Hiking Kilimanjaro Day 5: Summit Day! (part 2)

Adventure is a path. Real adventure – self-determined, self-motivated, often risky – forces you to have firsthand encounters with the world. The world the way it is, not the way you imagine it. Your body will collide with the earth and you will bear witness. In this way you will be compelled to grapple with the limitless kindness and bottomless cruelty of humankind – and perhaps realize that you yourself are capable of both. This will change you. Nothing will ever again be black-and-white.” ~Mark Jenkins

Our goal was to try and make it to the summit by sunrise. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen. The path to the summit was crowded with people trying to make it to the top and because it’s narrow you can only hike as fast as the person in front of you. People were definitely living the “pole pole” (“slowly, slowly”) Kilimanjaro phrase for this leg of the hike.

Along the way we encountered man people who were sick from the altitude. The severity of symptoms ranged from people with headaches to people with bloody noses to people curled over vomiting. Seeing people intensely sick from the altitude made me nervous and Arnold telling me it was incredibly common made me scared I would be next.

Two and a half hours from the summit was when the hike began to take its toll on me. The frigid cold made it difficult to keep moving continuously, even though that is the only way to stay even slightly warm. Every seven to ten minutes our group would stop for a quick break because we were exhausted. Less breathable oxygen in the air due to the extreme altitude was most certainly the cause of our exhaustion. 

When we stopped for breaks Arnold and Daniel would force us to drink water or hot chocolate that he brought in his pack. He would also take off our gloves and try to warm up our hands as well because they were practically numb. The last two hours of the hike Arnold gave me one of his jackets to wear because I was shivering uncontrollably. 

On top of feeling numb and freezing cold, my headlamp battery burned out. Arnold took my by the arm and guided me up the mountain because I couldn’t see for myself. I have never been more thankful for having Arnold as a guide. He was so dependable, caring, and determined to help us to the summit. Without him I don’t know if our group would have even made it this far.

By 5 o’clock in the morning I was consumed with the thought of the sun rising. I could not think of anything else. To me, the sun rising meant warmth and that was all I wanted in that moment. 

The sun rose between 6:15 and 6:30 and I have never seen such a stunning sunrise. There is nothing so beautiful as witnessing a sunrise at 18,000 feet from the side of a mountain where the clouds can’t even block your view. Unfortunately even when the sun did rise, the temperature was still incredibly low. 

I was so out of breath by this point I started to question if I was going to make it to the summit. Every two steps I took, I would be gasping for air. My chest was tight. It was scary how downhill my physical condition had gone. 

Arnold and Daniel supported Aaron, Rakhi and I. They traded turns allowing me to grasp their arm to stabilize myself. More importantly they gave us words of encouragement and continually reminded us how close we were. 

As soon as we came over the crest of Gilman’s point, I found the nearest rock and laid down on it. Although I was happy to have made it this far, I was shivered uncontrollably and couldn’t feel my toes or fingers. Arnold and Rakhi worried for me, and kept adding layers of clothing on me. Rakhi went so far as to force feed me five or six bites of an energy bar even though the last thing I wanted to do was eat anything.

It was then that Arnold told our group I was on-set hypothermic and I shouldn’t go to the summit and needed to go down immediately. Uhuru peak was another 1000 feet which would take us 45 minutes, and he wasn’t sure I should attempt the trek.

Being told I wasn’t going to be able to go to the summit and get a picture with the Uhuru peak sign was all the motivation I needed to get up and finish the hike.

Hiking Kilimanjaro Day 5: Summit Day!

We live in a wonderful world that is full of beauty, charm and adventure. There is no end to the adventures we can have if only we seek them with our eyes open. ~Jawaharial Nehru

Waking up at 11:30 PM was a complete whirlwind. Exhaustion and anxiety had crept in and decided to permanently reside with me.

I was so thankful for Rakhi because she did such a wonderful job of encouraging me by reminding me we had worked hard for this moment. Having another girl of this trip turned out to be one of the best things that could have happened. Not only was I checking something awesome off my bucket list, I made a new friend for life in the process.

