(8/22 – 9/2/2023)
We planned to climb Kilimanjaro many years ago. However, we gave up the idea after the Everest Base Camp trekking. After that demanding trip, we decided to go easy on ourselves. During the pandemic, like many other people, we started to wonder what kind of experiences we would miss by not following our hearts. Would we regret more climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro or not?
We felt that we’ve reached “now or never” stage. Rei, who’s crazier than me, decided that we should do it. (By the way, an old acquaintance informed me that Rei was a very serious and perfectly normal guy before he met me. Therefore, I suspected that it’s my fault…) After we successfully completed the Everest Base Camp trekking, no one questioned our sanity when we announced that we planned to hike Kilimanjaro.
There are many routes to summit Kilimanjaro. We’ve decided on the Lemosho route, because it’s longer (thus, with a higher success rate) and more scenic. Foreigners couldn’t get a permit without joining a guided tour. For this trip, we booked with Peak Planet for the simple reason that it has an office in the United States, which made us feel more comfortable. The cost was $2,999 per person, which was not expensive compared with other guided hikes.
My most serious concern about the Kilimanjaro hike was not the altitude, but the lack of bathrooms. This was my favorite Kilimanjaro FAQ:
Q: How do I take a shower during the Kilimanjaro hike?
A: You don’t!
Pre-hike
There weren’t a lot of flights to Kilimanjaro International Airport in Tanzania. We’ve decided to book with KLM, which is a major airline that we could trust. We had a two-hour connection in Amsterdam. However, about a week before our departure, KLM informed us that there’s a flight change, and we would only have one-hour connection time in Amsterdam! I panicked, but there was nothing else we could do. We did pack extra clothing, hiking boots and rain gears in our carry-on. However, we couldn’t carry on items such as sleeping bags and hiking poles.
The flight to Amsterdam was on time, and fortunately we only needed to walk past a few gates to board the connection flight. However, when we arrived at Kilimanjaro International Airport, we couldn’t find our luggage! It turned out that KLM didn’t even load our bags onto the flight, and they were still in Amsterdam! We were told that our luggage would arrive tomorrow night on a different flight.
It was very stressful, but there was nothing we could do. So, we left the airport, and a Peak Planet driver took us to Stella Maris, our hotel in Moshi. We had enough supply to get through the night. The hotel was selling some souvenir T-shirts, so we each got one just in case ($10 each).
We had an orientation in the afternoon the next day. There wasn’t much to do in the hotel. Moreover, I was too worried to enjoy myself. Rei went out to scout the area. The hotel had a beautiful garden. This morning, there were many birds frolicking and singing in the garden, and I did manage to get some good photos.
We met the four guides and our fellow hikers in the afternoon’s orientation. There were ten hikers in total ranging from 13 to 75 years old. (No, we weren’t the oldest!) Except for a young lady from Australia, the rest were all from the United States. The guides gave us an overview of the trip. We were told to leave all our valuables, including passports, in the hotel. There were no places in the mountains to purchase anything. There would be a gift shop at the end of the trail, and the store accepted credit cards. So, Rei decided not to bring any cash, and told me to leave all cash in the hotel manager’s office. I was more cautious, so I decided to carry USD $50 with me just in case. (More to follow …)
I received an email from KLM telling us that our bags were already loaded onto another flight and were on their way to Tanzania, but that flight was delayed and wouldn’t arrive until 10pm! The hotel charged USD $50 for the round-trip transportation to the airport. The hotel staff members and guides gave us all kinds of suggestions to save $50, which included: waiting for the airline to deliver the luggage to the hotel, calling the airport to make sure that our luggage actually arrived before going to the airport, etc. We really needed our luggage soon because we would leave tomorrow morning for the mountains, and we didn’t mind “wasting” $50. So, Rei asked the hotel driver to take him to the airport anyway. I stayed in the hotel room to do some laundry by hand just in case. Later, Rei texted me from the airport to inform me that both our bags had arrived! I was overjoyed and very relieved. (Later KLM did reimburse us $70 for the $50 taxi fee and $20 for the T-shirts. So, we got two “free” T-shirts, but the entire experience was nerve-wracking.)
