Day 3 - Climbers, meet Kili! (Feb 13)

Now it really starts!  Today is the first day of our climb, but we still have a long ways to go before we even begin.  We'll be taking the Rongai route up the mountain, which is the only route up the mountain starting on the Northern side of Kilimanjaro, adjascent to the border with Kenya.  This means that we have several hours in the bus before even starting our hike. 

Routes up Kilimanjaro (our route, Rongai, in purple)

The Rongai Route
Despite the long distance to the start of the Rongai trail, this was ultimately the most appealing route up the mountain for multiple reasons.  Primarily, it is one of the least crowded routes up (with Machame and Marangu being the most popular and handling upwards of 80% of the traffic on Kili).  This meant we wouldn't have to deal with sharing noisy campsites with up to 100 other climbers, which has been known to happen on other routes.  Additionally, I liked this route because Team Kilimanjaro, our outfitter does a modified Rongai route, which, they claim, provides for the best possible acclimatization opportunity on the mountain.  Also, although this route can be viewed as less scenic than others, we would still have a chance to take a more scenic route down (Marangu), although in retrospect, I don't feel like Rongai was any less scenic or beautiful than what I experienced going down.  And finally, the chances for viewing wildlife on the mountain are acutally best on this route - though I will also say in retrospect that we did not witness any significant wildlife, save for some suspected animal noises at night, which really just turned out to be the snoring coming from neighboring tents...

Our bus to Kili

Arusha to the Marangu Gate
Since it would be a long day of driving, we were picked up from the Onsea House promptly at 7:30 AM.  We were waiting on the patio of the entrance house when we saw a mid-size bus covered with bags under a tarp and filled with 20 Team Kilimanjaro staff (16 porters, 1 cook, 2 assistant guides and Joshua) pull up to the parking lot.  Our bags were loaded up top with the rest of the gear and we piled into the bus, without a seat to spare. 

Local supermarket near Moshi for pre-climb supplies

After a couple hours, we stopped at a small shopping center that had a restaurant, supermarket and facilities (our first, but certainly not last, experience with the squat-over-a-hole-and-be-sure-to-wear-your-headlamp-toilets).  The porters and guides grabbed some breakfast and bottled water for the trek and we wandered around the supermarket, checking out the local goods (which included Pineapple Fanta!!! Delicious, in case you were wondering!). 

The girls at the supermarket near Moshi.
Clearly, I missed the memo about wearing blue.

We also had the chance to mingle with some other climbers, as this seemed to be the place where most tours stopped for final supplies before proceeding to the mountain.  At this point it was probably about 10 AM and it was already sweltering in the sun, so we were happy to get back on the un-air-conditioned bus, if it meant opening the windows to let a warm breeze at least attempt to cool us off, but not before a quick photo opportunity. 


The Marangu Gate (Registration)
Despite the fact that we were starting from the Rongai trail, we still had to check-in and register at the main Marangu Gate which was about an hour's drive from Moshi.  For the last few miles of the trip to the gate, we actually had to drop off most of the porters lower down the mountain, as the bus would not have made it up the steep roads with all the excess passengers.  After dropping them off in a nearby village, we made our way to the gate where we had to complete liability waivers and register with our passport numbers and other key information.  We also had some time to walk around and explore the grounds before saying farewell, but only temporarily, as we would be ending our hike down the mountain at this very trail (there are only 2 routes down the mountain, Marangu being the descent route for climbers on the Rongai trail). 

Porters at the weigh station (They are "only" allowed to carry 20 kg each)

Park Headquarters sign

Before leaving, Olivia and I stopped by the visitor's center to pick up a few postcards and stamps and then we were hurried on our way by Joshua who reminded us that we still had another few hours in the car before arriving at our lunch stop and starting point for the Rongai route.  So, we piled back in the car, picked up the porters that we had dropped off further down the mountain and were off again.

