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**__KILIMANJARO: A Hiker’s Experience__**

January 3rd, 2010 Altitude: 17, 895 feet 4:00am

There was nothing around for me to see, it was pitch black. Every step I took felt like my last. Every couple seconds I shot a glance up to make sure my guide was in front of me. The wind howled like an angry monster, forcing its snow to whip across my face. I heard a low rumble of thunder below the clouds, and kept wondering how it was snowing above them. I stopped again, perched under a huge rock. I took out my water bottle and tried to open it. The cap had frozen shut, and I started loosing hope. I shot one more glance up the massive mountain and saw a thin orange line forming around the summit, and then, everything went black. December 31st, 2009 Marangu Gate 9:00am

My spirits were high. All the months of training and saving up had led to this moment. I cradled my massive hiking bag that held layers of clothing, water bottles, snacks, and a sleeping bag. I sat by the window gazing out toward the highest mountain in Africa, Mt. Kilimanjaro. The closer the Land Rover got, the bigger the mountain grew. The snowcapped mountaintop looked so peaceful, it was hard to imagine that thousands of years ago it was an explosive volcano projecting lava. I reached the Marangu gate early and found a place to stretch before embarking on the first day of my hike. I found an office that sold post cards, and decided to send one home. As I scribbled my message down I almost forgot the date; it was New Years Ever, 2009! It suddenly occurred to me this was my first new years away from my family and friends, nonetheless in a different country. I had made my New Years resolution, make it to the top of Mt. Kilimanjaro.

December 31st, 2009 10:30 am Marangu Gate

I met my guide at the registration table and we had an awkward introduction: //“Jambo, I’m Saad, what’s your name?”// //“Wednesday”// //“No, I meant what your name is? Kiswahili?” (In Swahili?)// //“Wednesday”//

I left it at that, and called him Wednesday for the rest of my journey; at least it was easy to remember. I looked down at the registration papers and saw every person who had signed in before me. It seemed like every country, nationality, and age was listed. People from Japan, Poland, France, Brazil, you name it! Then I looked at the ages, and I was the youngest person climbing that day. At 20, I felt mature and confident, like I had something to prove to everyone else. I signed in, got a firm handshake from the director and I was off.

December 31st, 2009 11:00 am My first step onto the trail was already monumental for me. The trail was narrow, making the single filed line mandatory. I followed my guide and porter slowly, or //pole-pole// in Swahili (pronounced pol-lay-pol-lay). The first day of the hike was all jungle terrain. I was fenced in by thick trees that leaked in rays of sunshine every few steps. There was a whisper in the air as monkeys jumped tree limbs above. Within minutes I had reached the first of many small waterfalls. The water was so clear and slow moving, I felt like pitching a hammock and calling it a night. I was told that glaciers at the top of the mountain melt, causing these small waterfalls to form. I dipped my hand under the strong current and instantly felt the cold glaciers melting thousands of feet above me.

December 31st, 2009 12:30 pm I was told I was wasting daylight and needed to speed up. The last thing I wanted to do was race up the mountain and forget the beauty it bestowed. I listened anyways, and began picking it up. There was only another two hours before I would be reaching first nights stop at Mandara hut. I put away my camera and made my way across the trail. The trees began to get thinner, and the sun began to shine brighter. The waterfalls seemed to evaporate into thin air and the animals above disappeared. I had no sense of time; I was simply following in the footsteps of my guide. Within an hour or so I heard the sound of people talking and knew I was close to the hut. Then, without warning the jungle cleared and I was faced with an open field looking down at about fifteen or so huts. They were the most peculiar huts I had ever seen, very tall and A-shaped. Each hut slept about six people with no running electricity or water—I was officially camping. I was given a hut number, and told that dinner would be in about two hours. I wandered aimlessly around trying to find my hut that I didn’t even get a chance to see the view yet. There it was, the last one that hugged the edge of the jungle, Hut #9-A. I contemplated whether I was given the last hut because I was the last one to sign in or the slowest, but either way I had made it. I plopped my bag down and looked around my hut. Previous hikers had engraved their names, advice and scare tactics into the wood frame above. I followed my finger across the frame and landed on my personal favorite: “Turn around now, unless you have a real sense of adventure.”

Mandara Hut 6:30pm Altitude: 8,858 feet

After a long nap I woke up to the sound of a beating drum. I sat there staring at the ceiling thinking about home. I started missing my family, thinking about the New Years party they had planned without me. The drumming got louder and faster. I was thinking of my friends, who were probably preparing for a long night of partying. The drumming stopped…and like a zombie I stood up and immediately knew it was time for dinner. As I opened the door to my hut I let in the bright, blinding sunshine with it. I covered my eyes in pain, and slowly focused them to meet the most gorgeous sunset I had ever seen. The clouds blanketed the bottom of the hill like a slow moving river and the sun beamed brighter than ever. There was a slight chill in the air, but not enough to do something about it. It was a picturesque sunset, the last sunset of 2009.

