On to Kilimanjaro
Now it was on to Kili. We left our camp at 8:30 in the morning and arrived at the end of the jeep ride at noon. It was then determined that the Range Rover couldn’t drive all the way to the trailhead because it was too muddy—so instead, we hiked in the mud.
Now, as I said, “I’m not a hiker,” and at the end of the first day, when I arrived with “my guide,” Sam, a couple of hours behind the other HIKERS, I truly wondered what I was doing on that mountain. I had never hiked in mud before—not surprising, as we live in the desert.
When Dave said, “Hard hiking today,” relief flooded through me. I thought it was just me!
Kilimajaro
The rules!
Thankfully, sleeping in caves had been abolished, or I’m certain my adventure-seeking husband would have figured out how to work that in.
The start of the hike—there were four of us hiking. We had three guides: Bonaventure, Mhina (Sam), and Boniface. Bonaventure called me “Mama Julianna” the entire trip. He tried calling me “Jean” the first day and then said, “I just cannot call a mother by her first name. What is the name of your oldest child?”
I answered, “Julianna.” He called me Mama Julianna for the remainder of the trip. In Tanzania, when a woman has her first child, she goes by “Mama” and the name of her firstborn. My sister-in-law joined us after the trip, and she was “Mama David.”
I still haven’t filled in my certificate for hiking Kilimanjaro—I’m not certain if I should use “Jean” or “Mama Julianna.”
So, three guides for four trekkers, and then the amazing porters—39 to carry our gear and food. The porters all carried about 40 pounds of gear and were ALWAYS in the lead. When we were about 20 minutes out of camp, our personal porters came to carry our backpacks. Each one of them said, “Good job,” and the knuckles of porter and trekker met. Sweet sounds after a day of hiking.
Hike to Forest Camp, altitude 9,000 ft. From the trailhead to the camp, the projected hiking time was three to four hours (actual: 5.25 hours, in part because they could not drive to the trailhead and we had to hike in). This part of the trail is in the rainforest, so the vegetation is lush, with lots of beautiful flowers. Sam, my personal guide, educated me about the plants, the history of Tanzania, and so much more during the first two days of hiking. In the rainforest we saw wild gladiolas, protea, and St. John’s wort growing.
Left: My shoes after Day 1 of the hike
Right: My hotel room for the remainder of the hike
Thankfully, the tent had a number on it so I could find it in the middle of the night—all the tents looked alike to me.