Trekking Up Mount Kilimanjaro

Trekking Up Mount Kilimanjaro

by Dale Gumm

Publication Date: September 1999

Mt. Kilimanjaro is located in Tanzania, near the Kenya border. The majestic mountain extends for a hundred miles southeast of Nairobi. It is a dormant volcano with two snow-capped peaks. The older, jagged, smaller Mawenzi rises to nearly 17,000 feet. Kibo, rises to 19,340 feet and is the highest point in Africa.

The crater rim of Kibo is one and a half miles in diameter and drops 1,000 feet to the edge of the icy caldera which rises inside. It is about five miles in circumference and has some permanent glaciers. Although the mountain lies only three degrees south of the equator, Kibo's Crater is always covered with ice.

Last January, Louisvillian's Pat Stallard and Tom Weaver traveled to the Dark Continent of Africa for the adventure of a lifetime - a trek up the spectacular Mt. Kilimanjaro. Stallard is a 54-year young environmental attorney for Stites & Harbison. He is an adventurer and explorer having traveled to every continent except Australia. His philosophy is simple, "It's important to work hard at your job, but you should also spend as much energy in your recreational activities." He is active in many extreme sports and recreational activities including kayaking, mountain climbing, spelunking, and hiking. Stallard is also an expert skydiver with more than 5,000 parachute jumps.

Weaver is more like an Indiana Jones, and has become a world traveler. Filled with wanderlust, he loves seeking new experiences and meeting new people. He is also an experienced skydiver with nearly 1,000 jumps. The 40 year old Weaver is also a member of the Aerial Allstars Skydiving Team and has performed in Thunder Over Louisville for the last nine years.

The pair set off on their adventure with a 16 hour flight from the US to Paris, and then finally to Nairobi. Weaver really enjoyed flying over the Libyan Desert where you could see nothing but sand for miles and miles. He compared it to flying over the ocean.

After a night in Nairobi, they took a three hour bus ride to Arusha in Tanzania. They had dinner in the Crystal Club, a restaurant and discotheque. Here patrons were greeted at the tables by smiling waiters with a pitcher of water, a bowl, and a bar of soap so you could wash your hands. There were no towels to dry your hands and no silverware on the table. Weaver took it all in stride and said, "When in Rome, do as the Romans do." They ate delicious and generous servings of chicken and rice with their hands and fingers. The waiter came back at the end of the meal so they could wash up before they left.

Arusha hotel rooms were very inexpensive. You could get a nice hotel room for twenty dollars. Weaver's snoring, which would become legendary by the end of the trip, was so loud and obnoxious, that Stallard opted for a separate room that night. "None of the taxicabs had meters," said Weaver, "and you could negotiate the price for most any product or service, especially if you had American money. The Tanzanians loved US dollars so much, that other foreign tourists also used American money."

The next morning the pair went to Moshi, the chief trading center, located near the southern foot of Mt. Kilimanjaro. They signed on with a tour company called Zara and paid a fee of $750.00 for guides to take them up Kilimanjaro. They met three Germans; Bernt, Willie, and Egon who would be their teammates on the trek.

The trekkers headed to Kilimanjaro National Park to venture up the Marangu Route to the summit. The Marangu Route is the most popular and widely used trail to travel up Kilimanjaro. The national park is at 6,400 feet above sea level. Upon arrival, they signed liability waivers and got their gear together. Many travelers rented their gear at the park.

The Zara group would be led by chief guide: Charlie; the porters; Emmanuel and Milton; and the cook, Oueeche. The cook actually carried large basket of food on his head. The guides and porters carried the heavy backpacks. Weaver and Stallard carried daypacks that were still heavy with water, food, cameras, socks, and other personal items.

The adventurers set off around noon on a trail through a rain forest. Weaver said it was so wild to see the Colubus monkeys in the trees, and listen to all the exotic birds. He remarked how the Eucalyptus and African Rosewood trees towered 150 feet overhead. It was difficult at times to walk over and around some of the huge, slippery roots. It was a three hour hike in steep forest terrain to 9,000 feet before they arrived at the first camp in Mandara. Bunk beds are provided in "A" frame huts at all the camps on the Marangu Route. If you trek up any of the other trails, only tents are provided. You could purchase soft drinks, beer, water, candy, etc. at all the camps. Of course, the prices were more expensive the higher you went on the mountain. Everything has to be packed up the mountain including firewood, water, supplies, etc. The cook prepared wonderful meals at every camp.

The next morning the group prepared for their hike to Horombo at 12,000 feet. This would be a six hour walk. Unfortunately, Weaver had developed horrible, painful blisters on his feet. The $200.00 hiking boots he had purchased were killing him. A guide from another trekking group stopped by and saw Weaver's blistered and bloody feet. The guide gave Weaver his own personal boots to try on and they fit. The guide exchanged boots with Weaver, waved goodbye, and said he would return his hiking boots at the end of the trip. Weaver was really touched by the guide's kindness and generosity.