Before going to bed, we each packed everything we would need in the mountains in a bag and left the rest to be stored in the hotel.
Hiking Day 1: To the Forest Camp (8,600 ft)
After having a great breakfast in the hotel, we boarded a big bus departing from Stella Maris around 9am. The guides and porters were already on the bus. On the way we saw corn fields, houses and fruit stands. The houses were all simple, one-story wooden buildings. They looked quite primitive, and some were actually in decrepit conditions. We got a peek of Kilimanjaro partially covered by clouds. Soon the entire mountain was shrouded by clouds and became invisible. Our porters sitting at the back of the bus singing merrily all the way.
“Kilimanjaro … Hakuna Matata …“
After several hours of driving, the bus turned into a dirt road, and we were told to close all the windows to avoid the dust. The Lemosho Gate was 11km away. The driver pointed out a black-and-white Colobus monkey on a tree to us.
We finally arrived at the trailhead around noon. Peak Planet arranged a hot curry chicken and rice lunch for us. It was very delicious! I saw two Colobus monkeys near the lunch spots on the ground and was able to take some photos. Later I learned that Colobus monkeys were mostly staying on trees, and it’s not usual for them to come down on the ground.
There were two toilet buildings at the trailhead: one for tourists and the other for porters. The squat style tourist toilets were surprisingly clean!
We started hiking after lunch. The trail passed through a lush rainforest. We could hear birds chirping, but we couldn’t see any monkeys or birds from the trail. Somehow, they were all hidden in the thick forage.
The Forest Camp was only 3 miles away. It was a very easy hike. However, the guides wanted to go “pole pole” (slowly, slowly), so it took us 3 hours to arrive at the camp. The Forest Camp was commonly referred to as the Big Tree Camp, because there were many big trees at the site.
There were many tents at the site, so it was very noisy. Peak Planet set up 2 private toilet tents, each with a portable toilet inside. A porter demonstrated how to use the portable toilet. The toilet tents were right by our sleeping tents, and were very convenient, especially for the night-time bathroom trips. They greatly lessened my worry about the toilet issue.
After we settled down, we gathered at the dining tent to have tea, coffee and popcorn. Shortly we had dinner (salad, veggie, and fried fish) at 6pm. The sky turned dark soon. There was nothing else for us to do, so we simply cleaned up using a provided small basin with hot water and went to sleep in our sleeping bags.
Hiking Day 2: To Shira One Camp (11,600 ft)
The morning call was at 6am, but we were already woken up by the noises at 5am. Breakfast was at 7am. We had hot porridge, toast, egg, fruit and hot drink.
We broke camp shortly after 8am. The first section of the hike was still in the rainforest. Then the trail became very dusty after we left the forest, and we had to wear our Buff.
The trail was very crowded with many porters. They carried large, heavy loads on their heads, necks and/or back and walked very fast to pass us. We still walked “pole pole” but the pace was faster than yesterday’s progress. Today’s hike was more difficult because it involved a lot of climbing. It was a 5-mile hike with 3,000 ft elevation gain, as Shira One Camp was situated at 11,600 ft. Rei and I started taking Diamox this morning, while other members in our group had already taken Diamox one or two days ago. Rei and I had done quite a lot of acclimatization hikes in the Sierra in the past 10 weeks and were already used to high altitude.
We had a couple of snacks and bathroom breaks on the way. The “wildness bathroom stop” worked this way: A guide pointed in one direction and said, “man’s room,” and then pointed in a different direction and said, “lady’s room.” We followed accordingly to find a secluded spot to relieve ourselves. It actually worked out quite well!
I saw a very high mountain when we were climbing, and a guide confirmed that it’s Mount Meru, another popular hiking option in Tanzania.
We reached the Shira Plateau around noon and had a longer break to eat the snacks they provided. Many other groups also had a break at the same spot.
The trail flattened out after we restarted, but it was still very dusty. We started to descend in about half an hour, and we could see the Shira One Camp from the trail. But it would take us another 30 minutes to reach the camp. Our porters came from the camp to welcome us and offered to help with our backpacks. I thanked them, but I was capable to handle my own backpack. I wasn’t affected by the high altitude at all.
