We moved from Karanga camp to Barafu Camp which is also known as basecamp. It is a short hike and the day was spent resting in anticipation for our summit hike at midnight.

At 11pm we rolled out of bed and dressed warmly. We doubled up on the thermal underwear and layered up. At midnight we started the hike up Mt Kilimanjaro under the spectacular night sky. We could see a stream of headlamps making their way up the mountain. Jeff found the lack of sleep difficult but aside from that he did ok. I had a tough time. Once we hit a certain elevation I felt an overwhelming sense of sleepiness and a headache coming on. I popped 2 ibuprofen and that helped. Unfortunately I remained sleepy and was essentially in a drowsy state and closing my eyes whenever I can. At times I would lose my balance and Jeff would have to catch me and prop me up. If someone left me on a rock I would have fallen asleep. I was a zombie making my way up to the world’s free-standing mountain.

After a gruelling 7.5hr hike we reached Stella Point. Stella Point unfortunately is not the highest point on the mountain, it is another 1 hour hike to Uhuru Peak. Imagine, you push yourself to reach a summit only to find out that the real summit is another 1 hour away – you are fatigued and not getting as much oxygen as you should. You have to push yourself physically and mentally for another 1 hour.

Finally at 8:20am we reached Uhuru Peak! Success! We all posed for the obligatory photo on the summit. Everyone was so exhausted.

Now the hike back to basecamp! Ugh. I had perked up enough to make my way down without wanting to sleep.. when we reached Stella Point again we saw how high we had climbed up and now how much lower we had to hike down. Fortunately… if you can even say fortunately given the circumstances, but anyways, fortunately the trail was scree and loose rocks and we were able to ski-slide our way down the mountain. The hike back is under 3 hours and I had to be somewhat held by Danny (our guide) for the last bit back to camp as I kept on slipping and sliding on the loose rocks on the trail. When we finally reached our tent I was so tired that Danny had to undo my boot laces. I literally fell asleep. And how did Jeff do? Well, he did awesome! The man is strong..

To make things interesting, the day was not over. After lunch we packed up and hiked 4 hours down to another camp. It was during this hike that we experienced the first bad weather. It started to rain and hail. Our trail turned into a stream of muddy water. After the rain, we continued downhill along a trail that is a dry creek bed. It was very hard on our knees. Meanwhile the porters were just flying downhill with the heavy load on their backs! How do they do it?!

That night everyone slept right through. Not one single person woke up to send a message at the Internet cafe.

The next morning we said goodbye to all and hiked 10kms out to the gate.

When we arrived at the final sign it was surreal. It’s over. We did it.

We headed back to the hotel for a much deserved shower. Later in the afternoon we were awarded the official certificate for reaching Uhuru Peak.

As part one of this adventure ends, we eagerly await the start of the safari!

Day 4 is considered judgment day – if you can complete day 4 up to the lava tower, the chances of you making to the summit is great.
Along the way we passed through some interesting looking trees that only grow in this area.

It was a very difficult hike, we went up to 4200m elevation. I had a hard time with the altitude – my breathing was quite laboured. I eventually had to pull away from the lead group and Danny had to set my pace. Danny is on of the guides and is a Maasai warrior. We made it to lava tower just a few minutes after the lead team. We had our lunch at lava tower and after a short test we continued on our hike.

This morning we set up to scale the famous Barranco wall. There was a lot of scrambling. We were grabbing on rocks and pulling ourselves up and over. The porters went on the same trail as us with a big load on their backs and heads. It’s just incredible seeing the strength and balance of the porters. They just keep on going and going. It’s quite common to encounter congestion along the trail since it is more difficult and at some parts of the trail it is only wide enough for one person to move along.

We find that we are constantly wearing our jackets and then peeling it off after a while. We’re cold in the clouds and warm when the sun hits us directly.
Another thing we do frequently is stopping for a pee break while hiking. Everyone just disperses and find a rock to stand or squat behind. We drink 3litres of water everyday to help with acclimating.
Tomorrow morning we head off to base camp. It is a short hike and we are supposed to rest up for the 11pm summit hike. We hike through the night to catch sunrise on Mt Kilimanjaro.

Our group of 12 is now 11. One of the hikers had to be evacuated. Not due to mountain sickness but simply he is doing this hike too soon after surgery. As for the rest of the group, everyone is doing well and still eating. There is the occasional headache or nausea. Everyone is expected to summit.

We left Shira camp 1 for Shira camp 2. Shira camp 1 was extremely dusty with very fine dark sand. The wind would blow up the fine sand everywhere. We made the mistake of not closing the tent door and our bags were covered with this fine dust. As soon as you use the wet wipes to clean things up it turns black. Our finger nails are black too! Ugh.

The hike to Shira camp 2 was long as we took the scenic route to Shira Peak – it was also an acclimatization hike. We passed many scenic viewpoints along the way. Mt Kilimanjaro isn’t visible all the time. Very often the summit is covered by clouds. Whenever we get a chance we would stop and take a quick picture.

The view was spectacular at the peak.

Yesterday evening we were treated to a show by the G-fighters. They sang the typical Kilimanjaro songs in Swahili.

After that our lead guide – known affectionately as G-daddy gave us a short history about Kilimanjaro National Park and the different routes.

The next day we will hike up to Lava Tower. The highest point so far.. We’re inching closer and closer to the summit.

Sorry – haven’t been good about taking pictures or writing something more interesting for the blog. I’ve been quite tired.