Before leaving camp, we nibbled on a Cadbury chocolate bar that Arnold had given us which in retrospect was not even close to enough food for summit night. But the chocolate was a treat and at the time I didn’t have much of an appetite because of my nerves and the altitude.

Arnold and our porters warned us that the higher up the mountain we progressed, the more our appetites would decline. Their best advice was to force feed ourselves even if we didn’t feel hungry. Our goal was to drink at least three liters of water on the summit hike. After some fast conversion math, I found that three liters of water is almost 13 cups. And we were supposed to drink this in an eight to ten hour time frame. I felt like a camel taking in enough water to last me across the Sahara desert.

For the summit hike I bundled up in layers upon layers of clothing. I wore a spandex, moisture-wicking workout tank, a long sleeve base layer, my red University of South Carolina t-shirt, a fleece jacket, a windbreaker, and gloves on top. On bottom I wore long underwear, hiking pants, and two pairs of socks beneath my boots. I also wore a fuzzy turtle fur over my ears and my USC baseball cap. I am sure that I looked identical to Ralphie’s little brother Randy in my dad’s favorite movie “A Christmas Story” because all of my layers added 15 pounds to my figure.

Even though I was wearing many layers, stepping out of the tent into the frigid night air was like hopping into an ice cold shower. Miserable. I hate being cold and at home I am usually bundled up in a sweatshirt. I turn on my cars seat heaters in the summer for goodness sake. Arnold told us the temperature was in the mid-20s, however with the wind chill the temperature felt a lot colder.

At 12:15 we officially began our hike to the summit. It was pitch dark and looking up the mountain I could see a dotted line of tiny headlamps. I clicked my headlamp on and joined the line of lights leading to the summit.

Hiking Kilimanjaro Day 1

Traveling is a brutality. It forces you to trust strangers and to lose sight of all that familiar comfort of home and friends. You are constantly off balance. Nothing is yours except the essential things – air, sleep, dreams, the sea, the sky – all things tending towards the eternal or what we imagine of it. ~Cesare Pavese

Today has been absolutely crazy so far. I barely slept last night because I was so nervous and anxious about starting the hike today. It definitely hit me last night as I was trying to fall asleep that everyone in my study abroad group had really left and I was actually staying to hike Kilimanjaro. I felt like the kid playing baseball in the outfield too distracted by picking flowers in the grass to notice the ball falling from the sky conveniently right on their head. 

Though Andrew and Robert had left, I was fortunate to have one guy, Aaron, from my study abroad trip staying. Because he’s a graduate student in the distance education program who lives in Charleston, I had never met him before meeting in Tanzania for the study abroad trip and I didn’t know him that well at all. Knowing I had at least an acquaintance slightly took the edge off but I still slept restlessly.

I woke up bright and early at 7:30 and re-packed my belongings and took a nice, hot shower. It was slightly unnerving to think that I wouldn’t have the luxury of a shower for the next six days. It was even more unnerving anticipating how bad I would smell.

After finishing packing, Aaron and I met for breakfast. Along with some eggs, toast, and juice, we also took our first Diamox tablet to help with the symptoms of altitude sickness. Shortly after we finished, our driver from SafariMakers, Ltd. came to pick us up from the hotel.

The day before beginning our hike, we went to pay SafariMakers for the cost of the hike. While in the office, Aaron and I were asked if we minded a third person hiking in our group. As it would lower our cost, we agreed despite not knowing the other person at all. 

After the driver picked us up, we went to pick up this mystery third person. The dork in me hoped it was someone famous because wouldn’t that be cool to say you hiked Kilimanjaro alongside Jessica Biel or Emile Hirsche (who hiked several months after I did). 

Although not famous, the final person of our trio Rakhi was pretty fabulous. She’s a British girl in her late 20’s who lives in West London-so posh! She has a lovely accent and a great sense of humor which I can tell immediately. After meeting her I was sure we would get on quite nicely.