The sleeping tents, dining tent, and the two toilet tents were already set up when we arrived. A guy even provided boot cleaning service, which was very much appreciated. We were really pampered.
We had banana stew and grill cheese sandwiches for lunch. After lunch, Rei and I went to take photos at the Shira One Camp sign and then returned to our tent to rest. I used the time to catch up with my diary. Since there was no electricity, I had to utilize daylight as much as possible.
At 4:30pm, we gathered to meet the entire Peak Planet crew — There were 35 of them to assist us 10 hikers! We all introduced ourselves, and then there was a group singing and dancing. I saw a few white collared ravens and managed to take some photos.
Dinner was at 6pm as usual. We had pasta dinner tonight, and it was very delicious. They also served excellent hot cucumber soup. We were very well fed.
There wasn’t anything else to do after dinner, so we simply cleaned up and went to sleep. It was very cold at night, and I had to use my extra blanket to keep warm.
Hiking Day 3: To Moir Hut (13,600 ft)
We woke up at 6am as usual to clean up and to pack. A porter brought hot drinks and hot water for us to wash. It was very cold this morning, and I could see frost on the ground. The sky was clear, and we could finally see Mount Kilimanjaro. The mountain was covered by fog when we came in yesterday. People were all out to take photos.
We started today’s hike shortly after 7am. The initial trail was pretty flat. Since the ground was a bit wet, it was not as dusty. Soon the “morning rush hours” started, and many porters passed us, and the trail became dusty again.
We were walking towards Mount Kilimanjaro, which allowed us to take many gorgeous photos. I could see some snow on Mount Kilimanjaro! We passed a wide “rescue road” where cars can drive up to rescue stressed hikers.
Around 10:10am, we passed a field full of cairns, and we all took many photos. Clouds started to come in and Mt. Kili was partially shrouded. Then we started to climb, and the hike became more exhausting. We passed the no-longer-used Fischer Camp, which was used by the famous Scott Fischer, who perished in the 1996 disastrous Mount Everest climb. Some other groups set up their lunch tents there, but we kept going.
After another long climb, we reached a ridge, where there was a giant grotto. We took some group photos at the grotto. From there we could see the Moir Hut camp site. Our porters came to welcome us to the camp and offered help with the backpacks. I still insisted on carrying my own bag.
We arrived at the camp at 12:40pm. Lunch was at 1pm. We had leek soup, salad, French fries and fried chicken. After lunch, we returned to the tent to rest and to wait for the afternoon acclimatization hike.
The hike started at 4pm. We only climbed to a nearby ridge. On the way up, we saw some interesting volcanic formations. It was very cold on the top, so we didn’t stay long.
Later, we had a regular health check-up and dinner (beef, veggie, rice and soup). The Moir Hut site was very barren with little vegetation. There was again nothing else to do besides cleaning up and going to sleep.
Hiking Day 4: To Lava Tower (15,150 ft) and Baranco Camp (12,800 ft)
I was woken up by the noises at 5:30am and started packing. However, I misplaced my gloves, and it took a long time for me to locate them. Therefore, I ended up being the last person to breakfast.
Due to the time constraint, I didn’t pack properly. A lot of items that should have been in the luggage for porters to carry ended up in my backpack. I had a difficult climb because of the very heavy backpack. Besides, it was freezing this morning, and my hands were so cold even with gloves on.
We could see Mount Meru floating in the clouds from the trail. It was surreal! On the other hand, Mount Kilimanjaro was clearly visible in front of us. We hiked for several hours to reach the Lava Tower at 15,150 ft. I was exhausted! A guard told us that people usually showed symptoms of high-altitude sickness when reaching the Lava Tower. Fortunately, everyone in our group was fine. Some people experienced slight headaches, but there was nothing serious.
We had a longer break at the Lava Tower to acclimatize. It was amazing that our porters set up the two toilet tents at the site so that we didn’t need to use the “wildness toilet.”
The climb down wasn’t easy! It was very rocky, which reminded us of our Walker’s Haute Route hike on the Alps. Then we had a great view of hills filled with Dendrosenecio kilimanjari (a kind of giant plant). There was even a stream flowing through, and we saw a small waterfall. It was one of the more scenic stretches of the hike. We all took several photos there. Some creative group members even posed as “tree huggers.”
