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Happy New Years
everyone!
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| New Years morning at 5,895m above sea level |
I have had one of the most incredible years in 2012. I had a
lot of time this past week while hiking up the tallest mountain in Africa to
reflect and the conclusion is, how can 1 person be so blessed? I honestly can
not thank God enough for all the incredible adventures I have had and people I
have meet.
And I must say, the end of the year couldn’t have been more
awesome.
hang in there, this is rather long, but its got some good descriptions of my recent adventures in Africa
Mt. Kenya
The week before Christmas we did a hike up the tallest
mountain in Kenya, Mt. Kenya, with an altitude of 4,800m above sea level. I was
doing the hike with my hiking group that I found here in Kenya. They are a
great group of people, almost all Kenyans based in Nairobi and a ton of fun
with a constant desire to get outside and do things. 
Mt. Kenya was beautiful. It is located right on the equator,
one of the only places on earth that you can be on the equator and in snow! It
was great to hang out with these new friends around the fire teaching them all
kinds of games from America.
We did a lot of hiking in a short amount of time
and coming down the group got really spread out and then a THICK fog came in
and we all got separated from each other. Most people got lost trying to find
the camp for lunch and we had to send out a few different search parties. It was
interesting to be hiking by myself in a fog where I couldn’t see 3 ft in front
of me, but could hear someone in the distance calling my name. |
| The view of the summit, with the clouds quickly rolling in |
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| I would find the most beautiful latrine and take a million pics with it |
Christmas
Then the following week for Christmas I was supposed to go
camping in Aberdars National Park, but plans kind of fell through last min. So
I wasn’t sure what to do for Christmas so I came back to Naivasha and was
staying with my friend Amelia. On Christmas morning she got a call from a
co-worker ( a white/British/Kenyan) inviting us to his Aunt’s house in the
mountains for Christmas Lunch. This family originally from Britain has lived in
Kenya for generations but still hold so many British traditions but in a very
colonial way. 
They were the most welcoming family, in the most beautiful house
up in the mountains over looking the valley and even Nairobi in the distance.
There was a beautiful table set for a giant meal with plenty of family and
friends. We were welcomed with hugs and mimosas and it only got better from
there. We learned such British Christmas traditions as Christmas Crackers
(complete with paper hats to wear during lunch and silly jokes), bread sauce,
Christmas pudding, and so much more. They were such a welcoming family, if I
had to miss being with my family, they were a wonderful substitute. We drank,
and visited and even ended up dancing the night away with them. I can not be
more thankful for such a lovely Christmas in Kenya.
Mt. Kilimanjaro: the
roof of Africa
After Christmas it was time to set out on the most exciting
adventure of 2012- to climb 5,896m above sea level, to summit the tallest
mountain in Africa, to conquer Mt. Kilimanjaro. We left on Dec 27th
early in the morning from down town Naivasha. 25 of us loaded onto a bus and
headed to Tanzania. On the 7 hour bus ride there the rain poured the entire
way, little did we know that was to be the standard for the next 8 days.
We stayed that night in the little town of Moshi at the base
of Kilimanjaro. Even though this town is packed with tourists year around, it
somehow has kept its small town Tanzanian charm to it. It was lovely, and
sunrise from my hotel window gave one of the most beautiful views of Kili I
have ever seen.
Day 1 on the mountain
The first day took us through a rain forest jungle habitat. It
was beautiful. The colors were unreal, waterfalls every half a km, crazy
animals, trees that looked like Ents from Lord of the Ring, and of course-
rain. Lots and lots of rain. It was an incredible 10 km hike to the first
campsite. But by the end it was late, and cold and we all were soaking wet.
Because of the late start on the mountain we got to the first
campsite pretty late and therefore were given the only places left to stay- the
Porter’s Quarters. All 16 girls on our trip were given 1 itty bitty room with 2
large bunk-beds for all of us to sleep and keep all of our stuff. It was a, um…
cozy night.
Meals were prepared every day by the porters/cooks, and usually
consisted of a hot soup, bread and some kind of pasta with a stew. The food
wasn’t bad, it was hot, and carb loaded but I sure was glad I brought some
spices with me.
Day 2 on the mountain
The second day had us hiking 12 km up out of the jungle into
an alpine forest. Then as we hiked higher we left the forest and got to the
Moreland area with small shrubs and great views of the surrounding valley (when
the rain wasn’t pouring and we got glimpses of the great views). Yet again, the
rain poured on us, it did stop at times to give us some sunshine but by the
time we reached the 2nd camp at 3,790m in elevation we all were so
happy to have some shelter and get into some warm dry clothes.
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| This guide is Thomas, 61 years old, he has climb Mt.Kili over 500 times! |
Throughout the trip we each only carried a small day pack.
