December 29, 2010

After another night of downpour, waking to warm sunshine and clear skies was a real treat.  The sunlight painted the terrain in surreal colors; the rocks seemed a bit more brilliant and the shadows deep and etched this morning.  The unobstructed view of Kibo Peak, Kilimanjaro’s highest point, was indescribably beautiful.  It seemed so close yet so unattainable.  I feel immensely fortunate to have had three straight days of climbing without rain whilst my wife hiked last year in almost nonstop rain.  It’s almost as if the stars aligned on this trek; maybe my prayers had been heard after all.  Then again, maybe it was simply wishful thinking and my luck was about to change.  One never knows what can happen in an unpredictable environment such as this where fate moves like the wind.

We climbed another 500 meters today to over 4,000 meters (about 12,000 feet).  The hike was easier than yesterday’s and to our pleasant surprise shorter than expected.  We arrived 2.5 hours later at the third camp known as “Camp 30 Caves” – so called because of the small, porous caves that puncture the mystical red and brown lava outcroppings that ringed the camp.

The vertical rise above Camp 2 was steep and wet enough that our guide August advised us to use hiking poles in order to prevent slippage and to help us hoist ourselves up tricky outcroppings.  We crested the ridge without incident.  The remainder of the climb meandered gradually uphill.  We hiked through desolate ravines carved by mountain runoff surrounded by rock sentries warped by millennia of erosion.  The temperature fell precipitously, prompting me to don the inner liner of my North Face jacket, light gloves and stocking cap.  The mist descended and shrouded the land in ethereal shadows.  The cloud cover ebbed and flowed as if it were breathing, occasionally pulling back to reveal the path ahead of us before exhaling and obscuring it again.  

Wildlife still ranges at these heights.  White necked black ravens circle the camps scavenging for food discarded by humans.  Small lizards that seem to inhabit the entire African continent dwell even here; it’s unclear how they keep warm enough to survive the cold.  Apparently no one bothered to tell them that better climes lay further down the mountain.  Why any creature would live up here with a more comfortable life in such close reach is beyond me.  One week on the mountain was enough for me!

I strapped on my iPod for the first time and rocked my way to camp. Thank god for Steve Jobs.  Having thousands of songs at your fingertips is such a blessing.  A medley of inspirational songs kept me company; the landscape became my music video.  My boots couldn’t help toe tapping on the rocky path, although I went to great lengths to keep my booty from shaking.  I didn’t want to elicit odd expressions as I sauntered along the way, slipping up a couple of times as my hands turned my hiking poles into a makeshift air guitar.  Music was a nice diversion after three days of casual conversation and the pervasive sounds of Kilimanjaro.

Camp 30 Caves is nestled in an area sheltered by twisted rock outcroppings.  With sparse vegetation, mostly flowering sagebrush and moss, terrain devoid of trees, and rolling mist mixed with rain, the terrain conjured up images of Scottish highlands.  This certainly is a unique part of Africa.  I couldn’t think of a colder, more alien landscape on this continent.  The Drakensberg Mountains in South Africa are a distant second to Kilimanjaro and surrounding peaks in height.  The Sahara and other deserts are just as desolate, but none offer the tundra-like conditions one finds here.  The land here was more akin to the far reaches of the northern and southern hemispheres.

The weather when we arrived at camp was agreeable, so Betty, Kay, Tom and I chatted outside for a while on topics ranging from how to dry damp clothing to whether we managed to pick up a cell phone signal.  I’d been fortunate to pick up a signal at various points along the way and sent my wife daily updates on our progress.  So far we have yet to tire of each other beyond a few annoying personality quirks.  They threatened to toss me down the mountain after I sang an annoying rendition of that classic Billy Ray Cyrus country song “Achy Breaky Heart,” sparing me after I quit during the third stanza.  We’ve generally gotten on as well as can be expected without bathing facilities and are actually quite collegial.  So far there has been no drama fit for a soap opera.  We’ve been a great source of mutual encouragement and commiseration.  

To be continued…

December 28, 2010

The rain conveniently stopped at about 6:00 a.m. this morning. I woke up and fell back to sleep several times during the night whenever I felt compelled to rotate my body inside my constricting sleeping bag like a rotisserie chicken. I fretted over the prospect of climbing in pouring rain, but we were granted a reprieve and hiked in partly cloudy weather through a light, clinging mist. The morning felt fresh and cool; a great way to keep cool while shedding heat through repetitive body movements.

I spent much of my evening last night pursuing what my wife calls “a spiritual journey.” I pondered the past, present, and future in the austere confines of my tent. While you don’t necessary have to worry about imminent risk on Kilimanjaro like you do on more technically challenging climbs such as Everest, you inevitably think about life and its implications when you have plenty of time to yourself. You may have your portable music player, a book (or 60, as I do with my Amazon Kindle), or a journal to keep you company, but you invariably find your mind lapsing into moments of contemplation. If you’re a chronic thinker, musing will consume most of your time alone. Even those not prone to sentimentality or serendipity will find themselves thinking about life anywhere but on a cold mountain.

I also thought of the men (they’re mostly men as far as I can tell) who work on this mountain as guides, porters, cooks, and in other auxiliary roles. To many, climbing Kilimanjaro is a job that pays the bills. It’s not very lucrative but still worth it. Considering that the worse of environmental conditions still lay ahead of us, I cannot imagine making this a career. Even though they depend on the guides and porters to reach the summit, some climbers seem to regard them as servants. They are blessing in a hostile, uninviting environment that would be uninhabited by humans were it not for the climbers who set aside logic to achieve an irrational goal.

Today’s climb was utterly exhausting. We scaled a mountain flank to a river gorge and followed it for two hours until breaking away and scaling the first peak. It took us over four hours to conquer three ridges before reaching Rongai Camp 2 over 3,500 meters above sea level. Thick Alpine forest gave way to a wetland with grass and a smattering of trees warped by the continual changes in climate and season from wet to dry and back (we did the climb during the second, shorter wet season). The steepness left me winded with aching legs and a slight cough but none the worse for wear. I tried to regulate my breathing through my nose but had to abandon this exercise as the incline steepened and resorted to mouth breathing. I needed all the oxygen my lungs could get!

A clear view of the horizon from 3,500 meters up is simply spectacular. It’s as if you can see a hundred miles across the Serengeti plains into Kenya. Kibo Peak, the mountain’s highest point, is clearly visible above you and appears deceivingly reachable. It almost beckons you to the summit; a temptation you soon learn stimulates a false confidence that evaporates as soon as you begin your final ascent.