SEMIAHMOO KILIMANJARO FUND RAISING TREKK 2004

 This is a hard story to write, only because I had some many wonderful experiences with Ryan and our group when we went to Tanzania. I don’t know where to start, but I will give it a try. The first thing I want to say is that Ryan came off like a seasoned world traveler, for someone who had never flown or been away from his family you would have thought this was one of many adventures he had gone on. He enjoyed the flights no problems and they actually where quite smooth considering we had 37 hours of flights and stopovers to get there.

 I still remember the excitement when we were flying over Mount Kilimanjaro we all ran to the window to see what was ahead of us. That is one Big Mountain! When we landed at Kilimanjaro International our Trekking Company was there to meet us and bus us to our Hotel. The Keyes hotel in Moshi was where we stayed it was a lovely little hotel that took great care of all our needs. Eddie Franks the owner of Tusker gave us a day to get our bearings. The next day we had an orientation to the climb, we reviewed our equipment learned the do’s and don’ts on the mountain and got to know each other a bit better. We met our guide Simon he was from Arusha a town 80 kms from Moshi. He has climbed the mountain 600 times, so I felt comfortable knowing that he knew his stuff and we would be in good hands going up Kili.

 July5 D-day - we were all excited had our bags packed and weighed, we are allowed 20 KGs., in our duffel bags and of course I was over so Ryan and I had to juggle contents, porters only cay 20KGs. We all loaded onto our jeeps 3 in total and headed off to Kilimanjaro. The excitement was brimming from each person. I and Ryan both felt confident we would make it to the top and if not we were going to give it our all. After a 2hour drive we arrived at the checkpoint to register for the climb we spent a bit of time having lunch, loaded back on the truck and headed to our starting point.

 It’s hard to explain the feelings going through my mind. I have to make sure I make it to the top I have to make sure I support Ryan to get to the top. I decided it’s time to hike and quit thinking of all the pressures and jus t enjoy. Ryan was beaming and ready to hit the mountain with the group so off we went. I have to admit the first hike through the jungle was beautiful and actually just a hike in the park. I guess only being around 6 or 7 thousand feet is not to hard on you. The rest of our day was very peaslant. We got to our camp around 6pm and the tents were already setup this was camping in luxury to me having meals cooked for you and camp setup and tore down I thought I had died and gone to heaven. That night the sounds of the jungle were great monkeys and other creatures talking throughout the night.

 Day 2 we are still in the jungle and the terrain is getting a bit steeper but still a nice pace for us. Around lunch we started to get out of the jungle and into the moorland area it was hot and dusty but I will take that over rain and mud any day. Just after lunch and a steep climb we came around a corner and there was the full view of Kilimanjaro it was quite overwhelming. I had just bought a new camera and it was used to the max in this area, I think Ryan and I have almost every angle of the mountain you can shoot from this trail. We hiked for a few more hours and then camped. The evening in this valley was very cold we had frost on our tents that night and the wind blew through the valley most of the night. Ryan and I tested our winter bags that night. The next morning day 3 we had a more gradual slope to climb we were in the heart of the moorland area. It was quite beautiful lots of small shrubs and flowers. The mountain summit was getting closer and we both felt good so the signs of success were in our favour. We hiked through an area that had several caves in it. Simon pointed out were the guides and porters use to sleep in the caves, this is no longer allowed we stopped for a rest and got some shade in the caves. 3 days hiking now and straight sunshine the whole time. We needed some shade to cool off.

We arrived at our campsite around 5 pm. Today is Ryan’s Birthday. He turned 22 so we were planning a small celebration. The cooks after dinner presented Ryan with a small cake with candles and Happy Birthday written on it in jam. The kicker was the cake was made out of mashed potatoes. He loved it and ate a bunch of it. The crew has been great to us looking after our needs; they are a very friendly group.

 That night we enjoyed the clear star filled sky, it was beautiful.

 Day 4 Its funny the night before was freezing and now we are higher and it’s not as cold. I guess it’s because we were in a more protected area but it was a 2000-foot difference. Today our hike was getting into much more barren landscape not really many signs of vegetation more sand and rock. We are heading to the lava tower campsite. This is the area where we didn’t hike as long because we wanted to do more acclimatizing to the altitude, as this camp was around 15000 feet. When we got to camp I hit the tent and decided I might have a nap but then realized it was time to hike higher to get the lungs use to less air. I have to admit it took a bit but I dragged myself out of the tent and climbed the Lava tower. I didn’t realize this involved rock climbing that was more intense then our hiking so I grit my teeth and did it. By the time we got to the top I was glad I pushed myself the view was incredible. We could see back down to the areas we had hiked up also the clouds were layering the lower valley like a big puffy blanket it was a site to behold. I looked up the other way and we say the next day’s hike. This is the part where they say in the brochure you have to dig deep. I now know why they say that. It was steep with snow and glacier on it.

 Day 5 We had a very windy night last night the dinning tent blew over and the out houses all blew away. I woke up a lot wondering if Ryan and I would be air born in the tent. One point it got so loud I thought there was a rockslide. We got up at 4:30 that morning so we could get started early. Simon told us that the rocks on the snow could start to fall when the sun hits it so we want to get started early to avoid any mishaps. This was the coldest part of the hike. I didn’t have heavy gloves as I lent mine to Ryan so the fingers were cold; I had to put on a second jacket as the wind was blowing right through me. We had one person drop out the first half hour of the hike she had altitude sickness so Mark (one of the teachers) went down to our last camp with her. They had her go to the Millennium camp with a porter where we would meet her on our first day down. This way Mark was able to continue the climb. It was a long cold day we had all our heavy winter gear on it took us 8 hours to get to the top. All of a sudden you hit this plateau and there are these massive glaciers and camp is in a small sandy area at the base of the next and last climb tomorrow to the summit. We all were ecstatic we knew we had it in our grasp now we were going to make it to the top. Some of the group was feeling the effects of altitude sickness and the Diamox pills were administered as well as some oxygen.  I walked over to the glaciers; poley poley translation of Swahili is slowly, slowly. I got several pictures and just leaned up against this massive hunk of ice. Walking was a chore and breathing was more laboured. We all tried to force down some dinner but at 18000 feet you lose your appetite. I got some soup and a little of my dinner into me and then I hit the hay early.

 Day 6 Summit day. I wasn’t sure what to expect I heard 2 hours I heard 4 hours all I knew was I’m ready. We started the climb around 8:30 A few people had some oxygen as they were having trouble. I admire their spirit because they just kept going white as sheets but determined to make it. It took us about 3 hours of very slow walking then there it was just 100yards ahead. I was so excited and relieved I started to cry, Guess it was all the prep and hype and now the pressure was off Ryan and I made it to the top of Mount Kilimanjaro! We spent about 40 minutes taking pictures and rejoicing in our accomplishment. Then it was time to head down and suck some oxygen rich air.

The hike down for the next two days really taxed the legs. My knees let me know they were not pleased on day two but we just kept going. The group that Ryan and I went with was the best they supported us in every way I can’t thank them enough for all their help. I have really enjoyed the time I got to spend with Ryan and this gang of caring people and feel I have grown a lot. I know that when I set my mind to something I can carry it out. I also know that it takes a caring supportive group to really make an adventure come true.

I want to thank everyone who took an interest in our adventure all the support we received from to many people to mention was overwhelming we couldn’t have done it without you. THANK YOU!

 I can give you the second chapter of our adventure in the Ngorongoro crater another time.