Delia had her own reasons for climbing Kili.....Two very important people in her life are her Uncle David and her Aunt Julie - from Cape Town, SA. Although Delia had only met her Uncle once, her family kept in touch with them at different times throughout the year via e-mail and telephone. Without my ability to explain David completely; and how he would deserve to be described, I will say this. David and Julie were a couple that people admired - they were in love and enjoyed their life journey together; wherever it took them....& in our world today - this is a pleasure to see. I can't remember exactly when, but David has been battling with cancer for the last decade. Through these years, both David and Julie fought as hard as they could to beat the cancer so they could continue on with their adventures together, but on April 8, 2009, Delia's Uncle lost his battle to cancer. During these years, as you can imagine, it was not easy - pain, suffering and feelings of helplessness. Unfortunately, this scenerio is all to familar with too many, but the quality that I wanted to share, the quality that is to be admired and the quality that got Delia up that mountain was that both Julie and David fought for each other. Julie wanting to do everything for David to make him painfree and nurse him back to health and David wanted to fight through his desire to want to give up, to give Julie more time with him as he knew this is what she wanted. I am not sure if the feeling is coming through in my words, but when Delia was going through her tough parts climbing the mountain, she remembered the hard fight that both her Uncle David and Aunt Julie did and everything that they had to go through - this made the tough parts climbing the mountain seem pretty damn easy! The strength of David and Julie is the strength that got Delia to the summit! She wanted to get to the top because she knew her Uncle David could not.
.........
Have you ever dreamed of seeing something or doing something or being somewhere for a really long time.....and then after a while you start to doubt yourself and start thinking, "...hmmm....yeah....there is no way that it can be that good..." well, without getting too melodramtic, climbing Mount Kilimanjaro WAS everything that I hoped for and a whole lot more - I saw things, experienced things and met people that I will remember for the rest of my life - the best memories ever!
The day started with the bus picking us up at the Springlands Hotel - our team and all other teams that were taking the Machame Route up Kili at 8 amish. For those that have not been exposed to African time - sayings like, "sharp...scheduled time....soon.....right away, etc.", don't really exist here and that was true from the very first time we stepped onto African soil. There is absolutely nothing wrong with this way of thinking - as long as you are prepared for it. So our 8am sharp departure time was more like 9:30am =) - Does it matter......???? We are on holidays - no complaints - just an observation!
We had our bags ready and weighed them to make sure that it was within the 15 kg limit - no worries there - Delia and I pack pretty light even if someone else would be carrying it up for us. We all piled into the bus and travelled to the Machame (Pronounced, "Ma Chaw Me") Route Gate that took about 45 min. The drive there, again exposed us to more poverty. As an aside - there is poverty in every country - right outside our door in Toronto really, but it is just that it is so prevalent in Tanzania and to such extremes. We made a quick pit stop to pick up some people along the way that would be our porters for the climb up the mountain. You see, the way it works, is that Zara; our tour company, hires the guide - from here the guide will choose there climbing team (Assistant Guide, Cooks & Porters). The guide will also, design the menu and with the budget that Zara gives them - will buy the supplies and pay the staff. So, on the way to the gate - whoever can fit in our bus, we took. Whoever could not fit, made there way there on their own. I did not know this until later on during our climb when I asked. It is a good wage for the local people to be apart of the climb so they will do what it takes to get on a team. Before the internet was so prevalent and good, it was always advised to book the climb once you arrived in Tanzania as this would ensure that the local people actually helping us out with the climb got paid a fair wage as opposed to filling the "middle man's" pocket. But now with the great communication that we have, there are ways to ensure that the company is paying their employees fairly. Delia did alot of research for this reason specifically prior to choosing the company that we went with. Although they make their share, Zara does ensure that they have employees that are local as well as they support local charities - including being involved with educational programs for women and children. With the pit stop, a couple of us decided to go to the washroom - ahhhhh.....my first experience of toilets in Tanzania - good thing I have good knees & use to squatting in the bush *grin*! That's right...feet apart and squat baby - it is a hole in the floor. It really is not that bad - again, it is all getting use to it that's all!
