Our Journey To The Roof Of Africa

Thursday, January 27, 2011

Day Three - very early

Zip zip zip zip zip zip. It is 12:55am and it seems once again everyone is taking their turn and heading to the Portapotti. A few more tents are quiet - likely those so snugly tucked in their tents that they are electing to use a pee bottle. I have not yet sunk to that level. I actually found it quite refreshing to crawl out of the tent for a few minutes. Tonight that is largely a result of overdressing for sleep. Expecting a cold night, I have on a merino wool shirt, my NorthFace fluffy fleece and my NorthFace puffy jacket along with a pair of fleece pants and a hat. I have been marginally too warm but I much prefer it to being too cold. Just checked my resting heart rate and am happy to report it has dropped down to 60 bpm - quite close to my regular resting HR at sea level. This is an excellent indication that my body is acclimatizing well.

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Day Two - part 2

After tea, Devin and I took a quick walk over to see the Shira caves which in the past were used by groups to cook and sleep in (now this practice is prohibited).

We also sat on the rocks and watched the sunset. Words cannot describe how beautiful it is up here.

All tucked into bed now and ready to sleep. Just had another tasty meal including fried bananas and Nutella for desert. Yum, yum!! Said hello on the podcast tonight. We are really having a fantastic time and we are both still feeling great. Camp tonight is at about 12,400 feet - a new altitude record for me. Took our blood oxygen and pulse before dinner today. I was 94% saturation (90s = excellent, 80s = good, 70s = fair) and a resting pulse around 82 (typically for an unacclimatized person over 100 is when to start watching more closely).

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Location:Shira camp

Day Two - part 1

A short day. Into our new camp by 1:45pm.

6:30am wake up call. Everyone seemed to sleep well. Most woke around 12:30am for a bathroom break (Dev and I included). I felt so rested when I woke to run to the Portapotti that I was sure it was nearly time to wake up. It took me over an hour to fall back asleep. Woke again around 3:30am for another run to the Portapotti. Woke for the day around 6am feeling totally rested.

Breakfast was a local grain porridge, toast, bacon, eggs, fruit, and hot drinks. By 8:10am we were all fed, packed and heading out of camp.
Today the hike was shorter but much steeper.

Most people started the day with two poles to help steady themselves on some of the steep sections. For those of you who have hiked with us in the past, today's hike was similar to the hogsback on Mount Baker or some of the steep sections on Goat Mountain (except today our hike was about 4.5 hours long).

Lunch today was about 500ft below the Shira plateau on one of the few broad sections of the ridge which we followed for the majority of the day. Lunch was a nice leek & tomato soup followed by pasta, fish sticks, chips, veg, fruit, cookies and hot drinks. Following lunch we made our final push up to the Shira plateau where within minutes our camp came into view.

Following a brief descent we were once again welcomed into camp by the cheerful singing and dancing of our porters and guides. Devin (having hiked ahead with the faster people on our team) welcomed me to camp as well, pointing to our tent and advising me everything was already unpacked and ready.

It is 3:18pm now. Since arriving in camp I have stretched, washed, and changed into some clean dry warm clothes. Though it is still quite warm when the sun is out, many big puffy clouds now fill increasing proportions of the sky and a wind has started to rise up from the valley below.

It is tea time now so I will wrap up this entry. Hugs and kisses to all!!!

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Location:Machame camp to Shira camp

Tuesday, January 25, 2011

Day One

Whew! The hike from Machame gate (6400ft) to Machame camp (10000ft) was pretty basic today. Up, flat, up, flat, etc. The breaks we took seemed to come right when I felt I was needing them and the pace set by the group was excellent. Though it felt a little slow to start, it was very sustainable and never too strenuous.

Neither Devin nor I are experiencing altitude sickness yet and we hope to continue in that trend. There is more than enough food provided for both on the trail snacking and at our meal breaks. Lunch today included hot drinks, fresh fruit, chips, bread, cheese, and salad.

Dinner was brothy soup, veggies, potatoes, and steak. Everything has been fantastic and thus far, all food consumed is sitting well with Devin and I. At the moment, I am curled up in the tent having already gotten ready for bed.

It is 8:43pm. I am all cozy in my sleeping bag but aim beginning to realize i will likely require one more bathroom break before going to sleep. On the topic of bathrooms,they are carried for us from camp to camp (and emptied at each camp) and a privacy tent gets erected around them wherever they are set up. Everyone seems to be using them quite frequently as staying hydrated is one of the best self care methods on them mountain (3-4 liters of water per day is the recommended minimum).

Well, time to turn in and test out my new Thinsulate sleeping pad. Fingers crossed that I sleep well.

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Location:Machame gate to Machame camp

Monday, January 24, 2011

Welcome to Arusha

We have safely arrived in Arusha and we have spent the last day or so resting, re-packing and preparing for today when we will be setting out to climb Kilimanjaro.

Our flights were about as good as can be expected and everything heading through customs and meeting our group at the airport went smoothly. Devin and I both managed to stay awake for the majority of the flights so we both feel adjusted to the time change already.

Yesterday our day was packed full of a morning of information and orientation followed by an afternoon of gear checks and a guided walk through the city of Arusha. One tid bit of information I was particularly amazed at was that the population of Arusha is approximately equal to that of the Greater Vancouver area.

We had a lovely dinner with our group last night at a local Indian/Italian restaurant where I had an excellent butter chicken and Dev had a tasty seafood medley. (Pics to come as soon as I figure out how the iPad camera kit works)

I find it amazingly difficult to believe this day is finally here! Even after so many months of preparation, I still am incredibly nervous about heading up the mountain. I have checked and re-checked my bag numerous times to ensure everything is packed and I still feel like I have forgotten something important. I am sure everything will be fantastic.

The alarm is now buzzing 6:20am here. By my calculations it is about 7:20pm back home. It is time for me to get up and get ready to go.

Since wireless internet is difficult to come by down here, this will be my last post until we return from the mountain. If you are following the podcasts posted to the Alpine Ascents website, you will be able to follow along with our climb. Hopefully we will have an opportunity to say hello from the mountain on one of the days.

http://www.AlpineAscents.com/kilimanjaro-cybercast.asp

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Sunday, October 3, 2010

The Lions - October 2, 2010.

Here are some pictures from our hike up The Lions.

As described in a previous post, the trail starts from Lions Bay and follows a logging road for several kilometers before leveling out and traversing the mountainside.

Everyone at our first stop

Once again the trail climbs - this time through a mix of scree slopes and fallen trees before arriving at an exposed ridge that provides the first good views of our goal - the summit of the West Lion.

View of the West Lion on our ascent

View of the West Lion on our descent

We followed the ridge-line and traversed a large scree slope before turning up-hill again and headed towards the summit. Here we crossed paths with the trail from Cypress (the other route to access the Lions).

Unfortunately, due to the weather (a lot of fog), our group decided we were not all comfortable climbing to the summit (there are several very exposed sections on the trail) therefore we stopped at the base of the West Lion.

Lunch at the base of the West Lion

The West Lion

Thus far the weather was mostly overcast however, just before turning to make our descent the skies cleared just enough to give us a quick clear view of the East Lion and the surrounding area.

View of the East Lion (West Lion in the foreground)

The West Lion

From L to R: The route down, Howe Sound, and the West Lion

As we made our descent following the same route of our ascent the skies continued to clear so that at various points we were afforded with several beautiful views of the surrounding area.