wide open plain near a set of caves, within sight of the vast Shira plateau. The huge peak of Kibo loomed large in the distance. We were now at about 3800M. This is definitely above the height at which bodies start reacting, so I was keeping a sharp eye out - especially since I had experienced problems in Nepal. Besides an almost imperceptible headache, so far I was doing fine. Vanessa was having some difficulties with headaches and nausea, but was in good spirits. It was starting to get cold: in the morning I measured 45F in the tent, and 34F, just above freezing, outside.
Third day we marched right up to the base of Kibo, and lunched at 4500M, before descending through large rolling valleys down to 3900M to spend the night. We seemed to experience more of the same altitude symptoms during lunch, but they subsided after we were in camp. The 5 1/2 hours of hiking led us to a spot near the Barranco Huts, where we camped below the wall of the great South Face. We had plenty of time to snooze it up, or in my case catch up on some reading, until the sun set below the ridge and it got cold again. I was amazed at the amount and variety of flora around us, though the conditions seemed so extreme. There was a type of cactus that was particularly prevalent. As for fauna, this site seemed to be a favorite haunt of fat little brown birds, as well as white-necked ravens. I also saw a gerbil-like critter in the brush.
Day four we hiked about 4 1/2 hours, first some 4th class scrambling up a cliff face, then down and up a broad valley. Down and up, around the south side of the mountain - we were walking on a slope with nothing but clouds and sky around us. The Kibo peak loomed larger and larger still, until we climbed up through a broad valley right up to the base of the peak. This was the Barafu Hut, and at 4600M our last camping spot before the summit attempt.
Standard procedure is to start the 7 hour ascent around midnight. Apparently there is less oxygen when the sun rises, increasing the chances for altitude problems. So that night, we set up camp, ate dinner, and were in bed by 6:30pm. I didn't really expect to sleep much before the wake up at 11:45pm, and was happy to actually get a sleep cycle in (about an hour and a half). I was packed and up by midnight, and chugged six cups of hot tea before we started on our way at 12:30am. It's a neat experience hiking under the full bloom of stars. The trail was dark as the moon was not up, but I could see well enough by the others' flashlight that I didn't use my headlamp much. Up we went, through switchbacks of rock and later scree. The first two hours were great; I amused myself by playing back songs in my head. I could see Cassiopia for the first time while in the Southern hemisphere, and used it's rotation in the sky to judge the time that was passing, slowly. As we went up, it got windier, and hence chillier. I started out with two layers, and before we were through I was wearing everything I owned: polypro, shirt, t-shirt, and pile and goretex jackets. This over balaclava, hat and gloves. I was also geting hungry.
In a word, I became miserable. I wouldn't say it was grueling, as there was not enough physical pain involved, but as the third, fourth, and fifth hours dragged on I was cold and hungry. It was definitely below freezing out, with our water solidifying in our bottles, and our feet in our boots. We walked our way gradually higher, and encountered our first snowfield. Eventually, as the sixth hour passed, we hit the snowline and trekked straight up the snow to the ridgeline and Stella's Point. As we reached this point, a faint glow on the horizon indicated that daybreak would soon come.
Although this was the intersection with our descent route, we still had another hour to go to reach Uhuru Peak, the highest part of the mountain at 5896M. As we plodded on, the sun began to rise, casting everything in its pink mistly light. I was fairly giddy with the beauty of the surroundings, and raced on ahead, sucking serious wind while letting loose with both my cameras. The sun soon began to warm the surroundings, and before I knew it, I had reached the top. The views were spectacular - something different in every direction, and far below, the sea of clouds stretching to the horizon. Vanessa and the guides soon joined me, then we stayed just long enough for some pictures, then were on our way down.
All I can say was that it was a long, enduring, slog down. By the time we hobbled into camp at the Horombo Huts, it was 3:30pm, about another 7 1/2 hours after hitting the summit. It had been a very long day. We crashed, ate, and then slept. The next morning we could see the peak far off; a testament to how much we had descended the previous day. Another six hours, mostly slogging through the mud, got us down the Marangu route to the park gate. Time to get the boots off!
I would say that, for me, ascending Kilimanjaro wasn't so much an achievement as an experience. The summit day is definitely a great deal of work, and you do need to be in reasonably functional order, but as long as your body can handle the altitude reaching Uhuru Peak is a matter of will. More amazing for me was the four previous days of hiking, up in the clouds, among strange rugged terrain. It was unlike anything I had done before, and the feeling of being almost literally on top of the world is inexplicable. If the last two days were pain and perserverence (except for the brief joy at the summit), the previous four were an outstanding wilderness experience.
