Kilimanjaro, Day 3: July 12, 2011

Today was the day to start our climb and how excited I was to start the adventure! We once again had an early wakeup call. The morning consisted of the final packing of our gear in the boundary bags followed by breakfast, packing the jeeps, and heading out. On our way out of Arusha we stopped to exchange money. The day before we had all given our "tips" for the Tanzanian guides and staff to Eric and Ben and now the money needed to be converted. I went in with Eric to exchange the money and walked out holding 1 million shillings (I think was the count). To walk out with that much cash in hand into the streets of Arusha was a bit of a risk. Eric told me to hold the cash close and head straight to the jeep. As I hopped into the vehicle before any of the street peddlers could ask me to buy something I laughed as I told the group in the jeep "I've never held 1 million.... shillings before!" This was how the morning started.

The drive out of Arusha was an adventure. Although the city appears very poor and extremely over populated, the architecture of some of the old and new buildings was incredible. The smell of exhaust and fumes from so many vehicles was overwhelming and I craved what I could only imagine was fresh mountain air. The roadways there are also quite dangerous.. Sometimes what felt like one lane for 2 cars. I think we had 4 jeeps for all of us and unfortunately one of them had a new driver who got lost. Once we were out of the city, the lost jeep was realized and so a stop was made. This was our first encounter with ... squatting to go to the bathroom. I realize some may not want to know about this, but as a woman the first time doing this in Africa was a bit hilarious. I grew up on a farm so this notion was not new to me, but to some it was a bit daunting. I have a picture of 3 of us women standing in the bathroom stall pointing down to a hole in the floor.. Yes, this was where we were supposed to aim and lets just say it went better for some of us than others! As we made our bathroom stop and extended the time for which we were there due to waiting for the lost jeep, we all continued to get to know each other. This group was fascinating and hilarious. Some were intense and serious, some of us more reserved and taking it all in. The experience just got better and better.

The last jeep finally arrived and we were off again. I don't remember how long the drive to Machame Gate was. I'm thinking about 2 hours and as we got closer to the volcano, what initially was dirt and dust became green and lush. We were never able to get a clear view of Kili driving up because of the clouds, but the beauty of the drive was amazing. As we arrived at Machame Gate, we unloaded our gear, signed in to the park, and received our first pack lunches from the Tanzanian staff. The excitement and nervousness were high. We took photos at the gate, had our debriefing with the American and Tanzanian guides and were off.

I have to admit I thought the first part of the day was easy. It reminded me of hiking the bluffs near La Crosse. Everything was green and lush. Our path was wide and in the initial silence of the climb all one could hear was the consistent sound of step after step of 30 people there on a mission.. To summit Kilimanjaro and achieve a goal that was different for each of us. What I would learn as the trip continued on was my lessons were far greater than I ever could have imagined.

During the hike that day I was with many people. Patti, my climbing partner. Sarah from the East Coast, Steph from the West Coast, Eric our Guide, Jean and April. I remember enjoying talking to everyone so much. All of their stories were interesting and different. For the first time I felt like I could talk about my story, my diagnosis without fear of judgement or pity. I could just be myself and ask so many of the questions I had been longing for answers to. I wanted to know what those with MS were doing for treatment, diet, exercise, etc and I wanted to know from everyone who was my age to the oldest who had MS. This was the group I had been praying for.. A group of active individuals who were living their life but had been through the same struggles I had been through or was going through at the time. Their willingness to share their stories started a shift in me that I still feel to this day.

After about 3 hours into the climb, we came around a corner where tables had been set up by the Tanzanian staff. Around the table were what looked like armed camping chairs, lovely table cloths, pink fake flowers in vases and the best part of all.. Food and drink! We were all in shock. The climb would be difficult, but what a blessing and gift to have this type of pampering on the trip. The food we had was good (mostly homemade by the staff), but with some Nutella and Pringles. I don't usually eat these items at home, but on a mountain in Africa they were definitely tasty!

After lunch we packed up and headed to camp for the night. As we were hiking we would take rest stops for food, water, etc. This day was the most interesting because again, we had to get used to going to the bathroom off the beaten path. We all had to carry a bag with toilet paper, hand sanitizer and an extra bag for the dirty toilet paper. Many try to maintain the beauty of the mountain by not leaving any litter behind. But unfortunately there are those who do not do this and leave toilet paper everywhere. I was glad we were not contributing to so much littering.

Because we had a late start, we climbed for a while in the dark. This was the first time using my headlamp. I was able to watch the sun set between the trees and behind the mountains. It was a beautiful sunset which I am glad I have a picture of. By this point the path had definitely narrowed and become steeper. There were a lot of steps to go up (a rocky path) but everything was still green and lush. By the time I reached camp it was time to change cloths and head to the tent to eat.

Every night when we arrived at camp, our tents would be set up for us (by the Tanzanian staff) and they would bring us a plastic basin filled with warm water. This water we would use to bath in (wash our feet, etc) and to get cleaned up before dinner. There really was not much dust on the hike the first day so it wasn't too bad to clean up. We all had our loungewear/camp clothes to wear so we could get out of the hiking clothes we wore for the day. So after cleaning up we would head to the dining tent where there was clean water for washing our hands and hot water that had been sanitized so we could drink tea or coffee. Once in the tent, the set up was the same as what we had for lunch. I don't remember what we had for dinner that night, but I know it was good. Usually our meals consisted of soup (which was amazing), pasta, and a protein of some sort. Following dinner we would then refill our water bottles for the next day, sanitize them, repack our day packs (which Ben and Eric would tell us what to pack for the following day at dinner that evening), and go to bed.

I remember that first night on the mountain looking up at the stars and knowing that the summit was somewhere to be seen. Since I arrived in camp after dark I was excited for the morning to see it.. "I know it is here and will be an incredible view in the morning" I told someone who agreed. We could not wait to see it at sunrise.