Our big packs with sleeping bags, clothes and other equipment as well as food,
and gas, and such were all carried by porters. This was my first experience
using porters and it was defiantly weird to give someone else your bag to have
them carry it, while they were also carrying huge bags of provisions, and they
were in various quality of hiking gear themselves. They really made it possible
for us to reach the top. And I am not only incredible thankful for them but
also amazed by their strength.
Day 3
At almost 4,000m in elevation we needed to take some time to
acclimate before we headed to higher elevations. So the third was our rest day.
We slept in a bit (breakfast at 8am instead of 6am like other days), and went
on a small hike taking us a few hundred meters higher in elevation to Zebra
Rock. Here the volcanic rock has been weathered to give it white stripes over
black rocks with waterfalls falling down over it. As we climbed to the top of
the ridge you would never believe what happened… it started pouring down rain
again. (Ok maybe you did guess it rain kind of defined our trip). The hike back
on our “rest day” was very cold, wet and exhausting. Once again, we were all
glad to get back to shelter and we spent the rest of the day learning to play
Kenyan poker.
Staying in Horombo Huts for 2 nights they put us up in the
large room over the mess hall. It was just a large room with 12 bunk-beds so we
all got our own bed and had space to keep our stuff. It was nice. And the views
from this campsite were unreal. When it wasn’t raining or snowing we were up
above the clouds and the sunrise and sunsets were gorgeous.
Day 4
The fourth day got us up very early to begin the long hike
up to the next and final camp Kibo. On this hike we left the Moreland area and
got to the alpine desert. Water sources were left behind us as large open
crater areas allowed wind gusts and hail to pelt us non-stop. At one point you
could see the peak of Mount Kilimanjaro, but it was quickly lost in the clouds
again. It was on this hike that you could really start feeling the lack of
oxygen. At one point I almost fainted trying to sing while hiking, I now know
that the Emily can’t sing and hike zone is at altitudes around 4,500m.
Kibo hut is located at about 5,000m in elevation an about
8Km from the summit of Mt. Kili. You can see the campsite about .5 Km before
you get there but that last little bit is a steep hill that was ridiculously difficult
to climb, it felt as if the campsite kept getting further and further away. My
good friend Amelia and I were hiking next to each other and having a great
time, but it hurt to laugh because the oxygen levels were so low. We stayed in
good spirits but were so happy to finally reach Kibo and have warm tea waiting
for us and dry clothes. We arrived to Kibo at about 1pm on December 31st
2012 and had 10 hours to rest up before the summit push. Resting at that
altitude is really interesting. Because your body is exhausted, all you want to
do is lay down and sleep, but once you lay down you can not sleep. The lack of
oxygen makes you out of breath even when you are lying down. And it’s REALLY
cold, so you just lay there, quietly, but you can tell everyone else in the
room is also wide awake. But you lay there for 10 hours with a break for dinner
around 7. And your appetite is suppressed too, at dinner even though you are
starving your stomach can only handle maybe 1 bowl of soup. Then there is the headache,
it is constant worse for some people, mine was just a sharp pain in the back of
the head that lasted the whole time I was above 4,800m.
Day 5
They woke us up a bit before new years to get ready and have
a bit of snacks before we began the main journey. We left camp right at the turn
of the year and it was freezing cold but also crystal clear. The stars were
incredible, and the milky was way completely clear. An almost full moon lit the
path so that you did not need a flash light. As we hiked up the steep incline
heading to the crater ridge you could see the light of the small town of Moshi
5000m below us, if you looked closely you could even see small flashes of
colored lights which our guide explained to us were fire works going off in
celebration of the New Year. It was only then that I realized just how high we
were.
We started off as a compact group, it felt like penguins,
all waddling in a single file line up the mountain. We quickly caught up to a
large group of older Asians and were going so slow that my body started
dropping temperature. So 2 others in our group who hike rather fast and I took
a guide with us and started passing everyone. We soon found ourselves way ahead
of everyone else climbing up the mountain. It was really cool to look back and
see the line of head lamps heading up the winding path. It was hard. It was
cold, windy, and the lack of oxygen prevented you fro ever catching your
breath. And it only got harder the higher we went. I felt like my lung was
going to pop. I lost all feeling in my toes and fingers. All I could focus on
was one foot at a time. I had to bring back everything I have ever learned
about positive thinking, about goal periods, about focus and believing in
yourself. It was hard. As we got close to the summit we were moving so slow,
and needing to stop and breath every 10 steps or so, it was one of the hardest
things I have ever done. I was pushing my body well pass what I thought was
possible. Right, left, right left, that’s all you could let your mind think of
in order to keep going. It was so cold- both my bottles of water froze and
there was nothing I could do about that. Toward the end of the push to the
summit it became a scramble climb up rocks, the ice I had for feet and hands
suddenly where needed to finish, it hurt, it was hard.
