Mountaintop Experience – Our Hike Up Kilimanjaro

Our time at Tenwek is rapidly drawing to a close.  Several months ago some of the guys had an idea to go on some type of an adventure before our time here ended.  A hike up Africa’s tallest mountain (Kilimanjaro) was the agreed upon destination.  This past week that hike occurred and what an experience it was.  There were four of us from Tenwek plus another missionary from Narok and a friend from the states.  We were also matched up with a gentleman from the states who has been living in Dar es Salaam for the past year.  Here is a brief summary of our trip.

 

Day 1 – Bus ride from Nairobi, Kenya to Moshi, Tanzania

After a semi-restful night at a guest house (there were some electrical issues – explosions – that limited the restfulness of the night), we loaded up on a shuttle that took us from down town Nairobi to Moshi, which is near the base of the mountain.  Nine hours after leaving, we off loaded, met our head guide, and prepared our packs for leaving the next day.

Day 2 – Marangu Gate (6,100 ft) to Mandara Huts (8,860 ft)

For financial reasons, we opted to take the Marangu route (the cheapest).  It is one of the two busiest routes and has huts for accommodation along the way.  It is not currently high season so the route wasn’t overly crowded but we did have a chance to meet several groups/people along the way.  After driving through the farm lands at the base of the mountain, we registered and watched as dozens of porters for various groups organized themselves, weighed packs, and began their trek up the mountain.  It was always amazing to watch as the porters carried 2-4 loads up the side of the mountain.

Hiking with a bunch of medical people meant that some of our dorkiness had to come out.  I brought a pulse oximeter so we could record our pulse and oxygen levels at various altitudes.  It was interesting to compare our numbers at various altitudes.

When we were registered and all or our gear was ready, we took a photo and began our hike through the rain forest.  The variety of plants was amazing.  Less amazing were the billions of ants that we walked through along the way.  For the rest of the day, there were periodic yelps as we were bitten by the little buggers.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After about four hours of hiking, we arrived at our first camp (Mandara Huts).  We were given chai and coffee along with some popcorn as a snack.  Football, card games, and stories helped to pass the time before we turned in for the night.

Day 3 – Mandara Huts to Horombo Huts (12,140 ft)

After devouring breakfast, we packed our supplies and started out for a second day of hiking.  If there was one word to describe that day, it would be wet!  Rain and/or cloud walking was continuous so despite our rain gear we were soaking wet the entire day.  The first half wasn’t so bad because it was still pretty warm but by the time we stopped for a quick lunch break, we had gained enough elevation that there was a definite chill in the air.

 

 

 

 

 

 

As we hiked, we passed the time with lots of conversations, playing 20 questions, and comparing our side effects from the Diamox we were taking (to prevent severe altitude sickness).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Upon reaching the next camp, we attempted to dry out before eating dinner.  More games filled the evening before we turned in for the night.

 

Day 4 – Day hike to zebra rock (14,760 ft)

Because the prior day was so cloudy, we really couldn’t appreciate the elevation gain that we had already achieved.  That changed in the morning when we awoke and looked outside.  It was pretty incredible to see the clouds so far beneath us!

Even more incredible was to turn around and finally see our goal…the snow/ice covered summit.

We had opted to take an extra day at Horombo Huts to help with acclimatization.  After breakfast we took a short hike up to see “zebra rock”.

While the morning started very clear, clouds soon returned and by the time we were on top of zebra rock, visibility was markedly diminished again.

After climbing to the top of zebra rock, we entertained ourselves with rock throwing games and exploring before we returned to camp for a lazy afternoon in preparation for tomorrow’s hike.

Day 5 – Horombo Huts to Kibo Huts (15,420 ft)

Seeing the summit off in the distance made for an excited morning as we packed for a long day of hiking.

As we made our way further up, the vegetation became much more sparse.

After a couple hours, we passed the last place to get water.  We topped off our water bottles with our pump filter and then continued to make our way closer to Kibo summit.

While most of this hike was not steep, the lower oxygen level was appreciable and made even small inclines seem somewhat tiring.

Eventually we came to “the saddle” (the area between the two main peaks of Kilimanjaro – Mawenzi and Kibo) in the midst of the alpine desert.  Only a few hardy grasses and very sporadic flowers were present in this area.  We likened it to walking on the moon…too bad the gravity wasn’t similar to that.

At this point I could feel that the chest cold Steph and the kids had followed me up the mountain.  I was thankful to have a good group of guys to keep us entertained along the way.  It’s hard not to appreciate hearing Garth Brooks songs sung in duet at 15,000 ft.

After a couple more hours, we made it to Kibo camp.  While at camp, we attempted to dry our remaining wet clothes in the sun, ate every item of food put in front of us, and watched as a few of the guys played another game of “lava football”.

While it was definitely cold, the views were pretty incredible!

Day 6 – Kibo Huts to Uhuru Peak (19,340 ft)

After dinner, we all attempted to sleep for a few hours.  At 11 pm we had a wake up call and were given chai and cookies.  One by one, groups were led out into the bitter cold to begin the most challenging (and rewarding) part of the hike.  At midnight it was our turn.  We bundled up as much as possible (I had seven layers on my upper body and four on my lower body, several pair of socks, two pair of gloves, a balaclava and a wool cap) and followed our guide.  (I have no pictures at this point as it was nearly pitch black and all you could see were flashlights snaking along the path above and below us on the side of the mountain.)  I was thankful for the advice of a friend who had already made this trip.  He suggested to bring music to help pass the time.  So on our ascent, Lecrae, Skillet, 116, Jeremy Camp, and Thousand Foot Krutch among others kept me going.

