The Climb: The End of the Trail

it's hard to believe that its been over a month and a half since the last post. how times flies! and the holidays make it go even faster. enough excuses. today we're getting the rest of the way off the mountain!
for me, the last day was bitter-sweet. although getting off the mountain would complete a journey that had started over 6 months earlier (with the idea bouncing around in our heads for over a year), i had loved my time on the mountain, in africa in general, and i wasn't ready to leave. the bonds between people had grown strong. each day brought new experiences. getting off the mountain would bring to light the end of something that had engulfed my life for a long time, and i would have a difficult time putting it all behind me.

before our departure that final day, we asked our head guide if we could get a group picture of our guides and all our porters. not only was it ok, but after the pictures they all sang a cappella kilimanjaro mountain songs. the singing lasted almost 5 minutes and was over way too soon. after all the relationships we made on the mountain, this singing was one of the coolest things we experienced the whole trip. they were a good bunch of guys who worked unbelievably hard, and enjoyed life, even though they "had nothing" compared to our american standards. i'm fairly certain that all the others on the climb were as impressed with these young men as i was.

the hike out was to take between 4 and 5 hours, so we figured maybe 6 or 7 for our pace. the day was dreary and wet, as we were now in a rain forest for the remaining leg of the trip. this made travel difficult for brad, limiting his vision and allowing for little or no constrast in his nearly non'exsistant field of view. and as if that wasn't bad enough, the trail was muddy and slick (which kind of makes sense in a rain forest). and to finish off the difficulties, almost every step was down hill (once again making sense since we're traveling off a mountain), which put brad at his most vulnerable position. regardless of these difficulties, brad could "smell the barn" and we made good time. brad negotiated the terraine very well, and many of the other members of our climb for sight team helped out by securing brad's pack from the uphill postition. this aided greatly to help brad maintain balance on this very slick and steep section of trail. also, it was just a very rewarding thing to see these guys freely choose to lend a hand, even though the responsability was not theirs. they, also, were a good bunch of guys. when we finally reached the trail head, in about 5 1/2 to 6 hours, there were smiles all around. though a bit chaotic, with climbers and porters from many different climbs bouncing around, rangers to check you back off the mountain, and "venders" following you around trying one last time to sell you their trinkettes, the feel around the gate was one of success...one of accomplishment. we ended up buying a few more gifts, had our boots and gaiters (which were covered in mud) washed by some kids for 2 bucks, and refreshed ourselves with a tall, glass bottled coke product. finally, along with the 4 other climb for sight climbers, we posed for a final picture. that was it. we had done it.

after months of training, preparations and the climb itself, what we now hold is the mere memory of the experience. something in the past. BUT, that memory is something to hang on to forever! something that can never be taken away. something that has changed all 3 of our lives. and something that will continue to influence the way we live everyday. through the holiday season, brian brad and i spoke various times, each time drifting toward a conversation about the mountain, about our journey... i hope that never ends.

The Climb - Summit Day

here we go! though i'm writing about our summit day, i need to start by back-tracking and get you some info from the day before. brad had worked hard, done great and we made it to barafu hut in good time, but there were some obvious concerns about the next 24 to 36 hours. over "soup" and sandwiches in the dining tent, we discussed our options with the others on the "climb for sight". starting off, though they all had a strong desire for us all to get to the top together, we made it clear to them that it would be best if they stuck together as a group of 4 and made a good shot at the top with or without us. then brad voiced his strong, and valid, concerns of what was ahead of us. to summarize, brad was visually spent! in his opinion, even if he kept the pace that we had been moving at for the last several days (with less visual tension than he was having now), it would take us somewhere between 22 and 28 hours to summit and then descend to the next camp. but with the position of his current visual state, and the fact that there would be at least 6 to 8 hours in the dark that he would be climbing by merely following reflective tape on brian's or my legs and boots, it made the effective "life" of his eyes decrease dramatically. this was a very discouraging thought for brad...but somewhat accurate. though he wasn't done, brad wasn't sure how much was left (visually) and was concerned that he would "get in the way" of my and brian's attempt of the summit. i believe our answer to him was to "shut up"! we were there to do this together, and that's exactly what we were going to do!

so...in the wee hours of the morning, with the full moon lighting up a cold, crisp night air, we three (and our great guide douglas) started for the summit of mt kilimanjaro. our intent was to go 'til brad couldn't. and from that spot we'd watch a sunrise from a point higher than anywhere in the contiginous united states.

