Driving to Arusha

After Amboseli, we drove to Anusha in Tanzania. A quick lesson on how to say Tanzania. Most people say it like Tan-Zu-Knee-yah. It is Tan-zAnia. With an A sound like in the word and. On our drive to Arusha, we saw many Maasai villages and drove through a lake! The lake was dry, but as we were driving, it looked like there was water. It was a mirage. The weirdest thing was that while we were going, it looked like there was water behind us! The drive to Tanzania was long and hot, and when we finally reached the border, Masai ladies were trying to sell us things, and they were very pushy. We had to go into the customs building and fill out some forms. The drive from the customs office to our hotel was also long. We were staying at Mt. Meru Hotel. The hotel was pretty good, the rooms were excellent, and the food was delicious. The one food item I always ordered was the chicken wings, which were marinated in honey sauce and came with fries. These made the hotel experience unique. The hotel also had a backyard with green grass to play on. That part was perfect.

Preping for Kilimanjaro

Packing for Kili was long and hard. we had to make sure that we packed everything because if we did not have warm clothes, we could not summit, and if we did not have proper gear, we could not climb. On our first day at the hotel, we met our guide Thomas. he was a kind-looking man who also looked like he knew how to climb a mountain. Our guide Thomas did a gear check to see if we needed any gear, and we did. I needed a coat, ski pants, socks, a bag, and other things.

Second waiting day

On our second day at the hotel, I and Emmy and I stayed at the hotel and worked on blogging while mom, dad, Bardez, and Zeb went shopping for gear. Packing was not too hard, and it was over pretty fast. We also had to pack the things we were not taking on kili into our standard bags, which would stay at the hotel.

Leaving for the mountain

The following day we did not have to wake up too early, but we did not get to sleep in extensively. We were leaving for Kilimanjaro (also known as Kili). We had breakfast in the hotel, and when it was time to go, we discovered that we had 22 porters! Porters are people who carry almost all your stuff up the mountain on their heads.

Branches on the Bus

We had to take a bus with all our things, porters, and guides to get to the mountain. We had Thomas, the head guide, Razack, the assistant guide, and Barnabus, the other assistant Guide. There was also a chef that supposedly knew how to make Gluten Free but did not know how to make it delicious. Before starting the bus ride, we took a group photo with everyone. The bus ride was super long but pretty fun! About an hour later, we stopped and got ice cream bars and snacks, aka lunch. We played a lot of card games too. Near the end of the ride, Moses and Barnabus made up a new card game called Branches. It’s too complicated to explain, but maybe someday it will be played by thousands of people.

When we got to where we would start hiking, we had to wait several hours for all of our porters to get their loads weighed and for us to get permits to climb. While we were waiting, we also ate lunch on the grass. Lunch was pretty good, we got chicken fries and a juice box.

Hicking

The first five minutes of Hiking were not too hard, and we soon reached the Lemosho gate. After Lemosho, Hiking got into a steady rhythm. Steep uphill gradually or steep downhill. Flat steep uphill, more uphill, repeat. Bardez, who did not have a pack, soon went ahead, Emmy got ahead, then Zeb. Soon it was me, my dad, my mom, and some of the Guides. Porters were regularly passing us and moving swiftly ahead to get to the first camp before us.

I am finally, Getting to camp.

We got to camp at dark, and I quickly went into my tent to do Washy Washy. You take a shower using wipes. Dinner was pretty good, but I was tired and wanted to get to bed. We had to do a medical check before going to bed, and I did that and then went to bed. Sleeping was fine, I woke up not once, and I slept in, aka I did not wake up before sunrise.

On the second day of Hiking

Our second day was the snapping point. We hiked for maybe one and a half or two hours then we came into our next climate zone. Kilimanjaro had five climate zones, I can’t name all, but the second one we were in was harsh. It was hot for a while, and there were so many hills. There was the elephant’s back. We thought the company would provide lunch on the hike, but they did not, so we went for five hours on some bars and sugar juice. It took us a very long time to get to camp, but we did in the end. The camp was super dusted so that everything would be dusted. Even though I would get dirty again, I still did Washy Washy. Washy is the act of trying and failing to penetrate the thick layer of dust and dirt on your skin that you accumulate from the trail. After washy washy, I still had a roaring headache from no lunch on the track. To clarify, we did get lunch, but it was around 3:30 that we got it. I took a nap in our tent because of my headache, and when I woke felt terrible. I did not want to go to dinner, but dad urged me to. There was soup at dinner, but I did not want to eat it. I sat at the table for some time and eventually ate one bite. The soup was the only delicious thing we ate on Kili. After about ten spoonfuls, I felt better and started eating more. After I had food and much-needed water, you felt much better, but I was still super grumpy. While eating, I found out that Mom was in her tent feeling terrible,

The last day

The following day mom told me we might go down because we were all still feeling pretty bad. We did a family meeting, and I struggled to get to the meeting spot. We decided to get “rescued,” which means you get packed like sardines into a tiny vehicle with eight other people. The hike to the pick up point was not too challenging though I was fatigued the whole way. We had to wait a long while for the vehicle to get there.

Walking is Better Than Driving

When the vehicle arrived, two rangers were helping someone into the shotgun seat. We were yelled at to come over, and when we looked inside, there were already eight people in the size person vehicle! We were shoved in, and when we found out Thomas, our guide, was coming, we were beginning to think about ditching the car. The car was going about 60 Mph on a gravel road with tight turns and steep inclines. The drive was probably 15 or 20 min, but it was terrible. There was a massive lack of deodorant; the whole car reeked of Body Odor and a complete lack of Oxygen.

I tried to open a window, but the rangers said I had to close it because of the dust. There was no dust. Eventually, I got to open some of the windows a tiny bit, and it freed us up a bit. I was thinking on the way down; I bet 90% of rescued people’s ailments are from this car ride. We eventually reached the destination of the ranger station and got to exit the vehicle! I was so glad. At the ranger station, we had to wait for our next car, and I was okay with that because we got to meet some people who were going to start their climb that day. They were super friendly, and we enjoyed talking to them!

Having to come down was not a failure but a learning opportunity to see that we needed more training and better acclimatizing to complete the climb and summit. I don’t think I would strive to submit again. I would be so proud of Bardez if he summited, and I believe someday he will! he was the best climber out of all of us and was the fastest! I think he would do super well on the mountain. I enjoyed the first day and would do it again but not the second. For those who are serious about mountain climbing, go for it! If you want to do something exotic, raft the grand canyon. It is much better.