At times, the pace was painfully slow but even then it was challenging and difficult to breath.  I think we all had varying levels of altitude sickness at this point but thankfully none were too severe.  We slowly zigzagged up the mountain with occasional breaks to drink water and eat small amounts of energy food.  As we got higher up, you could see lights way off in the distance behind us (it turned out we were looking across the border into Kenya).  After about four hours, our guide began counting down until we reached Gilman’s Point (the initial summit at 18,700 ft).  At this point we were crawling over fairly large rocks.  It was nice to use arms to assist with the climb but it was also exhausting!

After reaching this Gilaman’s Point, most of us sat/laid down to rest for a couple minutes.  We were then off to walk along the crater and reach the highest point in all of Africa (Uhuru Peak).  Being at the top of the mountain meant that we were exposed to the wind which was absolutely frigid.  You could actually watch the water freezing in the bottles that weren’t tucked inside of daypacks.

As we continued around the rim, we passed Stella Point (18,171 ft) where other climb routes reach the summit.  At this point, it was easier to see as sunrise was only minutes away.

After getting a couple pictures of a truly memorable sunrise, we continued up the last part of the path to reach Uhuru Peak.

Upon reaching the summit, we took several pictures and briefly took in the beauty of Kilimanjaro.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Soon after pictures, we began our descent back to Kibo.  I was going along with our assistant guide and before we knew it, we had left the rest of the team behind.

 

Going back down the mountain proved to be taxing on our knees.  We were definitely thankful for hiking poles to take some of the strain off.  The scree along the path made for an interesting time.  Doing a scree run made for a quick descent but was still quite tiring.

Looking back from the summit showed just how far we had come in the dark.  Kibo camp seemed so far away.

Unfortunately, after our descent to Kibo, the head/chest cold I was battling combined with a severe migraine.  I tried to sleep it off for a couple hours upon arrival at our hut but there was very little improvement.  At that point, another team member was feeling poorly so he arranged for us to be transported off the mountain at the next camp (Horombo).  After lunch and after getting several types of meds on board, we began the next part of our descent off the mountain.  It was fairly uneventful and by the time we arrived at Horombo, I actually was feeling much better.  Since arrangements had already been made and knowing that a good nights sleep would go a long ways towards relieving the migraine, I agreed to go ahead and take a vehicle down the rest of the way.

We were able to check in a day early at our hotel and had a great nights rest.  After breakfast in the morning, we returned to the base of the mountain to meet up with the rest of the team who was completing the descent.  We all enjoyed our last meal on the mountain and signed in the check-in log book for the last time.

The following morning we loaded up on the shuttle at 6 am.  Things didn’t exactly go smoothly as we had an incident with the radiator leaking.  After an hour delay, we were back on the road and later swapped out for another shuttle.  Those of us from Tenwek elected to push for getting back home.  It made for a long day but at 8 pm, I walked through our front door and was able to collapse in my own bed which was very much needed!

Thank you to everyone who was praying for us.  We had an amazing time enjoying the the beauty of varied parts of God’s Creation.  It was also a great time of fellowship with one another.  There were a lot of deep conversations that took place involving everything from theology and politics to the oxygen dissociation curve to the medicinal effects of Cow Bell powdered creamer.

There is so much that can be said about this hike.  I had been thinking about the different landscapes we were walking through and how they are representative of different parts of our lives.  At times, we lack nothing (much like when we were in the rain forest).  All our needs are easily met and we are surrounded by beauty.  At other times in life, it seems like our most basic needs aren’t being met just like in the alpine desert where no water is present.  There are times when we can see very clearly where we are going in life and there are times when we are enveloped in darkness and can barely see the next step we are to take.  At times the road is wide and easy while at other times, it is narrow and every step is a struggle.

On one afternoon, a team member shared a devotional that perfectly correlated the hike we were in the midst of.   It was talking about following Jesus and how often, we don’t know how we will be able to scale the mountain that is in front of us.  It is so easy to become fixated with the height and difficulty that we don’t focus on our next step causing us to stumble and fall.  It is important that we instead focusing on the mountains in front of us that we focus on Christ and allow Him to lead us.  By focusing on Him, we follow Him one step at a time.

During our time in Kenya, we have walked in a land of plenty and we have walked in the dark, not knowing what obstacles lie ahead of us.  We have had times when our future path was clear and others when we had no idea what was beyond our next step.  There have been times when our walk was easy and others when every step was a struggle.

Even now as we prepare to take the next step for our family, we have only a faint idea of what to expect and we have several large mountains…fundraising to return to Tenwek, fundraising for a casualty expansion, work & life in a new environment, reconnecting with family/friends, numerous speaking engagements, etc.

Please pray for us as we take our next steps of faith.  Mountains in the Bible almost always held great significance (Moriah – Genesis 22:2, Sinai – Numbers 3:10, Carmel 1 Kings 18:17-46, etc.)  Looking back on my life, the mountains we have faced are also important and I suspect these new ones will be as well.  Pray for us as we continue to seek to follow Christ with each and every step we take especially over this next year.

We will continue to walk by faith…

Jeremy Camp – Walk by Faith

“Would I believe you when you say
Your hand will guide my every way
Will I receive the words You say
Every moment of every day

Well I will walk by faith
Even when I cannot see
Well because this broken road
Prepares Your will for me

Help me to win my endless fears
You’ve been so faithful for all my years
With the one breath You make me new
Your grace covers all I do

yeah, yeah , yeah, yeah, ya

Well I’m broken- but I still see Your face
Well You’ve spoken- pouring Your words of grace…”