the climbing right out of camp was tough. it was rocky, with some small bouldering, and switchbacks and more rock. but...it truly was a beautiful night. though the air was cold enough to make your lungs burn, the sky was clear and the full moon SO bright that it lit up the whole sky, making only the brightest of stars visible. as i looked at the stars i recognized orion. he is a winter constollation in the northern hemisphere, but was laying (somewhat upside down) right there in africa in early august. wow! anyway...we climbed for several hours, having to stop more and more regularly for brad to rest his eyes and head. brad was right, it was obvious that he was visually exhausted, but with our encouragement, he kept plugging away at the rock in front of him. it got to the point that brad needed to stop every few minutes to rest his strained eyes. we'd ask him for alittle more...and he'd give it. time and again. then, just as we topped a ridge that would give a clear view to the east...he couldn't. so we made our way to some good "sitting" rocks...that was it. so, somewhere close to 16,500 feet, we waited. quitely. in the strange combination of darkness and rugged beauty we waited for the sun. this was a time of reflection for us all. i can only speak for myself, but know that both brian and brad were as moved as i was. i thought of all that had happened to get us there. of the training. of all the preparations. of the bonding. and then of the trip itself. of the massive mountain and this wild place on the other side of the globe. but mostly i thought of what brad had endured and accomplished to get to this point. other climbers gave what it took to get to the top of this majestic mountain, but brad had given ALL he had. it was an emotional time for me, to think how my life had been blessed to be a part of something so rare. then, as the first rays of light made their way over the layer of clouds far below us, it was like God himself was there hugging us and high-fiving us, letting us know that we had done it...we had summited!

the sunrise itself was great. as the morning colors swept across the clouds, the moon continued to light up the west sky above kibo. in the daylight, we made our way back to camp at barafu hut in short order, stopping mostly to gauk at the difficult terrain we had passed through on the way up. we knew, due to our slower pace, we had a long day ahead of us, so instead of catching a few zzz's, we packed our gear and headed down the mountain, as we had another 5000 ft to descend that day! the trail, and the sun location, made for quick moving for the first third of the way to our next camp. but the rest of the trail, the last third particularly, made up for the easier sections. we had to work down through a cloudy, misty layer and over some of the rockiest trails of the trip, but made it to camp well before the sun went down. i think brad may have just closed his eyes and hung on to brian's pack at this point:) upon arrival to our camp in the rain forest we were all pretty tired, but brad was in real need of resting his eyes and head. brian and i stayed around camp and in the dining tent to congratulate the other climbers on their successful summit as they rolled into camp.

what a day! it had been a day to remember for a lifetime! but we still had another day of descent to get off the mountain. keep checking back, we'll get off this mountain yet!

The Climb - Day 6

only a couple days from my last post and i'm back at it, i must be smelling the barn! hope everyone is sitting on the edge of their seats by now, waiting anxiously for the next day's climb!

the morning of day 6 was beautiful. everything, the sky and the air around us, seemed clean and crisp. days like that don't do anything but help attitudes as you roll out of your sleeping bag. we enjoyed, and used, the help from the nice morning, but were feeling remarkably well as we got ready to start our day on the trail even if there wouldn't have been the sunshine. though brad's eyes seemed to be "wearing out" just alittle quicker every day with the day in and day out tension and stress that he was putting on them, he would start the morning feeling good, "ready to go", after a good night's rest. it was the morning of this 6th day that saw, for the first time, brian, brad and i on the trail heading toward the next camp before any other climbers. it was a good feeling for all of us to look up the trail and only see a few porters ahead of us. not that it would last long:), but it was a good start! this day was a shorter day, but almost every step was up. really, i think there were only about 200 yards or so of slightly downhill movement. and the last half mile was pretty rough. steep and rocky with a couple slightly exposed areas just before camp. and sure enough, even though it took us longer to make the climb than brad had hoped, we made it to the barafu hut in good time, giving us plenty of time to rest in the afternoon. brad really did great this day! he had made it to the highest camp of the trip, at close to 15,000 feet. but although brian and i were proud of what brad had done, it was increasingly obvious that the visual tension and stress that he was dealing with was effecting his physical performance. physically he was fine, but the "quick stops" needed to rest his eyes and head were becoming more and more regular with slightly longer stops need as the day progressed. we were glad to get to camp early to give him the opportunity to rest his eyes as much as possible, as we were to leave EARLY the next morning for our summit bid.

