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Haraka haraka haina baraka

There is no blessing in going fast

 

I wish I had learned the above phrase before the climb, actually discovered it after I got home.  It would have served me well, as accepting the slow pace was difficult for me.  It was very slow, and yes, I expected slow, this mountain is known for the mantra “pole pole”, “go slowly”; however, it was much slower than I anticipated and I had to learn to distract/reorient myself.  It was hard but as each of us had issues to deal with at some point during the 7 days on Kili, this was mine.  In return, I felt great the entire climb and once in awhile was able to convince one of our guides for at least a brief moment of haraka (fast)!  My journal mentions the pace often, but please note that it is not a comment, reflection or any sort of negative opinion on /of my fellow climbers.  “Pole pole” is a part of the Kilimanjaro climbing tradition and the guides have a good success rate (over 90%) in getting clients to at least the Kibo crater rim.

 

 

Stats for the day:

  • Drive to Machame Gate
  • Hike to Machame Camp 6000 to 10000 feet elevation
  • Approximately 7 miles
  • 4000 feet of vertical gain
  • Drove through the Lower Slopes vegetative zone which is mainly cultivated or used for livestock grazing
  • Hiked through the Rain Forest Zone 

First day on Kilimanjaro!  Started with breakfast at 6:30, then took luggage down to the courtyard.  Stored what we didn't need on the mountain.  Met Lawrence, who is in charge of storage and equipment for Springlands.  He has this great attitude, loves his job and takes it very seriously, assuring me that he would take “good care” of our luggage. 

 

Dismas arrived, our bags were loaded and we piled in a mini-bus for the hour or so drive to Machame Gate.  A few other climbers and guides shared the bus with us. 

 

 Mick really wanted to drive

 

A few stops along the way:  1st stop was at the area where the porters are hired.  There was a bus waiting to take porters and equipment.  The guides had a brief discussion here, probably making sure that the porters they wanted were actually the ones getting on the bus.  2nd stop was for gas.  3rd stop was at a local grocery store where the guides stocked up on who knows what!!  Roger bought one final Kilimanjaro beer here!

 

 Roger looks happy but he's not on trail yet :)

 

The driver was great.  The last part of the route to the park gate was steep, muddy and rutted.  He never got stuck or stalled out.  The area below the gate is really beautiful, lush and green.  Coffee plantations, often the coffee plants would be under banana trees.  It appears that the villagers in this area, who are part of the Chagga tribe, work on the plantations or do some farming, as well as cattle/goat herding.  Many of the plantations, however, are owned by foreigners. 

 

Reached Machame Gate, which is a real gate.  The gate closes behind us but the locals from Machame Village, which we drove through on the way; all stand at the gate and try to sell us things such as rain covers for our packs. 

 

 Inside the gate, looking back out

 

 Kilimanjaro is a national park, and requires the use of guides for all climbs.  The rangers keep track of everyone on the mountain – we signed in at the gate as well as at most of the camps along the route. 

 

Mick makes sure we read the rules...

 

...and makes sure we don't miss the rest of the rules

 

We got ready to hike, putting on gaiters (this 1st day is supposed to be muddy), getting out the trekking poles etc. and watched the chaos of the guides and porters getting organized. 

 

Dismas (far left) takes charge!

 

There was much discussion as to what each porter would carry.  Everything is weighed and distributed as equally as possible.  The park has a good set of rules concerning the porters; these guys work hard and carry almost everything on their heads. 

 

 Do they look ready?

 

Do we look ready?

 

We started the hike with Paschal, one of our assistant guides.  Dismas stayed behind to finish organizing the porters and would eventually catch up to us, as would all the porters who always hike fast (haraka) and pass us every day! We were amazed every day at the strength, speed and balance of the porters, especially carrying all the weight on their heads.  Our favorite during the 1st couple of days was seeing Sharon's duffel go by with a table attached to it and a loaf of bread on top of the table. 

 

Well traveled bread

 

I would try to say Jambo (hello) to the porters and Asante (thank you).  They always returned the greetings and sometimes added a pole, pole reminder, like we needed it!  The guides all talk about pole pole (go slowly, slowly) all the time and that’s exactly what we did.  Paschal, however, believes in super pole, pole, so the pace was kind of painful.  Sometimes excruciating.  Occasionally would stop to take a photo and then would be able to go a little faster to catch up.  That didn’t always work because if Paschal saw anyone stop, he would stop.  Anyway, lots of ways to distract myself from the pace:  the weather was nice and the trail was in good shape, not really muddy at all.  So much for needing gaiters!  The rain forest is beautiful, dense green foliage, mosses, ferns and bearded lichens draping the trees, not a lot of flowers.  Once in awhile we would break out onto a ridge and get a little bit of a view but mostly we were in the trees.  Also didn’t see any animals but did hear some birds and later in the afternoon, bats.  They were loud! 

