Jen has Altitude Sickness while Alex Summits
Trip Start
May 29, 2005
1
2
18
Trip End
Aug 27, 2005
Arusha, Tanzania
Tuesday, June 7, 2005
I'll try to give a description of what we did without writing too much. We chose the Machame Route (Whiskey Route) over the very popular Maragu Route (Coca-Cola Route) because I had read it was much more scenic even though it was considered more difficult. All-in-all, Kili is not a difficult hike for an active person as you don't hike for very long any of the days and there is nothing technical about the climb. Neither Alex nor I were ever sore after the day's hike, so that was definitely not a problem. We also chose to do the 7-day itinerary in the hopes of giving ourselves more time to acclimate. I had never been to high altitudes and Alex had not been recently and certainly nothing as high as this. This itinerary gave us an extra day pre-summit day.
We stayed in Arusha, where we are now, for a day prior to leaving. It is at about 1500 meters. We were then driven to the Machame Gate (1800m) where we registered and where our team had to register. We used Duma Explorer, who we recommend. We were told we would have a staff of 6: guide, asst guide, cook, asst cook & 2 porters. When they weighed all their equipment, we were required to have a staff of 8!! Both Alex and I already thought 6 was ridiculous. But when we met others on the mtn, their staffs were similar. A European couple we befriended used a less expensive group, but also had a staff of 8 (though we later learned to appreciate the extra money we spent since our equipment was top-notch). With that, we started through the rain forest and through the clouds at 11:30 am on June 1st. We camped that day at about 3:45 at the Machame Camp (3000m). We had made good time, overtaking everyone else on the trail, even with a lunch break. The weather was perfect for a walk through the clouds and we both felt great, other than suffering from jet lag due to the 10-hour time difference. The camp was just above the rain forest, in a terrain that was drier and more like heathers.
The next day was also relatively easy. We peaked at 3924m that day, but camped at the Shira Plateau (3840m). The weather was again gorgeous - not too warm and sunny. This is basically the end of the rainy season here, but not quite the dry season, so we could have experienced rain the entire hike, which would have been less than ideal. We again made excellent time and got to camp by 1pm, where we relaxed in the sun.
Day 3 was a more bittersweet day for me as it was the most beautiful hike yet, but it was almost my first encounter with altitude sickness. We left camp and hiked through a large boulder garden, made up of very old volcanic rocks. I was doing great as we neared the Lava Tower at 4600 meters. There, it was windy and very cold. I did not feel like eating my lunch and was just freezing, so I passed on climbing the Lava Tower, which was probably 75 meters tall. Alex and the European couple climbed it was I waited. We then had a fairly difficult descent from the Lava Tower, where our guide (Zawadi) felt it necessary to hold my hand. I probably looked a little weak and pale. We then continued our descent into the mountain garden, which was spectacular. There were these trees that look kind of like the yucca trees in Joshua Tree and some other funny little plants that hide blue flowers. There were also wild flowers and a variety of birds, including these fat little brown and yellow birds that I liked. Unfortunately, since I had not eaten, I was extra cold and tired and had an altitude headache. By the time we made it to Barranco Camp (3950m) at 3pm, I was feeling pretty bad. Zawadi decided to let Alex and I know what our options were if it was decided that I could not continue. However, the point of going to the higher altitude and then camping at a lower altitude is to help with the acclimatization process, so we were hopeful that I would recover. We decided to start later the next day to give me time to recover. On a separate note, the Barranco campsite was stunning. Alex can probably describe it better since he was in particular awe. We could see the snowcapped top of Kili during our entire hike, but this particular view of it, with the mtn garden, was stunning. We also enjoyed the sea of fluffy clouds that lay below us every day, with Mt. Meru sticking out above them. I really cannot do Kili justice in describing it, but hopefully our pictures will turn out and at least partially capture the beauty we were able to constantly enjoy (other than when I had a splitting altitude headache).
The next morning, I felt 100% fine and was ready to continue. However, the hike for me was more difficult as we had to hike up the Barranco Wall. Alex particularly enjoyed this climb because it was "part hike, part scramble." Unfortunately, being short was not beneficial and both Zawadi and Alex had to lend me a hand/pull/push at times. The porters were particularly amazing on the Wall. They are already faster than us, while carrying their own pack, plus supplies which they carried on their heads. Try to imagine scrambling up large rocks with 20kilos balancing on your head! Once we made it to the top of the Barranco Wall, we then hiked down to a valley and then back up again, to camp at Karanga (4100m). Even with my lack of scrambling skills, we again made great time, camping by 1pm. I have to admit, there were parts of the Wall hike that scared me, though I'll also admit to being a chicken about those things. But I felt really good about it and Jeffers has kindly told me I now qualify as an amateur rock climber. Even though it was freezing (even with our 0 degree sleeping bags and 4-season tent) and windy, it was probably our best night of sleep. I think we finally got over our jet lag by this point and were excited to make it to the final camp the next day. (This is the extra stop for acclimatization - others skip this campsite and hike straight to Barafu, the final campsite).
