Kilimanjaro

Saturday morning were picked up by East Africa Voyage Tour Company to drive us to the 11,300 foot level of Mount Kilimanjaro.  The main roads of Tanzania are for the most part good, but our good roads turned to gravel and then dirt roads. We passed through a few villages where it was market day.  It was bustling with people in colorful traditional garb as well as western.

 There was not much traffic but we would see people packed in the back of trucks traveling from town to town. You must remember there towns are not like ours, they look more like slums.  I would surmise most of the worst places at home would be 10 times better.   The country side is farm land.  We  even saw a tractor and a combine.  They were harvesting beans. There were many potato fields along the way. The soil is very rich and our guide said they do not need to use fertilizer in the soil.  It is a pretty countryside  but the roads  are rough.

We reached the main gate for a bathroom stop and to register to go into the park.  There was a group of serious climbers with porters packing a bus with supplies.  They would be heading to a different route to climb the mountain.  Our route took us to the Shira Plateau.

The best way I can describe our drive up is like being in an unbalanced load of laundry. It was a slow, rough drive up on  a narrow dirt road with deep ruts. These are the roads  that the loggers use.  It was  a pretty drive up, no steep edges, just horrible roads.  They drive slow to allow us to acclimate to the altitude.  Living in Colorado is a plus as I am use to higher altitude living.

Our guide was from the Masai tribe.  He was a Christian so he did not have the large holes in his earlobes or the traditional tooth pulled out.  He spoke excellent English and was a well educated and informative man.  He gave us some insight into the Masai tribe.

I did get to experience what it feels like to be in the clouds.  It was disappointing that we did not get to see the summit of Kilimanjaro called Kibo which is the third and most predominate peak because of the cloud cover.

Tim, one of the ROS and myself braved the elements and did a 2 hour plus hike.  Three others turned back after about 20 minutes when it started to drizzle.  Our guide took us up about another 300 feet of altitude.  It was an interesting hike as we got to see more or the plateau.  We did have to navigate a couple of deep ravines.  I was grateful for the strong arm of our guide.  I had to hold on to him to pull myself up unto a couple of big boulders. Going down was one thing, going up another.   It did rain hard for several minutes.  My legs and back pack got pretty wet.  I was wishing I had rain pants.  It was cold but after we hiked a while I was warm.  My pants dried out when the rain stopped and it warmed up.

The last part of the hike was the longest.  We reached the place where the others turned back.  I thought they hadn't gone very far  and I kept thinking,""Only a little farther." There was only one trail so I knew we weren't lost but it seemed to take forever to reach our starting point.

When we returned, the first place I wanted to go was to the toilet.  The group that went back told me I had to" hike" to the toilets which was true, a short hike.  All I can say is  that a "pit stop" has new meaning.  It was an okay building with a latrine, which is a big hole in the cement floor that a person could fall in. Sadder still it is in places like this that some of the children have been found.

Before we left for home we had lunch on that windy cold plateau. It was quite a spread.  Despite the weather  we had a memorable time.  I have seen the mountain from the village and it is amazing to me to think I have hiked on Kilimanjaro!

I must admit there is a temptation to return one day and reach the summit of Kilimanjaro.  We asked out guide how many times he had taken people to the top. He said he quit counting at 120.   The key to reaching the top is to take it slowly.  Even as we hiked, he kept our pace slow so we could adjust to the altitude.  If I ever get the notion that I want to reach the top of Kilimanjaro I would want this person as my guide.