like i said, this was a high camp. being at a high elevation regularly brings with it wind, cold and rock. this camp was no exception! there was rock EVERYWHERE, and no chance of anything level to pitch a tent on. as a result, it was, by far (in my opinion), the worst night of sleep of the whole trip. waking up every 20-30 minutes finding myself coiled up like an achordian at the downhill (downcliff) door of my tent was far from that good night's sleep i was hoping for before our early departure! anyway...i've gotten ahead of myself. let me backtrack just a bit. when we arrived at our rocky ridge they called camp, brian headed to the ranger hut to sign the 3 of us into the camp while i found a place for brad and i to sit as the porters busily hustled around camp putting up the last of the tents. as we were sitting there, i notice that the 2 remaining tents are brian and brad's tent, and my tent. after looking around, i informed brad that it didn't look good for either of us, 'cause there's not a flat spot within a mile! shortly i see brian and brad's tent going up right there near us, in close proximity to the dining tent and toilet tent, which seemed to put brad at ease, but i didn't see an area that was big enough for my tent anywhere around. about that time, the porters had put my tent together and were carrying it around looking for a place to put it and happened to spy a nice site just a very short piece back the trail. i wish i had gotten video of what ensued, but instead stood there as a spectator in awe of what was developing. it seems as though a rival guide company and porter team had "claimed" that spot already, though there sure wasn't a tent on it at the time. so, as an arguement about the "ownership" of the little halfway level pile of rock got underway, and the volume increased, porters from both sides streamed in to defend their position. wow! it got heated. they were swahili-ing back and forth like i hadn't ever heard! and though my swahili is limited (very limited), i could make a fairly accurate guess as to the words that were being spoken! now there's 6 porters to a side. now 8. now 10. now 11, no wait, maybe only 10, it's just so hard to count when they're pushing and shoving and rumbling like that! if they would have held still i'm sure i could have gotten a better count! anyway, after all the mayhem, noone got hurt (too badly) and in the end the ranger gave the spot to the other group, though i think our guys had a better case (and could have "taken" the other guys if that dang ranger wouldn't have gotten control of the situation). i'll tell you, it was really something. and to think, they were fighting over my tent! those porters really were a good bunch of dedicated guys! the bummer of the whole thing was that my tent ended up being set up on a very steep angle (thus the achordian thing).

the camp was beautiful! rocky, but a rugged gradure that is tough to match. this was the evening before summit, and, as luck would have it, a full moon. the moon rose from behind mwenzi just as the last glows from a spectacular sunset, that seemed to last forever, were fading into night sky. there was great anticipation for the next day, summit day, that would start very early the next morning. i'm hoping anyone reading this is anxious too...and patient, 'cause i'm going to get to the summit day next time!

The Climb - part 4

hello again. time has gotten away from me as i have failed to keep writing about the rest of the climb. my bad. also, i have recently gotten my butt chewed in an e-mail, so i'd better get to writing some more!

on a side note, last night was another full moon, so i think maybe i was just waiting for the lunar cycle to come back around to help get me in the zone!(really?) so...day 5.