But somehow we did it. As we were coming up the final bit
you could see into the crater at the top of Kilimajaro. It was coated in snow
and reflected in the moon light. Very beautiful. Then as you finished to the
top peak it all was snow, and you could see glaciers! And it was so clear you could
see the lights from the city way below. The milky way was so bright, and the
stars, just unreal. It was amazing to see how the moon light reflected off the
snow and glaciers but it was SO COLD. Colder by far than I have ever been
before. We had summated at about 4:30am, actually ended up being the first
group to summit that morning, making me one of the first people to summit
Kilimanjaro in 2013. But the problem with summiting so fast is that it was so
cold, and such a long time till sunrise, that we had a quick summit snickers
and headed back down. The rest of our hiking group was well behind us and they
ended up summiting right at sunrise and their pictures are amazing. I am sad
that we missed that but, it was so cold there is no way we could have waited,
and I was so glad to be heading back down because my body was so exhausted I am
not sure how much longer I could have handled that environment. The biggest
bummer was that my camera battery had froze and didn’t work. So I myself do not
have any pictures of the summit, but here are my friends.
Because our little fast group summited so fast and headed
back down so fast we got to pass all of our friends who were still on their
fight up while we were on our way down. It was great to encourage them, but I really
was excited to be heading back to camp and shelter. Even the way down was ridiculously
exhausting. It blew my mind how long it took us going down the mountain to get
back to top camp. My whole body was ready to give out. As we got close to camp
was when the sun rise began and it was quite a site to see. But as soon as we
got to camp I was more than happy to go inside our hut and get into my warm
sleeping bag and pass out.
A few hour latter our fast group woke up, had a small bowl
of soup, packed our stuff and headed down to the next camp where the whole
group was to stay that night. The hike down was another 12 Km after an already exhausting
24 hours. Then the rain, wind and even hail decided to grace us on our way down
to Horombo camp. I was so glad to get back to camp early afternoon and have
half a day to relax. Many of our group who took a very long time to summit didn’t
make it back to Horombo until well pass dark. One girl in our group had even
required help to get down from the summit and needed to be carried a chunk of
the time back to camp. We on the other hand got into warm, dry clothes, and
played cards for the afternoon. So while I am bummed I missed sunrise at the
peak, I am also really glad for the time I got to rest; it was needed for the
next day.
Day 6
We had to travel 20km and about 3000m in elevation back down
the mountain all in 1 day. This one day being immediately after the extremely strenuous
day had had just had. It was long, but it was nice to be back at an altitude
that we could talk and laugh comfortably again. Of course it rained. And a
couple people from our group needed help due to exhaustion or messed up knees.
But I had a blast taking it slow and really enjoying the views. The group had
gotten so use to my singing and dancing that they started demanding
entertainment; they would yell out a song or a style and I was to perform for
them, it was fine by me and they even taught me a few African songs and dances.
Near the very end, when we were back in the jungle area the
rain stopped and the sun came out. It was so nice that Amelia and I decided to
dive into one of the pools and play in the water fall. It was very cold snow
melt but the water was crystal clear and it felt great on the sore muscles.
Around 3pm we finished. We reached the entrance gate feeling
like champions. Luckily the gift shop at the bottom sold cold Kilimanjaro beers
and champagne- and we started celebrating immediately. We all received
certificates of our accomplishments, tipped our porters and guides and loaded
back onto the bus with much laughter, and lots of high 5s.
We headed back to Moshi where even the cold shower in the
hotel rooms felt awesome. Everyone got clean, we had a HUGE dinner and then we
all headed out to truly celebrate our accomplishment. It’s amazing how quickly exhaustion
can disappear, all you need is a couple beers and the loud music of a hole in
the wall African club. We danced the night away in some small Moshi club and
went crazy when they played “its time to celebrate, 1 more time” about 15 times
for us.
Back to Kenya
Early the next day saw us back on a bus, crossing Tanzania and
back into Kenya. Amazingly this was the first day since we left that it didn’t
rain, don’t you love the irony of life? The next couple days were still
holidays here in Kenya, so Amelia and I did nothing but vedged out. We watched
dumb movies, stayed in our PJs most of the day, ate tons of food including 3
tubs of ice cream. I took long rides on my motor cycle just soaking in the sun
and the warm weather. I really love my home in Naivasha and although it was one
incredible adventure, I am glad to be back. Work is going to be packed coming up,
as I only have about 7 weeks left in Kenya.
Bring it on.