Marangu Gate to Rongai Gate
It was about 2 hours and several Chagga villages later when we finally pulled in to the starting point for the Rongai trail around 1:30 PM.  My Kili bible (Kilimanjaro: The Trekking Guide to Africa's Highest Mountain) had said that teh road was unpaved and terrible, but it must have been paved most of the way since the book was published, as it really wasn't bad at all.  The last stretch of the trip we drove through swarms of little white butterflies EVERYWHERE. But otherwise, a rather uneventful journey.

View north to Kenya from the Rongai starting point

It was at the gate that we had our first lunch prepared by the Team Kilimanjaro cooks.  We would quickly become familar with the lunch routine: soup, main course and dessert.  Our first lunch was a thin, but tasty, tomato soup, sandwiches, bananas and not-quite ripe avocado (though after a few more days, the avocado was some of the best I've ever tasted).  With sweeping views of the Kenyan plains below and smaller peaks in the background, our "non-scenic" route was certainly off to a good start.

The Hike (Rongai Gate to Simba Camp)
Distance: 7 km; altitude gained: 638m
Rongai Gate - 1997m (6552 ft)
Simba Camp - 2635m (8645 ft)

Rongai (or Nalemuru) Gate
(L to R: Patrick, Bridget, Catherine, Ed, Imogen)

Our hike started around 2:30 PM and took us until about 5:00 PM.  We spent the first part of the day hiking through a pine plantation before coming to some naural forest which was quite beautiful, if not a bit buggy.  This was a fairly easy stretch and a nice way to start off on the mountain.  Of course, it would not be this easy for long (See Day 4). We took a couple breaks, which were a nice reprieve from the warm weather (at least until the bugs became too much of a pest).  Sadly, although monkeys can be spotted on the trail, we would have to wait until our final day of hiking before we saw any.  It was also on Day 1, that we all got a lesson in keeping our daypacks as light as possible, something that would be a continuous struggle, being that we had to carry at a minimum ~2 liters of water, camera, warm layer, rain pants, rain jacket and potentially other supplies each day.

 

Water break on the trail through the forest

Guides, Felix & Joshua, on the trail

Around 5 PM, we passed by a beautiful stream and waterfall and landed in camp, which was already all set up by the porters who had passed us on the trail, long ago.  The stream would be where all our water for the next day would come from.  "Water for washing" as well as water for drinking.  All the water for drinking was treated with chlorine tablets and I have to say one of the best things I brought with me (aside from the headlamp) was a supply of gatorade flavor packets.  Chlorinated water starts tasting pretty old, pretty quickly and with the need to drink 2+ liters of water a day, it was critical to do anything possible to make it easier to drink.

Our camp (Day 1)

By the time we got to camp, not only were our sleeping tents set up (3 tents, one for me & Olivia, one for Ed & Imogen and one for Catherine), but the cook had already prepared our first afternoon snack, which was waiting for us in the mess tent (which also served as the sleeping tent for half the crew).  This snack, of popcorn and tea, would quickly become one of my favorite daily traditions on the mountain - Catherine, being awarded the title of the Master of the Tea Ceremony.  With two Brits in the group, eventually, we wound up drinking so much tea, that the cook had to ration us with pre-made tea.

Popcorn & tea - an afternoon staple on the mountain

It was a good thing that we had arrived at camp when we did, as it started to pour minutes after our arrival and did not let up until late that night.  We therefore spent most of the evening in the mess tent, eating popcorn and drinking tea until dinner, which consisted of an amazing pumpkin soup and beef stew with potato and green banana.   After dinner, Joshua visited us in the mess tent to describe the plan for tomorrow, humor us by answering my multitude of questions and telling us a "bedtime" story of one of his adventures on the mountain.

The next day would be an early one with a 6 AM wake-up "call", so it was off to bed  by 10 PM, falling asleep to the sounds of rain pitter-pattering on the thin layer of fabric above our heads on Africa's highest mountain.