We conintued on to the gate - lots of children in the Machame village hanging out on the streets - they were curious, but seemed a bit bored......hmmmm....not that unlike some kids on summer break in Canada - hee hee hee! Delia and I bought two world cup soccer balls in Johanesburg to give to the kids in Tanzania, and this seemed like the perfect place to give them, but we didn't know that and we didn't have them with us - we will find a way! ....Finally...., we reached the Machame Gate. WOW!!! I was not expecting such the crowds - there were local people trying to sell things on the outside of the gate and tons and tons of people on the other side of the gate - hikers like us, porters, guides, parks people - I was shocked how touristy it was. I say touristy, but it was not commercialized....meaning.....there were lots of people, but there was not a McD's or Coffee Shop or Souvenier Shop, etc. and they had the squat toilets.....I was relieved about that - I wanted to experience Tanzania - not N.A. We were dropped off from the bus and we had to get our stuff out and make sure that it went with the right porters - that would not be good if our stuff went with another team - after that, it was a waiting game. The government always have to get there hands in things - so although it is good that Kilimanjaro is protected - the governement need their money! Our guides registered us and paid the park fees. It was about an hour later and we were making our way up - Benjamin stayed down to complete a bit more paper work as well as organize his team - the 5 of us plus a couple from Vancouver (Ilya and Wes - great couple - ALOT of fun - they were scheduled for a 7 day climb as well, but had delays at the airport so they hooked up with us until Day 4 and they made their 7 day ascend to a 6 day - doable, but it is much harder due to the altitude thing) and our Assistant Guide; Athman, started to climb.
There are obviously several ways up the mountain (Marangu, "Coca Cola Route", Machame "Whisky Route", Shira Plateau & Lemosho, Rongai & Umbre Route - the Mweka Route is only used for the decent and for supplies). You can also do the climb in any amount of time that you want - within the regulation of the government....they need their share are the longer you spend in the National Park the more money they make....so 5 days is more or less the minimum. In saying that, due to the allure to the climb & based on the history of hte climb being perceived as easier - attempts at many records have been made. One fellow; Bruno Brunod of Italy did the Marangu Route in 5 hrs, 36 mins and 38 seconds - a trek that usually takes 5 days. Unfortunately this set a bad example and has led several summit failures - as I learned early on, climbing is not all about fitness, but rather the conditions (cold) and the altitude. Many failures are due to the fact that people rush up the mountain....pole, pole (Swahili for "slowly, slowly"). The say that the last person to camp has the best chance to be successful to summit - speed is not the trick - patience is the key!!!!!
......Okay, finally the good stuff - or at least I think it is.......Machame Gate is 1828m - on Day 1 we were hiking through rainforest and we aiming to reach the Machame Camp (hut), which is at 3100m. It was a gradual climb up, but took us about 5 1/2 hours to reach camp. The hike was great, we laughed, we joked and we got to know each other - we were such a great group, and this only became more apparent to me as the climb went on. About 1 hour into our hike it started to threaten to rain...it is a rainforest remember - we were counting on it. So we stopped for a quick break and we got our raingear out just in case....and this is when it happened.....Delia realized that she forgot her gortex jacket at the gate - yikes!!! Unfortunately, it meant more then losing a jacket. With the weather conditions that we were going to endure - wind, rain & temperatures below -15 degrees C - the jacket was the only way to continue. At the gate we moved around......going to the washroom, organizing our bags and eating a snack or two, while we were waiting to start our climb, when all of a sudden we were given the signal that we were going - "...let's go......" So we grabbed our stuff and headed out. With the confusion of packing and unpacking our things - the jacket got left behind and no one noticed. Those of you that know us - this is something that I do often, but is very unusual for Delia, but alas, it happens to us all at times, despite what we are like. So, at the point when Delia realized she forgot her jacket - rightfully so, she got flustered and paniced. Keeping the story short - Athman convinced Delia to keep climbing with the group and he would go back down to see if he could find it. So she did and our group did a good job at keeping her mind off the jacket and fortunately, when it did rain - it was warm so Delia survived. As we climbed, Delia did ask other hikers along the way, but with no success. Just with the sheer volume of people - the likelihood of getting the jacket back was not good - still we kept faith. Faith in, if not getting the jacket back, at least that with all the hikers and guides, that we could improvise - Delia could not continue unless she had other provisions - hyperthermia would be for sure! With no guide or asssistant guide - our team was left on our own - we stuck together and took it slow! About 1/2 hour after we reached camp - Benjamin; Guide and Athman; Assistant Guide, met us..........but, unfortunately, no jacket in hand....my heart sank. Benjamin was a good leader for many reasons, but in this instance - his patience was demonstrated. He remained calm and reassured Delia - he got us all to go to camp - set up our stuff in the tent and get ready for dinner - and this is exactly what we did. As I set up the stuff in our tent - Delia wondered around asking about her jacket. At the gate, Delia did recall the last couple we talked to - from Calgary, Alberta and thought she would start there. Delia walked back to the registration hut (all hikers are required to sign in at every hut for safety), to see if she could find them. There she saw Dennis & Pole; the couple from Calgary! Delia asked if they saw the jacket and Dennis said that he could do one better - he gave it to his guide to bring up with him - as Delia walked back to our camp with the jacket on - it was a happy day for us! I could not imagine climbing down without going to the summit, but it would be worse if I continued to climb up on my own and had Delia go down alone - would not happen and thank goodness it didn't have to be a choice to make! Yeah! A reason to have faith in the human race!
