Heather's Adventures in Lesotho

When you see the full moon next week this is what I’ll be looking at.

Starting tomorrow I’ll be offline completely while I climb Mount Kilimanjaro for 7 days. I haven’t been completely offline in … Hmm, I can’t think of a time in recent history that I’ve been completely offline. Since Peace Corps? Let’s just say that both my boss and I are kind of freaked out about it.

Climbing Kilimanjaro is on my 17 Before 2017 list, but this trip happened to fall into my lap when a new colleague (Bhavya) told me during her first week on the job that she was planning to do the climb with friends in June/July. I told her about my list and she invited me to come along. Now it’s actually happening. We’re going with one other friend from Maseru (Katie) and 3 friends of Bhavya’s. Thanks to the musical I haven’t done as much training as I hoped to, but deep down I feel confident that I’ll make it. Plus you can’t train to avoid my biggest fear – high altitude sickness – that everyone says that it effects people differently and no matter their fitness level. I’m hopeful that: 1) already living at an altitude of 1,500m, 2) I successfully (altitude-wise) hiked at about 2,500 – 3,000m for 12 hours earlier this year and 3) I’m just a generally slow hiker will give me some benefit.

We are timing our trip around the full moon – so keep an eye out for it next week and think of me on Kilimanjaro. I’ve copied our itinerary below for the Rongai route (follow the link for an image of the route map), but we’re taking an extra day before summit to get better acclimated to the altitude and improve our chances of making it to the top.

Day 1 (Monday)
After completing the necessary registration formalities at the Marangu Gate, we transfer by 4WD vehicles to Nale Moru (1,950 m.) to begin our climb on this unspoilt wilderness route. The first day is only a half-day walk on a small path that winds through farmland and pine plantations. It is a consistent but gentle climb through attractive forest that shelters a variety of wildlife. We reach our first overnight stop by late afternoon at the edge of the moorland zone (2,600 m.).

Day 2
The morning walk is a steady ascent up to the ‘Second Cave’ (3,450 m) with superb views of the Eastern icefields on the rim of Kibo, the youngest and highest of the three volcanoes that form the entire mountain. After lunch, we leave the main trail and strike out across the moorland on a smaller path towards the jagged peaks of Mawenzi, the second of Kilimanjaro’s volcanoes. Our campsite, which we reach in late afternoon, is in a sheltered valley near Kikelewa Caves (3,600m).

Day 3
A steep climb up grassy slopes is rewarded by superb panoramas of the Kenyan plains to the north. We leave vegetation behind close to Mawenzi Tarn (4,330m), spectacularly situated in a cirque beneath the towering cliffs of Mawenzi. The afternoon will be free to rest or to explore the surrounding area as an aid to acclimatisation.

Day 4 We leave our attractive campsite to cross the lunar desert of the ‘Saddle’ between Mawenzi and Kibo to reach Kibo campsite (4,700 m) at the bottom of the Kibo Crater wall by early afternoon. The remainder of the day is spent resting in preparation for the final ascent before a very early night!

Day 5
We will start the final, and by far the steepest and most demanding, part of the climb by torchlight at around midnight. We plod very slowly in darkness and cold on a switchback trail through loose volcanic scree to reach the Crater rim at Gillman’s Point (5,685 m). We will rest there for a short time to enjoy the spectacular sunrise over Mawenzi. Those who are still feeling strong can make the three hour round trip along the snow-covered rim to the true summit of Uhuru Peak (5,896 m), passing close to the spectacular glaciers and ice cliffs that still occupy most of the summit area. The descent to Kibo Hut (4,700 m) is surprisingly fast and, after some refreshments and rest, we continue descending to reach our final campsite at Horombo (3,720 m). This is an extremely long and hard day, with between 11 to 15 hours walking at high altitude.

Day 6
A sustained descent with wide views across the moorland takes us into the lovely forest around Mandara (2,700 m), the first stopping place on the Marangu route. The trail continues through semi-tropical vegetation to the National Park gate at Marangu (1,830 m). We leave the local staff to return to our local accommodations by mid-afternoon for a well-earned rest and a much needed shower and beer!