We saw Kilimedair’s only helicopter in the air on our way down. The helicopter passed us a couple more times today — probably on rescue missions.
Soon we could see the Baranco Camp site with many tents already set up. Our porters again came to welcome us and offered help. This time I let a porter help carrying my backpack, because I was told that I would hurt their feelings by refusing their help!
We reached the campground around 1:20pm. Today’s lunch was soup, pizza, chicken and potatoes. After lunch we all went into our tents to rest due to exhaustion. Today’s hike was a more challenging one!
There was no more hiking for the day. We had another health check-up followed by dinner. Today’s dinner was penne pasta with mushroom sauce. I liked the food a lot. Then we all went to our tents for the night.
Hiking Day 5: To Karanga Camp (13,100 ft)
This morning, we had the exciting Barranco Wall climb. For this section of the hike, we had to put the hiking poles away to use our hands to scramble up the rocks. Some sections of the trail were just hugging the rock walls. The guides were all very eager to assist us. Any falls can be fatal! This was especially challenging for the porters with large and heavy loads. I had no idea how they managed some very narrow passages. We were told that some porters moved too fast, their packs caught the rock wall, which resulted in serious injuries or even death.
It was a very long climb. A few times we thought that we were approaching the top only to find out that there’s more to go. Personally, I thought the climb was fun. It wasn’t easy, but it wasn’t too difficult either. It offered a change to the last few days’ hike.
We finally reached the top around 9:15am and had a longer break there to recover. The view was magnificent from the top. We had a very clear view of Kibo on our left.
After that, we still had a long way to go to reach the Karanga Camp. After a down and up hike, we could see the camp site, already filling up with tents. But it still required another down and up hike to reach the camp site. The trail was pretty steep, and we had to pause from time to time to let porters pass, so we progressed very slowly. Again, our porters came to welcome us and to offer help. We finally reached the campground around 12:15pm. We had salad, soup, fried chicken and fries for lunch.
Today’s temperature was higher than yesterday’s. It was very sunny and warm in the afternoon. Then around 3:30pm fog started to come in and it became colder. We had a great sunset view from the camp. The moon was also out.
Tonight, we had chicken and rice. There was no night life besides sleeping.
Hiking Day 6: To Barafu Hut (14,800 ft)
Because we only had a short hike today, we started the day 30 minutes later than usual. It was drizzling when we started, so we all put on our rain gears. It was foggy due to the light rain. The trail was a bit wet, so it wasn’t dusty.
We hiked up a gentle slope, where people built many cairns on the field. They looked eerie in the fog.
Later, the sun came out and it became warmer. We had a couple of breaks before reaching a steeper hill with screes. The hike became more difficult due to the terrain. But when we reached the top, we were already at the Barafu Camp site, our base camp for the summitting.
It was only around 11:30am when we reached the camp site. There was another equipment check before lunch at 12:30pm. Today’s lunch was pizza and banana stew. After that, we all returned to our tents to rest.
We had an early dinner so that we could went to sleep earlier in preparation for tomorrow’s summit day. We all looked forward to the summit day with both excitement and apprehension.
Hiking Day 7: Summit the Uhuru Peak (19,345 ft), then down to Millenium Camp (12,500 ft)
We were woken up around 11pm last night to get ready for the summit. In addition to the undergarment, I wore 5 layers of clothes (long sleeve hiking shirt, merino wool hoodie, fleece top, puff jacket and waterproof jacket) and 3 pairs of pants (fleece leggings, hiking pants, waterproof rain pants), 2 pairs of socks and 2 pairs of gloves!
We started at midnight with headlights on. It was cold and dark (though it was full moon), and there really wasn’t much to see except for the headlights of other hikers.
Four guides and seven porters went along to support us 10 hikers. The idea was that each hiker would have a “helper” with an additional guide as backup. We hikers formed a line to walk on switchbacks trying to reach Stella’s Point with 4,000 ft of elevation gain before sunrise. It wasn’t an enjoyable hike due to the cold and darkness. My hands were freezing despite the 2 pairs of gloves. We had numerous breaks on the way.