we started day 5 with the long day from shira 2 to lava tower to the barranco camp behind us, and, although the "wall" was daunting before us, the prospect of a shorter day was encouraging. watching the porters hustle up the wall with gear on their backs and heads was quite a specticle. the trail up the barranco wall is steep and narrow and climbs nearly 1000 feet before your eyes. as the trail narrowed, the groups of climbers slowed to a near stop at several especially steep and tricky parts of the trail. and though the trail was difficult for brad, it gave us hope to be able to stay close to the "main pack" of people that littered the trail. at one point there was a stoppage of everyone heading up the trail. shortly, like a slow line of ants, the steady movement up the wall began again, but not before a porter hustled past us going back down. we came to find out that on one of the more difficult switchbacks, that exposed the trail to a fairly sharp edge, the porter had lost the balance of the bag he was balancing on his head and the bag went over the edge and ended up at the bottom of the wall. it was to be a long day for that porter...our day, also, had just begun. through sheer determination brad made it up the wall. although we had been passed by most of the other groups during the morning's climb, we had made it! and there were only a couple times, with drop offs only a step away, that brad said he was going to have a few choice words for brian and i IF we ever make it to camp! the top of the wall was a big relief, and our guide said it wasn't too far to camp, "just over the ridge". so we walked. most of the footing that was on a level or uphill slope wasn't too bad, it was the downhill slopes that were tricky. but eventually, after hiking though some absolutely beautiful areas with the upper mountain and its glaciers looming above us, we came in sight of the camp. this was good. the tents didn't look too far away. we might be there in 20 minutes or so. what we didn't see was that the trail first dropped into a 750 ft steep canyon before heading straight up the other side before reaching camp. so...2 1/2 hours, of slick, loose rock on the steep trail with misty clouds around us that make seeing ANYTHING a challenge for brad, later, we entered camp. though it was nice to be in camp, it had been another long. and on a day that was supposed to be easy. the tension in brad's eyes was becoming more of a problem, and getting into camp, once again, so late was discouraging for him. it was time for alittle soul searching. and let me tell you it was a good place for it! this was the karangu hut. a rocky and slopey camp, but the setting was spectacular. the "mist" from our climb that day was actually a layer of clouds that was banked just below the camp. and as the sun crept slowly toward the western horizon the light would glow of the tops of the clouds (that were just sitting there below us) like colored lights shining on cotton balls. kibo was our backdrop to the north as it sat there staring down at us, welcoming us and watching over us at the new camp. this was a place of God, and we all knew it. sitting there, exhausted, a bit discouraged, (and starting to get a bit ripe:)),...there was a peace let us know that everything would be alright. ... and we slept.

The Climb - part 3

We started day 4 with the other four climbers on "the climb for sight, and, after a good afternoon of rest, alot of enthusiasm. we got out of camp early and, with a good trail, were able to move fairly well even though there was a constant gain in elevation. brad did fine and the views were great. we were hoping to get to lava tower for a late lunch and, even though our pace slowed as the trail became alot rockier as we climbed, brad worked hard, kept moving, and we made it not too long after our normal lunch time. we were now at 14,544 ft, sitting in a saddle at the base of a big lava cone on one side and the steep western breach route to the summit on the other.

after a short lunch (which brad didn't do a very good job of eating!...not even the gu gel!), some of the guys took a short side trip to climb to the top of lava tower while brad, brian and i continued down the trail toward the barranco camp. on this afternoon, we were to now descend 2500 of the 3000 ft we had gained earlier in the day, a good way to help acclimatize to the elevation...but it made for a very long day. there were a handful of tricky downhill rocky slopes that slowed our pace considerably. the slow pace then allowed the sun to move to create alot of shadows for brad making every step more difficult...which slowed our pace some more. which allow time enough for the clouds to roll up the mountain with some drizzling rain...which slowed our pace some more. which allowed the sun to start going down for the day...which, of course, slowed our pace some more. this was a VERY difficult day!!! you talk about a chain of events. the long term problem was that with every situation that slowed our pace, that meant that brad had to visually concentrate for that much longer, putting more stain on his already wore out eyes...but he did it! day four was over and brad was able to lay in his tent and rest his eyes for...well, 'til morning. the scenery on day 4 was nothing short of specatular. huge rock walls with glaciers hanging from them loomed over our left shoulders to the north with white clouds whirling around the upper mountain as we slowily marched toward camp. as we neard camp the giant senencias and lobielias peppered the hill sides creating a contrast from the snow and rock that was incredible. it truly was a beautiful sight! our 9 1/2 hours or up and down on the mountain had visually exhausted bard for the day, so as brad rested to prepare for day 5, brian and i found out that the next day was to be considerably shorted and we starting perparing for the barranco wall.