Although there was decent communication - alot of things were learned as we did them -trial and error kind of thing. As we climbed there were things that were pretty consistent and for the most part kept to a schedule. As I said before, all the hikers had to take was a day camp - carry a box lunch that was made for us, warm clothes, raingear, cameras and anything else that you would need for the hike that day. Everything else was taken by the porters - tents, sleeping mats, sleeping bags, our clothes, food and drink. And when I tell you the food that we eat, remember that the porters were at times shorter than me and certainly most often lighter than me and they would carry these things up the mountain and sometimes it was a vertical climb....it will make you think - it made me think and watch in awe as they bounded by me!!! When we reached camp - all the tent were set up - that includes our sleeping tents, kitchen tent and a privity tent (inside had a bucket and a toilet seat on top - we used this for emergencies only - there were pit toilets available at every camp, but still we did use it - for me it was at 2 am =( - burrrrr - and they had to empty it into the pit toilets......we were grateful). We would set up our tent inside and get ready for dinner - we would sit (that's right - sit - we had folding chairs and a table in the kitchen tent - it is very hard to comprehend even when I saw them carry it with my own two eyes) and wait for dinner. We had things like, potatos, beans, carrots, rice and cabbage. We always started with soup and finished with fruit (mangos & pineapple). One night we even had pepper steak and one time at lunch we had french fries. Delia and I hike and canoe - carrying all our stuff on our backs so when I saw the food that we ate and the privellages that we had - I was shocked!
Day 1 was not harder than I thought, but it certainly was as hard as I thought! I knew that it was going to be cold on the mountain, but I was not expecting it on the first night - but it was - we had all our woolies on for sure. We huddled in the kitchen tent after dinner and attempted to entertain ourselves to at least 8 pm before we went to bed (that's right - even earlier than our bedtime - ha!). Mike had cards and convinced us all to play a type of "no name/UNO game.....even Delia was game to play. Without explaining the rules in detail, I will say that it was a game that encouraged profantity and a game where switching aliances was the norm - so you can imagine it was a great game to bond with - ha! It became part of our routine at night - it was fun for sure! At Machame Hut the views were of Kibo peak to the east & south/west towards Mount Meru. The night was cool - below zero for sure - as I shattered my teeth - I adored the amazing view of the stars - I could touch them with my fingers I am sure, if I stretched my arms really far. As we hunkered down for the night, we thought of the day and prepared for day 2!!!!
Day 2..........This was from Machame Camp to the New Shira Camp at 3840m......hmmmmmm....I actually found this day harder even though they describe it in the books as easier. Right from camp it was straight up - walking up rocks that were at times almost sheer. On this day it made it even more impressive watching the porters balance the 25 kg on their bodies - and often on their heads. The morning routine was that we would be given tea and then a basin of hot water to wash up - right to our tent - incredible. From here we would pack our bags and get ready for breakfast. With everything out of our tents we would head to the kitchen tent for breakie (often pancakes (crepe type), eggs, hot dogs (like our sausages), bread, porriage and always tea or milo (sort of like hot chocolate - Mike's favourite - I am sure that he went through withdrawl - *grin*). By the time we were finished we took a few photos and we started out. The crew would pack up and head out after us. As we hiked, the porters would eventually pass us - when this would happen, we would see them approach and say to the others ahead...."Porter coming" and then we would stop, step aside and let them by. Even on Day 1, but certainly on Day 2, 3 things became very appearant one must do in order to be successful to summit the mountain - #1: Work as a team (know your strengths and weaknesses and don't be afraid to ask for help or give assistance when needed), #2: Be gracious & grateful and #3- Be respectful - of the mountain and of the people - As much as we were grateful for the porters making it possible to climb the mountain, we had to learn how to respect them as well. As opposed to being called "Porters", they preferred to be referred to as "Mgumu" - Swahili for "strongman". Once we learned this then we changed our warning and greating to...."Jambo Mgumu" - Hello Strongman! As we climbed away from Machame camp we also say Kibo peak & Mt Meru. We went slow (pole, pole) and saw some different flora: Giant Groundsels (squatty palm tree looking) - the vegetation got smaller and less as we climbed higher. After 5 1/2 hours we reached New Shira Hut. For me, reaching the summit is only 1/2 the joy - it is all about the journey - we had such a good team and had so much fun along the way. Climbing Kili is all about the eco-zone changes, the views and most important the bonding time with friends and ending the days effort with popcorn and tea (or Milo for Mike). New Shira Hut was stunning and the stars again, were incredible - just think of clear skies - no lights and on a mountain - I think you can get the idea! Every day just got better. Day 3 will have a hard act to follow!