One hour after leaving Mandara, they emerged from the rain forest onto an alpine meadow. As you gained altitude, the vegetation is quite beautiful with giant, colorful lobelia and senecios according to Weaver.

Two nights were spent at Horombo to help everyone acclimate to the thin air above 12,000 feet. Success was much greater when trekkers spent the extra night there. The guides would hike the group up the mountain about a thousand feet, and then walk them back down to camp. They repeated this routine a few times to help people adjust to the thin air.

The next stop was at Kibo, almost three miles above sea level, at 15,000 feet. From Horombo to Kibo the terrain is alpine desert filled with zebra rock and fields of yellow groundsel.

Altitude sickness was really beginning to affect the Germans. Weaver smiled and said he was smoking cigarettes while some of them were behind rocks heaving up their food. He really didn't train or exercise for the trek. Weaver's philosophy on training seemed to be No Pain, No Pain! However, it was a six hour trek up steep, rocky paths that Weaver said was a nightmare. The camp was a welcome sight after the long walk. After an early dinner, the trekkers who were attempting the summit were in bed by 7:00 PM.

They were awakened around midnight for the summit attempt. No one had slept much anyway - Weaver snored so loudly he peeled the paint off the walls, sucked his sleeping bag up his nose, and woke the dead according to the Germans.

The guides depart early so the trekkers can watch the sun rise over Mawenzi Peak from the top of Kibo. Also, the loose stone scree is frozen at night making it less difficult to climb. He said it was 10 degrees Fahrenheit and felt even colder when they started their ascent up the mountain. He said the Hot Hands, chemical hand warmers, really saved their hands and feet. One-by-one they headed up Mt. Kilimanjaro with headlamps illuminating the dark path.

The trail to the summit lies directly behind Kibo Hut, to the west. The first part is a very uneven trail that leads to numerous switchbacks most of the way to the top. After only two hours on the trail, the winds picked up and temperatures plummeted to 30 below zero with the wind chill factor. Their water froze and power bars became solid as a rock. Weaver said it was miserable. He fell down three times as his legs were becoming like noodles. His German friends and the guide picked him up and encouraged him to keep going. Weaver struggled on to about 17,000 feet and decided he had had enough. The Germans were feeling sick and even Stallard was beginning to feel the effects of the high altitude.

He was only two hours from the summit, but the debilitating cold and exhaustion had taken its toll. Weaver knew he had reached his own personal summit, and needed to save enough strength to get back down the mountain safely. He had heard the stories about the deaths that had recently occurred on the mountain. He knew he made the right decision to stop and was proud to have stood on ground higher than any point in the continental United States. Weaver had already experienced his favorite part of the trip. "Trekking on the mountain above the magic carpet of clouds that floated below me is something I will never forget. The mountain was so quiet and still. It was a great free feeling", he said.

According to Weaver, three experienced climbers were killed the week before. They had summitted in one day and then climbed down inside the 1,000 feet deep crater. All three died from oxygen deprivation. Two weeks before, two Japanese climbers fell to their death in the crater and a guide recently dropped dead from a heart attack at the summit. There have been numerous fatalities from adventure-seekers trying to get to the top of the mountain. The overall success rate is not staggering. Of all the people who attempt to trek up Mt. Kilimanjaro, about 40% make it to Gillman's Point. Only 15% actually reach the summit.

Weaver descended rapidly with one of the guides while the Germans and Stallard pressed on. Stallard, fatigued and feeling nauseous, reached Gillman's Point after a difficult climb up a very steep, loose scree slope. It is located on the rim of the crater at 18,655 feet, but still two hours away from the summit. He then continued up the rim past Stella Point and finally to Uhuru Peak, the highest point in Africa at 19,340 feet.

Stallard watched a magnificent sunrise and walked around the crater. He said it was the most incredible, awesome view in all of Africa. The crater provided a breathtaking view, but he only stayed at the top for twenty minutes. The winds were so strong he thought he was going to be blown off the rim of the crater.

"I was immensely glad I did it. It was one of the most difficult and challenging things I've ever done," said Stallard. He said his exercise and training really gave him the physical strength to get to the top. He had also hiked up Mt. Whitney, in California, the highest peak in the contiguous United States.

After returning to Kibo, there was a brief rest and then you began the two day descent back down the mountain. It is a 40 mile roundtrip adventure. When Weaver got back to the starting point, he was pleased to see the guide waiting there for him with his boots. Weaver really enjoyed the Tanzanian people because they were so friendly and compassionate. He said they have only had television in Tanzania for five years, and $1.65 is the average daily wage.

Stallard said, "The country and the people are captivating. East Africa really reaches out and pulls you in. It is a beautiful, exotic place." They also went on a safari in Serengeti National Park and Lake Manyara and saw thousands of wild animals. They loved Tanzania and both men vowed to return there.

Stallard and Weaver are both out of the country on new adventures. Stallard is in England, and Weaver called me from Norway. Weaver was at a 3,000 foot cliff where skydivers were base jumping; a true leap of faith. I am sure there will be new tales to tell about their latest journeys.