In the hour and a half it took to drive from Arusha to the Machame base, Aaron, Rakhi and I chatted about our lives and how nervous and excited we were. We stopped at a little convenience store on the way and I purchased a Coca-Cola (I’m addicted) and a bottle of celebratory champagne to drink at the summit.

After arriving at the Machame base gate, which is roughly 6,230 feet in elevation, we registered with the national park service. In addition to myself, Aaron, and Rakhi in our group, we have a crew of nine porters, one cook, one assistant guide named Daniel who is extremely quiet, and a lead guide named Arnold.

Arnold is Kenyan by birth but grew up in the village in the foothills of Kilimanjaro. Although he’s only 29 years of age, he has summited Kilimanjaro about 40 times in the past three years. His first trip to the summit was with his father, who was also a guide, when he was a mere 15 years old. Interestingly, he’s also college educated and has a degree in civil engineering. He has a warm smile and I could tell we were going to become friends.

After what felt like an eternity of waiting because I was so anxious, we began hiking at 12:30. To find out how long the hike took us on day one, read tomorrow’s post!

Aaron, Rakhi and me at the Machame gate

Aaron went to Clemson for undergrad and as I am a Gamecock it was only natural that we would fight all the way up Kili about which school is the best. GO GAMECOCKS!!

A Pill a Day Keeps Altitude Sickness Away

Medicine heals doubts as well as diseases.  ~Karl Marx

I thought that after I got my general Tanzania vaccinations I would be good to go for hiking Kilimanjaro. Wrong! There were still a few things I needed to do to prepare myself medically.

Attitude sickness can be a hiker’s worst nightmare. Altitude sickness is a major contributor to preventing 50% of hikers from reaching Gilman’s Point (18,600 feet) which is less than an hour from the summit. It’s also a reason why only roughly 40% of hikers make it to Uhuru Peak (19,334 feet). Because altitude sickness can prevent you from reaching your ultimate goal of the summit it needs to be taken seriously and prepared for.

Symptoms of AMS (acute mountain sickness) include headache, nausea, dizziness, fatigue, shortness of breath, loss of appetite, disturbed sleep, and general discomfort. Altitude sickness especially affects those who are pregnant, have cardiac or lung disease, or ocular or neurological conditions. Be extra careful if you qualify for one of these characteristics! Learn more about causes, symptoms, and treatments at U.S. National Library of Medicine's page on AMS.

Looking for a recommendation on a type of medication to lessen the symptoms of AMS? I wouldn’t be caught on Mount Kilimanjaro without Diamox (pharmacological name: Acetazolamide). Diamox is a diuretic, sulfa drug that accelerates acclimatization. While most people don’t start to experience symptoms of altitude sickness until they reach 10,000 feet, I took my doctor’s recommendation and started taking Diamox the first day of the hike so I could get it into my system and let my body could adjust to it.

To learn more about Diamox, visit U.S. National Library of Medicine and WebMD.

If you want to stay safe, one other medical necessity is ensuring that you’re drinking clean water. Because the water you drink on Kilimanjaro is mainly collected for the freshwater sources on the mountain, it’s absolutely necessary to purify the water. Hand powered purification pumps are on the expensive side, so I opted to use Katadyn Micropur Purification Tablets which I purchased at REI. These tablets will destroy bacteria, viruses, as well as other impurities. 

Do you cringe when you accidentally swallow pool water? Because chlorine is the active ingredient in the purification tablets, the taste of the water is less than desirable. One of the best tricks I can offer you to covering up the chlorine taste is by adding Crystal Lite On-the-Go packets to give the water a delicious flavor. Fruit punch and lemonade were my flavors of choice, but Cranberry Apple and Strawberry Orange Banana sound tasty as well!

Want to know if I experienced symptoms of altitude sickness on my Kilimanjaro adventure? Read future posts to find out!

Diamox Tablets to treat symptoms of altitude sickness

Yummy Crystal Life On-the-Go Packets

My favorite water bottle that I carried all the way up Kili! It's cute & eco-friendly!