Kilimanjaro: Barafu camp to Uluru Peak (6)

At 23:00 this night: “Hello sir, want some tea before going to top of mountain?”
“yes please!”

I was already awake when the guide was waking us. I didn’t sleep well, partially because these tents are too small and my legs started to hurt during the night and also because of some stress for the climb tonight. The last time that i checked my watch it was already 9 pm. That means I slept less than 2 hours.
Still 1200m to go to reach the highest point of the Kilimanjaro.
Yesterday I could already see that most of the sections are really steep. But now I had to do it at midnight with a headlamp.

So I put on my thermal under layers and outer layers and check if my extra clothing, snacks, camera and water are stored in an easily accessible spot in my backpack.
I put on my shoes and step outside the tent into the cold air.
The whole base camp was busy. Lights were bouncing around the tents and I could already spot some lights on the steep path to the summit.
No breakfast today, luckily I saved some power bars for the last climb.

The group is ready, the guide is ready and we set off into the night, accompanied by the light of the full moon. We started on a gravel path, but his surface Changed soon into big boulders and steep lava plates.

During the climb we passed a lot of people who had difficulties with the height. It wasn't a pleasant sight. I read many articles about altitude sickness, but I didn't imagine that it could be this bad.I've seen people crying, others vomiting, people who couldn’t walk straight anymore because of disorientation. (feeling drunk and unstable is one of the symptoms of AMS) Some of them turned around very quickly and just gave up.

I must say that it was colder than aspected. During short breaks I did put all warm clothes on that I brought to this trip. The wind made it even worse. I knew it was freezing at the base camp and it would only get colder when walking up the mountain.
With all layers on I had it slightly to warm, which is ideal to regulate my body temperature by opening or closing the zippers on my outer layers.

The cold was dehydrating me more than I wanted. And I had some bad luck with my most important source of water.
After 3 hours my camelbak gave up. The tube was completely frozen. I blew back the water into the pack every time I drank, but the cold got a grip on all things inside my bag.
I assumed that this would happen, so I also brought a thermo bottle which I filled with just water.
My snacks were stored in the pockets of my pants. my body heat prevented them from freezing.

After 5 hours I reached the Stella Point sign. Marking the second highest point of the mountain.
A lot of people give up here, because they know it’s still a 2km walk to the actual summit which lays 200m higher. This is really demotivating. You now you are close, but it is at least an extra 40 minutes before you are at the wooden sign on the top.

I continued the journey towards Uhuru Peak. Still 2km to go, but as the sun was rising up, scaring away the cold night, I felt more motivated.
After 500m the first glaciers popped up. And the light of the sun made them glow deep orange. This must have been the most beautiful sunset I have ever seen.
Along the way there are more snowfields and glaciers. The top of the Kilimanjaro is a true wonder of nature.
The road to the top isn’t as steep as the other sections of the climb. However every step you take here consumes a lot of energy and there is only 50% of oxygen in the air.
Suddenly I saw the sign of the top popping up. My heart beat went even higher and I walked a bit faster.
I passed the famous colourfull  sign and touched it, I threw my backpack on the ground and watched the scenery. The sun was still rising and there were no clouds around.

Wow, standing on the top was intense. I felt happy that I made it and next to that I felt a thousand more impulses and feelings that I can't describe. I think that the feelings I had on the top were boosted by the overall experience of the hike towards the summit.

The glaciers are truly magnificent. Too bad that they are slowly disappearing.
After a moment of rest I took my camera and did what I had to do, take a picture together with the sign :)

I only stayed at the top for 20 minutes. That's already 10 minutes more than the guides told me to do.
So now it was time to go back to the base camp.
The road down is different from the road up to the top. Going down is actually steeper and there are more gravel sections.
At some point the walking turned into skiing on the gravel. It was a fun and quick way to descend quickly.

I came back at the base camp around 9 o'clock where I had to lunch, but I couldn’t eat. I wasn't hungry at all. I was so exhausted that I could throw up.
I could rest for an hour, but after that I needed to continue the descend towards another camp at 3100m.
My knees were not happy with that thought.

The trip to the other camp took around 4 hours. In the beginning the path was really misty and you could only see a few meters ahead.
Suddenly I saw some low vegetation popping up in between the rocks. It got larger and larger and eventually small bushes and grasses appeared.
It’s funny to see this kind of change in a short period of time.

When I arrived at the camp I threw my stuff in the tent and made some tea.
I was really hungry right now. Three portions of rice with a vegetable sauce could stop that feeling.

Finally it was time to rest. I went to sleep with a big smile on my face. Truly happy that I made it!

Kilimanjaro: Mweka camp to Mweka village (7)

Today I woke up with a big smile :D

Yesterday was a pretty though day, but it was all worth it.
Standing on the top of the Kilimanjaro was truly a very intense and wonderful feeling.

We had to wake up today at 5 am. No time to let the muscles rest.
We still had a 4 hour walk to do towards the Mweka gate. We take a different route down than the Machame route that we have been following for the past days.
At 6 am we started to walk towards the end point of the journey.

The route was leading us through a beautiful part of the rain forest. Going from rocky landscapes to the colorful rain forest is a nice experience.
As soon as we were under the treeline the whole trail turned green. We heard many birds sing and the mosquitoes were back again.

After a few hours walking we could hear monkeys shout. When we looked up there was a big group jumping through the treetops. There were at least 40 Blue monkeys.
A little further we could see the Collobus monkeys. They have enormous white tails. That makes it easy to spot them.

Suddenly the rain forest ends and we pass by a big gate. I notice that there are cars up here and there is even a bar. This was such a weird moment. I mean, after a few days in the wilderness it feels a bit weird to be thrown back into the civilization. 

We had to pass by the office of the local ranger to register our self so that they know we arrived save and sound. Soon a driver would pick us up and bring us back to the city.
After saying goodbye to the crew we took a last look at the mountain and drove again to the busy city of Moshi.

Living in the wild is always a great experience. Coming back to the civilization feels always a bit weird in the beginning.
A cold shower washed the dust from my skin that had been building up for the last days.
How does a normal toilet work again?

I can’t believe that the expedition is already over. Time has been flying by the past week.
I’ve seen the most beautiful far sights and stunning pieces of nature. Walked through the rain forest and ice fields. Seen some cool animals. Made a bunch of new friends. And stood on the top of the largest free standing mountain in the world.
Mission accomplished!

In the evening we went out for dinner and some beers to celebrate.
The next days will be about relaxing and getting some rest.
Well, relaxing…, I already planed a safari for tomorrow and have to leave at 6.30 am. Nah, no need to rest, thinking about the past week provides me with enough energy :)

So that’s it for this trip.
On to the next one!




Check out the essentials to know about a trip to the Killimanjaro on our website: Backpack on Track, Kilimajaro
And have a look on the video bellow to get a impression of the journey to the summit.