I’ve been hiking pretty much my entire life. It takes determination and mental as well as physical strength to go hiking for days. I love that sense of pride and achievement when you reach the final peak, your final goal. There’s just something so inspiring about standing at the top of a mountain.

I had the opportunity to hike Mt. Kilimanjaro, Africa’s highest peak at 5895m, and took it without hesitation. With statistics that state out of 15,000 people only 40% make it, this I felt was  a true challenge!

You might question how easy it really is to reach the peak, given the number of people who make it including celebrities like Chris Moyles and Cheryl Cole who did it for charity a while ago. The hike is not technically difficult and anyone who is reasonably fit can do it. The main concern is altitude sickness and forcing yourself to walk very slowly to avoid it, giving your body time to adjust. The swahili phrase ‘Pole, Pole‘ echoing from our guide still rings in my head. This means ‘slowly, slowly‘, and is definitely a message to be taken seriously.

I like this quote from Jon Garside of the British Mountaineering Council:

“You have got to walk so incredibly slowly; imagine an arthritic 90-year-old walking backwards – that’s probably too fast.”

There are a range of different routes to take up to the highest point, Uhuru peak. I took the Marangu route nick-named the ‘Coca-Cola route’. There were 9 of us in our group, accompanied by our guide and wonderful porters who set up our tents and prepared food for us each night (you can only climb Kilimanjaro with an organised tour operator on an established route).

The hike exposes you to the most stunning scenery, especially towards the end. One of the last nights was spent camping right above a thick, white blanket of clouds that just called for you to jump right on top of it.

The last night was rather nerve-wrecking, knowing our wake-up call in the middle of the night would be the start of our final hike to Africa’s highest point. We had all made it this far and to give up or fail at this point would be disappointing to say the least. At 3am, hands popped through my tent opening with an offering of tea and biscuits. Before I could gather my thoughts together never mind fully wake up, we were already wrapped up in as much clothing as we could possible fit on us without suffocating. The steep climb had begun.

No words were spoken during the next 6 hours of non-stop, snails-paced climbing in single file. Pretty much one hour in I realised I was utterly desperate to pee and I’m pretty sure this made my experience a lot more grueling than it needed to be. The 6 hour climb in the pitch black seemed like a life-time. Not to mention it was utterly freezing. A temperature of -35 degrees which I had never experienced before. Much to my frustration the water in the tube of my platypus backpack had completely frozen.

I couldn’t feel my toes and was honestly wondering if I they had unattached themselves and would simply fall out of my hiking boots when I eventually took them off. This was a bit scary.

My friend and I didn’t want to stop until we reached the summit. We were so determined and more to the point we feared if we stopped we would have instantly frozen to a halt on the spot.

It was sad that 2 girls in our group gave up at this point, as well as the leader of the tour company we were with. (awkward). Unfortunately they suffered too badly from altitude sickness.

Although exhausted I felt suspiciously fine, and questioned when the splitting headache would kick in, especially after passing splutters of blood magnified by the white snow on the path. Alas I was not invincible, the altitude all of a sudden crept up on me with full force.  I had to stop every few steps gasping for air. It was like the oxygen was being squeezed out of me with each step.

At this stage the sun was emerging from the clouds, glistening so beautifully on the snow. I could see the famous Uhuru peak wooden sign just ahead of me and my heart was racing with complete happiness and joy. My memory of the arduous hike instantly vanished. I made it.

The whole experience was amazing. Our remaining group of 6 all huddled in for a big hug and photo with flags waving. To my delight one of the guys popped a bottle of champagne he had been carrying with him. Possibly the best champagne-drinking moment ever.

It only took 4 hours to get down to the camp. We pretty much sprinted down compared to the speed we went up. By now it felt like any toes I had left certainly wouldn’t have any toe-nails attached.

We finished our trip with a safari in the Serengeti basin and a much appreciated beach-break in Zanzibar. Altogether the most incredible trip!

Have you ever hiked Kilimanjaro? What did you think of it?

Related articles

• Mt Kilimanjaro & Me…by Annette Freeman (benhyrons.wordpress.com)
• Vallejo woman conquers Mount Kilimanjaro (sykose.com)
• Ten Reasons to Climb Kilimanjaro (adventureblog.nationalgeographic.com)
• 7 days Mt Kilimanjaro climb,the highest peak in Africa and the highest free standing mountain in the world-from ony USD 1,460/- (geesafari.wordpress.com)
• Climb Kilimanjaro Guide (climbkilimanjaroguide.com)

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