Day 5 started well. The terrain again changed to a more barren, rocky and sandy terrain. We had to hike up to Barafu, at 4600m. I have to admit to being very nervous since 4600m had made me sick earlier. Again, the hike itself was not too difficult, and we were just able to enjoy the views of the top of Kili. We took a break before making the last climb up to Barafu and it was here that I started having problems. The last 400m were particularly difficult for me and I felt winded for the first time. We made it to camp in time to see others coming down from the peak (you leave for the summit around midnight, so they had peaked around 7-8am and were making it back to camp around noon). We talked to a few people about the summit and they all generally described it similarly -> cold, difficult, steep, but amazing when you get there. However, none of them had felt any effects of altitude prior to making the summit push. So Alex & I camped in the hopes I would recover. I had started to feel better when I suddenly made a turn for the worse: my resting pulse was elevated, I was having a harder time breathing, I was not hungry at all and the headache was coming strong even though I had taken some Tylenol. Unfortunately, Alex, Zawadi and I decided I should descend for my own good. It was an extremely difficult decision for me, since climbing Kili had been my idea. It seems to bittersweet to make it to the final camp and not even be able to make the summit attempt.
To make an already long story short, it was the right decision. As I descended with the assistant guide and a porter, I became more sick and was physically ill. Frankie, the asst guide, had to hold my hand the entire way because I think he was worried I might slip & fall - I probably was pretty weak and pathetic. I knew then that making the decision to descend was not just a "wimpy" decision. I only made it to the next lowest camp on the descent trail (Mweaka Route), which was at 3500m. I'm happy to say I quickly recovered once I was at a lower altitude.
Alex stayed at Barafu and woke at 10:45pm that night to have a snack and then start his summit push with Zawadi at 11:30pm. Alex did not have any signs of altitude sickness to this point and was doing great the entire trip. I think his competitive spirit really came out because he made it to Uhuru Peak (5895m) at 4:30am, the fastest any tourist has done it recently (we checked the log books when we exited). I thought for sure he would want to see the sun rise from the peak, but he was too fast and did the entire thing with his head lamp & the stars. You'll have to hear the description of the glaciers by starlight from him, but I'm sure it was gorgeous (can you tell how jealous I am!). He then made an equally fast descent and was back to Barafu by 7:30am. After a very short rest, he started to "chase Jen down the mountain."
I had left my camp around 8am and continued to descend. They did not want me to wait for Alex since they figured the lower the altitude, the better. Even though I was feeling much better, Frankie made me hike so slowly, I can't describe it. The entire hike on Kili, the guides are always saying, "pole, pole" or "slowly, slowly" because they don't want you to wear yourself out before the summit day. But this speed was ridiculous. At 3100m, we rested at Mweka Camp, where they had hoped I would make it the previous day. Alex was hoping to catch me there, but I had already continued. At about 11:30am, one of our porters ran past me, but first stopped to let me know that "your husband is come." I confirmed that Alex had made it to the summit. Soon after, Hasan, our cook, passed by. He told me that Alex was running down the mountain, trying to catch me. "Alex-i. Very fast." (You have to imagine this with an accent. Alex was "Alex-I" and I was "Jenn-I-fer.") At this point, I was more scared that Alex was going to hurt himself running down the mountain than I was happy that he was so eager to see me. Luckily, at noon he caught up with me and he was able to catch his breathe. We also decided that we could skip the last night of camping and just get picked up down at the Mweka Gate at 1600m. So Jeffers hiked from 4600m up to 5895m and down to 1600m all in less than 24 hours.
All in all, the experience was fantastic. Kili is such a beautiful place and the hike keeps you interested the entire time. Even though I'm so sad and disappointed that I did not summit (THIS TIME), I'm still happy one of us made it and it certainly is not putting a damper on my first trip to Africa. I think if I would change one thing, I would have done some training at altitude prior to this trip - still, it is unknown if that would have helped me. For now, my limit is 4600m, which I think is still higher than any point within the lower 48 states. I really can't complain...
