What a great start of the Climb we had today…and a great finish with a “candlelight
dinner” in our dining tent. Popcorn, zucchini
soup, tilapia, potatoes and vegetable stew at 9,020 feet at Mti Mkubwa (Big
Tree) Camp…we all think it would be more appropriately called Big Dust Camp
because it is thick.
The day started with a 6:30 wakeup call and a nice breakfast at the SG
Resort Hotel followed by a climb brief and then packed into our Land Cruiser at
8:30. I couldn’t find my headlamp in my
bag, so I ended up renting one for $25 – now that’s a Tanzania highway
robbery! But when we got to camp
tonight, I ended up finding it in the bottom of my bag.
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| The Hoosier Climb To End Poverty Team |
After taking off at 8:30, we drove about 60 minutes until we stopped at
the “last supermarket until Kili” supermarket to load up on bottled water and
wet wipes. Then it was on for another 90
minutes until we arrived at the Londoros Gate (7,380 feet) for check in – us and
about 120 other climbers and their porter teams.
One thing I have learned in my five years of travel to Africa is that “efficiency”
and “Africa” are two words that are rarely used together in a sentence. This was ever so apparent at the porter
weigh-in as each porter team weighed in.
Assisted by a power tyrant in a green uniform and a big stick, porters
pulled ugali out, put toilet paper in and adjusted their bags to meet the 50
pound weight limit. We were there for
about two hours and you could sense the mounting frustrations of all of us as
we stood around and watched this crazy process.
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| Weigh In At Londoros Gate |
When we finally pulled out at 2:30, we were all glad to be in the Land
Cruiser and on the move again. The
remaining drive took just one hour as we meandered along a dusty, dusty
road. At times the road was just a
narrow slot between a left and right bank several feet tall. At times we were precariously tilted as the
Land Cruiser negotiated deep ruts and loose soil.
We finally reached the “end of the road” and were glad to get out and
get hiking at last. With our daypacks
loaded, trekking poles set and feet restless with anticipation, it was so nice
to finally take our first step on our journey to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro. Our first day’s hike was just over 2 hours
and we gained about 1,000 feet during this short climb. Most of this time we spent in a rain forest
canopy with blue skies peeking through leaves of the old growth forest that
surrounded us.
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| First Leg of the Lemosho Route |
We saw a few monkeys during this leg, but probably what was most
memorable about this leg was the nicknaming of our first team member – “Pee Pee”
Shannon Jones. True to the warning
labels on the Diamox he had started taking the night before, our climbing buddy
was constantly stopping along the trail to relieve himself…and at each stop “Pee
Pee” would usually give us a play-by-play of how things went. Poor Annemieks eyes were opened of what it
was going to be like to be on this great adventure with four American men.
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| Arriving at "Big Tree" Camp |
As a first day, I don’t think we could have asked for it to go any
better. Everyone was feeling good, our
camp set up and evening was beautiful, and we really enjoyed getting to know
Alex and “Mieks” better. We presented
them with their own “Climb Kili toques” and Mieks was especially gracious in
accepting us and Shannon with all of his bodily noises. Sleeping would prove to be a challenge with
fifty to sixty tents set up in very close quarters – a symphony of snoring was
on tap as many weary climbers bedded down for the first night.
