Lawyair On The Run

Climbing Kilimanjaro: Day 3

My first look at Kilimanjaro was during the night drive from the airport to the Halisi Resort. My driver pointed it out in the distance. There it was…huge, magnificent, bold, and stark against the lighter grey sky. It was almost scary in its size compared to the surrounding area. Its appearance made my heart pound.

The mountain not only attracted me with its size and beauty, but emotionally as well. It motivated me to seek an inner calling for a bigger ambition – to challenge myself with a world class climb. I was now in Kilimanjaro after months of waiting. It was about to begin.

I wrote about day one of the climb in an earlier post (www.LawyairOnTheRun.com). Day one took us from 6,000 feet up to 9,000 where we spent our first night. It set the pace for the adventure to come; that pace would involve resolve, digging deep, focus, and a steady, non-compromising discipline.

Day two started at 0630 with a wake up call and a hot, wet towel and a cup of coffee. The night had been spent in a Mandara Hut listening to the blue monkeys yelling at each other into the early hours. The sun was now rising as I walked to breakfast.

Breakfast consisted of lots of water, coffee, fresh fruit, porridge, sausage, eggs, and toast with honey. They did not want us to go hungry during the climb (the chef meticulously prepared the food and carried the eggs and other fragile items up the mountain himself).

After breakfast and packing up, we set out for our seven-and-a-half mile trek from 9,000 feet up to 12,200. Horombo Huts were are goal. We would be leaving behind the tropical forest for the bleaker heath and moorlands. The vegetation becomes thinner as you move up the mountain, as does animal life. As we arrived at Horombo, the only mammals seen were the many four-striped grass mice scurrying around.

The climb at this point starts getting very rocky and the pace slows down to accommodate them. At some points, the incline hits thirty to forty degrees, which plays havoc on knees. But these steep episodes are short lived and interspersed so you can get your breath back.

The weather was clear for the first four hours are so, and we had our first views of both Kibo and Mawenzi peaks. Kilimanjaro consists of three volcanoes, Kibo, Mawenzi, and Shira. Shira is the oldest of the three and stopped erupting about 500,000 years ago. Mawenzi formed from the Shira caldera and still stands today. Then, 460,000 years ago, an enormous eruption west of Mawenzi formed Kibo. Kibo is a dormant volcano and could erupt anytime (molten magma lies just 400m below the surface). Uhuru Peak is the highest part of Kibo’s crater rim and is our climbing goal. The peaks, although majestic on first sight, still seemed a long way off.

About two hours in, you leave behind the trees and start walking through heathers and tall grass. The path is enveloped by burned areas destroyed by a fire in 2008 that took much of the vegetation.

We stopped for lunch (fried chicken, cheese, cookies, and carrots) at an area with tables and a couple of “crows” that continually attempted to steal our food. During this time, the clouds rolled in, the temperature dropped dramatically, and it started to hail. Fortunately, we had finished eating and had time to dress for the change in weather. For the next hour, we climbed with the hail and cold rain. Now, the slipperiness of the wet rocks on the increasingly steep slopes made for a slow climb.

About two hours later and a now clear sky, we reached Horombo Huts and were again greeted by our porters as they broke into song; if anything in the world can pick your spirits up, it is the music from these men. I will always cherish their happiness and glee for life. They are amazing athletes and go about their difficult tasks with huge smiles on their face.

The huts are small and A-framed and have three bunks in each; other trekkers using different outfitters sleep in tents pitched around the compound. There are bathrooms for men and women with sinks, two toilets and a shower in each (the coldest water I have ever felt – I didn’t use the shower until after the summit and on the way down…it felt GREAT at that time).

As usual, we spread our sleeping bags and other equipment out and had a half our for personal time before our daily hot tea and popcorn was served. The tea was always welcome and the popcorn was a great snack that delivered the right amount of salt; that time was always fun to relax and talk about the day. About an hour after that, dinner was served in the community dinning hall. The aforementioned mice loved the fact we were there since the ran around grabbing all the food that “accidentally” dropped to the floor.

The dinning hall was busy with about 100 trekkers, some on the way up the mountain, and others on their way down. We sat next to three people from England on one side, and six Americans on the other. The British consisted of a man and his wife and her sister; the six men were a father and son and four friends- all missionaries spending time in Africa. We got to know them well during the climb and dinners. There are just some fantastic people in this world doing amazing things.

We are all capable of doing more than we think; our own minds often limit us. Life is a mind game and our fears can prevent us from accomplishing our desires and dreams. When we learn how to control our thoughts, minimize our fears, and step forward in the direction of our dreams, we start to live the way we can imagine. It is truly limitless if we only try.