 

Paschal leading by example: pole pole

 

Trail conversation was entertaining, everything from races we’ve done, places we’ve been, stories about work, nothing too serious.  Listened to Jane and Roger’s conversation about match.com J  Once Dismas caught up, we asked a lot of questions about the mountain and the route and his experiences.  We learned his nicknames:  Future, which is the name I heard the local people use for him all the time.  He got the name because he said he is always talking about his plans and things happening in the future.  He has worked on Kili for about 12 years, starting as a porter and eventually becoming a guide.  You have to attend school and get a certificate for guiding.  He is hoping to return to school and become a ranger – maybe in the Serengeti.  Since Marsh, Mick and I were talking quite a bit about running, Dismas told us how he used to be a marathoner.  He ran in the 2:20 range.  Obviously, we were impressed!  He explained how he used to be really thin, we figured from his description that he weighed only about 100 lbs in his marathoning days!  He said he has one more nickname given by his former running coach.  Since he weighs more these days, the last time he saw his coach, the coach named him Buddha Man!  That was definitely a LOL story and we warned him that he would regret telling us!!!! 

 

One of the more open areas along the trail

 

 

Photo courtesy of Mick Donoff

 

We stopped for lunch about halfway to the 1st camp.  Periodically along the trail there would be well-used sort of rest areas, with an outhouse and good spots to sit - rocks, logs etc.  We had boxed lunches with a variety of food:  chicken, peanuts, bread, fruit etc.  Too much to eat.  We were always giving extra food to the porters, guides and cook. 

 

Mick, Sharon, Jane at lunch. Outhouse behind them.

 

Sharon had a rough 1st day, probably out of balance with  electrolytes and it was humid.  She started taking some electrolyte tabs and I think that helped a little.  She is tough, though, and a strong hiker.  Once we reached Machame Camp, we signed in with the ranger and then set ourselves up in camp.

 

Roger signing in at Machame Camp

 

 The porters would have our tents set up each day.  They also set up a mess tent for us with a table and camp stools, as well as the infamous toilet tent – the toilet consisted of a bucket and a toilet seat sitting over it.  Actually worked well.  The other option is using the outhouses which are basically holes in the ground, I recommend training with a lot of squats and wall sits for using these on a regular basis!  Men have the true advantage here!!!

 

Once we arrive in camp each day, our assistant cook, Stanley, delivers a bowl of warm washing water to each tent.  I usually let Jane have it as I brought wet wipes with me which at least remove enough dirt to feel a little bit human!  Jane and I get organized in our tent; the tents are reasonably sized dome tents with room for us and our gear.  Then it’s tea time, with hot drinks and snacks like peanuts, popcorn or biscuits (crackers or cookies).  After tea, there’s time to rest and relax before dinner.  Just before this 1st dinner, Dismas introduced us to all the porters, the cook, assistant cook and assistant guides.  We have 18 people supporting our group of 6.  Kind of embarrassing, really.  I had told Dismas about my Dream Big wrist bands and that I wanted to give one to each of our porters and guides.  So he tried to explain to them what they were, Kota Kubwa is a literal translation and not the way “Dream Big” would be said in Swahili, so I think it was difficult for him to explain.  We had a discussion as to the verb or noun usage of “dream”.  Passed out the bands and the reaction varied from those who put them on right away to those who pocketed them.  A lot of smiles and asante’s.

 

Our 1st camp dinner was good - soup followed by a large platter of meat, rice, and veggies, hot drinks and mango for dessert.  Haven’t had any problems yet with the fruits or vegetables that I’ve eaten but I’m still being careful.  It gets completely dark before 7:30, we’re only about 400 miles below the equator so the days/nights are close to the same length.  It’s past dark by the time we finish dinner and we’re such awesome party animals (kidding!) that we all head to our tents. In the sleeping bag by 8:30.  Slept until about 1 AM and then woke up about every hour.  “Stepped outside” for 2 bathroom breaks during the night.  The sky was awesome with the moon just off of full and stars galore.  I just tilted my head back and stared.  Cool…

 

Beautiful end of day sky, Machame Camp

 

 

 

Continue: Kilimanjaro Climb Day 2

 

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