We failed to reach Stella’s Point before sunrise, so we ended up just watching sunrise on the trail. Porters brought hot sugared ginger tea to serve; it was very appreciated.
Fortunately, we had good weather after sunrise. It wasn’t so cold and there wasn’t much wind. After a strenuous ascent, we finally reached Stella’s Point around 8:30am, and continued to push to the Uhuru Peak at 19,345 ft. The walk from Stella’s Point to the Peak wasn’t difficult, but we still went pole-pole. I could see the remains of some glaciers on the right. It was truly amazing.
We finally summitted around 9am. There was a long line waiting to take photos at the Uhuru Peak sign. We were told that the line was even longer an hour ago! When our turn came, we took group photos, family photos, and individual photos for solo hikers.
The guides rushed us down. They said that we might suffer from high-altitude sickness if we stayed at this altitude too long. The guides decided that we should take the “expressway” down instead of using the same switchback route. Not only that, we each was assigned a helper. Our helpers hold our hands or arms and basically dragged us down the steep hills. It was quite exhausting!
On our way down, we saw a young lady with vacant eyes slowly walking down. She was flanked by two porters on each side to support her. It’s obvious that she suffered high-altitude sickness. We also saw the only helicopter hovering around. This was a busy day. Later, we were told that a big guy we passed on the way to the peak passed away on his way down after reaching the peak. This was indeed a high-risk trek.
We returned to the camp shortly before noon, packed our stuff, had a quick lunch, and then started to descend to the Millenium Camp. It was drizzling on our way to the camp. Millenium Camp was quieter compared with the other camp sites we’ve stayed.
Since the entire group successfully reached the summit, the cook prepared a cake for us to celebrate. It was a very delicious cake. There was a sense of achievement and content at the camp.
After dinner, we had a group meeting to decide the group and individual tipping. This turned out to need advanced math!
Hiking Day 8: To Mweka Gate (5,400 ft), the end of the trail
We would return to the hotel this afternoon for long-awaited showers and beers. All were very excited!
After breakfast, we had a ceremony to thank the crew and to announce the amount of tipping.
It was only 7.6 miles to reach the Mweka Gate, but the hike involved 7,000 ft descent and was quite brutal! Moreover, the trail went through a rainforest and was muddy and slippery, so we still had to go pole-pole. Guide Cha Cha said this was what Kilimanjaro National Park was like. I replied that California State Parks were also like this after some rain.
We finally arrived at the gate around 2pm! There was a “boot cleaning” service for $2 per person (cash-only). Rei, who went cash-free, had to ask me for $2. We were pleasantly surprised to find there were “modern” toilets on site! The first ones we encountered in 8 days!
We had a group lunch in the village. There were 4 baby cats on site, which took a lot of our attention. Rei finally had his Kilimanjaro beer. (Yes, I had to pay for his beer too, because he didn’t have any cash!) The brand of the beer was also called Kilimanjaro, and there’s a quote:
“Kilimanjaro, if you cannot climb it, drink it!”
During lunch, a guide told us that a hiker perished yesterday on his way down from the Uhuru Peak. We were all shocked because we met the person on the climb to the peak.
There was a large gift shop on site (which accepted credit cards). I bought 10 bags of Tanzania coffee beans for family members, friends and ourselves. (Everybody loved the coffee.)
Afterwards, we returned to the Stella Maris Hotel. There was an award ceremony for us to receive our climbing certificates.
We had a final group dinner at 8pm in the hotel restaurant after we all had time to take a long hot-water shower.
Most of the group members joined an extended post-hike trip to the safari or to Zanzibar tomorrow. Rei and I would simply fly home. We were glad that we didn’t book any post-hike trips because we were so exhausted after the trek!
On our way to the airport, we caught a glimpse of Kilimanjaro from the car. It was amazing!
Post-hike Notes
Climbing Mount Kilimanjaro gave you bragging right. However, it’s not as scenic as our other long hikes such as Patagonia W-Circuit (my favorite) or Everest Base Camp (Rei’s favorite). It’s not particularly challenging if you are acclimated — only the submit day was difficult.
One member in our hiking group worked for an East Coast newspaper. Rei later found out that the person published an article reporting our trip. It’s quite interesting.
Amy 'n Rei 