The Climb - part 2

we had a good start on day 2. while the over hanging trees made for shadows and there were alot of roots, the trail was gradual and not too rocky. we were doing well and making descent time. about the time we broke out of the forest that all changed. the terrain got noticably steeper, the tall heather (that was everywhere) cast plenty of shadows, and the rocks seemed to grow from the trail. with this set-back, our pace slowed considerably but our spirits remained high. we were working our way up a ridge to the rim of the shira platue and as we gained elevation and could see over the trees, our view changed. we could now see were we came from, and where we were going. as the day progressed, the strain on brad's eyes increased as he intensely focused on the trail through the shadows that were starting to be more of a problem as the sun was sinking in the sky. this turned into a long day! to add to the discomfort, where there weren't rocks on the trail, the dirt was a fine powder that "puffed" up around you with every step. when we finally rolled into camp, we were all dirty and dusty and glad to have finally made it to camp. being only the second day on the mountain, we were still learning what was going to be easy for us, and what was going to be more difficult. the big picture wasn't showing us much of anything that was going to be easy!...but we had made it through the first couple days on the mountain and were resting, getting ready for day 3.

the camp was nice. it was fairly flat, not alot of rock, but dusty! i think it was brian that put his crocks on to walk the 20 yards to the dining tent and ended up with brown/gray feet and legs almost up to his knees! if we knew the volume of climbers we would be with from the next camp forward, we may not have thought the dust was too bad! this day also afforded us our first good look at the upper mountain. it was all we had hoped for, and just what we needed to keep us hungry to keep pushing up the mountain.

on the third day we were hiking across the shira platue. this was a shorter day, both in distance and in time. it was a good acclimatization day as we had gained quite a bit of elevation in the last couple days. this day we were only gaining a few hunderd feet, and the trail was the clearest we had seen so far (or would ever see again!). brad cruised today and finished the day in the "normal" time range. this got us to camp just after lunch and gave brad plenty of time to rest his eyes from the strain of the day before. though this camp would fill with people by night fall, it was a beautiful setting. a layer of clouds had formed below us on the mountain giving you a feeling of being higher than the 11,600 ft that we were. also, kibo was directly behind us to the northeast showing itself between the clouds that were rolling through with a big moon above it. it was a nice place to camp.

this was also the day we met up with the other 4 climbers on the "climb for sight". this was only their 2nd day on the trail as they had come up the machame route. they all seemed to be good guys and we were all excited to get further down the trail together. the sunset from shira 2 camp (day 3) was very nice, and brad, brian and i walked to a nice rock outcropping to watch it before dinner. had soup for dinner (but that's a different story), and got a good night's sleep for a big day 4.

The Climb - part 1

Hello to all! i guess i'm hoping that someone out there is still following the blog at all at this point. today i'm going to get a start on a summary of the climb itself. there was SO much that happened on the mountain that if you'd get any of the three of us talking about it i'm sure we could go on for hours. i'll try to trim that down to something reasonable for print, though it may be difficult. just the other day i was talking to brian on the phone, looked out the window to see a full moon rising over the horizon and ended up talking about the sky in africa for half an hour! brian brought up the fact that it was exactly one lunar cycle (about a month) ago that we were watching the full moon from kilimanjaro, and climbing hours at night with the moon blazing above us before watching the sun come up over the layer of clouds that blanketed the view beyond mwenzi...but that's getting ahead of myself!

the climb was great! the mountain was great! climbing on the mountain with brian and brad (and the rest of the climb for sight team) was great! you may be starting to see the pattern here! but even though everything about it was "great", there were definately times throughout that were difficult, intense, stressful, and sometimes overwhelming. personally i believe that it was the combination of all those aspects that helped make it "great". for the first three days of hiking we (brad, brian and i) were without the rest of the team...without anyone else around really, which made for small quiet camps and trails free from the hords of climber we would meet on the rest of the mountain. we didn't realize how nice and peaceful that was until it was gone. our first day on the trail was hiking into a rain forest, though to our good fortune it wasn't raining at the time and was a beautiful sunny day. after taking only about 18 steps on close-to-level ground after being dropped off at the trail head, we started going up. really UP! it was steep, there were roots from all the trees sticking up in the trail, and alot of shady patches, from all the trees, that made it trickier to pick out the roots and a clear trail. after training for 6 months to prepare for the climb, we had spent the last week and a half traveling and this was a rude awakening for our legs. without a "warm-up" walk to get the blood going, they were put to work, and seemed to take offense to it! also, starting out in an area that required quite a bit of verbal assistance from brian or i kind of caught us off guard too. needless to say, it took us alittle time to get ourselves in order and get comfortable. we were all thankful that the first day was a short one! we had dealt with the initial difficulties of getting started, hiked through a rain forest that provided poor light for brad to see with, gained over 2500 ft of elevation, saw an elephant slide, and made it to camp 1, "the big tree". we got some dinner, some rest, and felt good. now we were ready! or at least we thought we were.