Mandara Hut 11:59pm Altitude: 8,858 feet

5, 4, 3, 2, 1, 0….HAPPY NEW YEAR! The Russian hikers had started their own bon fire, drinking heavily in its presence. The fire was comforting, but the smell of Russian vodka made me want to vomit. I had no idea how they were going to hike the next day. I tilted my head back and made my New Years resolution: make it to the top of Kilimanjaro. I opened my eyes and once again had to focus them to make sure I was seeing clearly. It was a full moon, the biggest, fullest moon I had ever seen. I glanced around making sure other people were seeing the same thing I was. Not only was I surrounded by a new set of stars in the Southern Hemisphere, but I felt like I was looking at a different moon as well. I could hold a quarter up to the moon and the moon would still be bigger. I toasted the Russians one last time, and made my way back to my hut.

January 1st, 2010 6:30am Altitude: 8,858 feet

I woke up to the sound of that beating drum again, breakfast time I supposed. I couldn’t believe I had spent New Years on Mount Kilimanjaro. I knew I was missing the sunrise that morning, but an extra hour or two of sleep made all the difference. I opened my door to let some sunshine in, and gather my belongings. My porter had brought me clean water that I cleaned once more with water purification tablets to be on the safe side. I sat facing the sun, sipping my coffee. This was the life. I turned on my phone to see if I had any bars, and surprisingly I did! I wanted to call my parents back home, who I knew would be close to celebrating New Years. The phone rang no more than two times, and my Mom picked up. She was so happy to hear my voice and immediately began asking if I had symptoms of altitude sickness or malaria. I assured her I was fine and told her how beautiful the mountain is, how beautiful 2010 is. I could hear the party in the background and without question was put on speakerphone. Everyone was congratulating me on how far I had come, and how they wish I were home to ring in the New Year with them. I said my goodbye’s from the future, and was off for breakfast.

January 1st, 2010 10:30am

Today would be a longer hike, almost six hours to be exact. I gathered my bag and made my way to the trail. A small group of us began walking and began laughing about how the Russians were too drunk to continue their hike this morning, and instead turned around. What a waste of money I thought. There was a small stretch of rain forest before the landscape began drastically changing. A majority of the hike was moorland, a mix of dry uncultivated upland and unfamiliar vegetation. There were hikers both ascending and descending from the mountain. Every hiker we passed wished us good luck and a happy new year. The hikers descending looked beat up and tired, something I’m sure I would look like in a few days. I passed these giant plants called the endemic giant lobelias. They were nearly 3 meters high, but I was told could grow to heights of over 5 meters! Beginning with one stump they separated in the middle to form two thick branches, which grew vertically, and were topped with a green banana shaped leaves. They reminded me of plants you would find while playing a game of Nintendo Mario Party.

January 1st, 2010 3:00pm Altitude: Somewhere above 10,000 ft.

I’d been hiking for four and a half hours and I was only half way to Horombo hut. The trail was wide enough to pass people, but never seemed to end. There was a think layer of fog making its way down a hill when I stopped for a drink. Temperatures were falling and I began putting on extra layers of clothes. I quickly learned a majority of the hike is mind over matter. I had to constantly set goals in the distance to reach. I found a small group of hikers who seemed to keep up with my pace, so I walked with them. There was a couple from Poland, a doctor from Italy, and a father and son from Canada. They were pretty impressed I was doing the hike on my own, and so was I. The trail flattened out and was now curving between the giant peaks on our right. The sun had disappeared above the clouds, and it suddenly occurred to me, I was walking through the clouds! I often imagined that a cloud would feel different than fog, but I was wrong. I could hardly tell the difference, but I knew I could cross another item off my bucket list.

January 1st, 2010 5:00pm

Visibility was poor, but I could hear the sound of falling water ahead. I figured it was another small waterfall that dripped down from the glaciers. However, it got more powerful the closer I got. The clouds cleared and the water poured down from a much larger peak than I anticipated. It was a beautiful long stream of water that flowed into a small river below. It looked like a long bridal veil that elegantly fell into place. Just as the beauty had taken over my eyes, the sound of something much worse struck all around me. There was no warning, no flash of light, just a loud jolt of thunder followed by a low encore. I was afraid it would begin to pour so I began jogging toward the next hut. It wasn’t much further but the last thing I wanted was a bag full of wet clothes. The waterfall faded into the clouds and giant birds circled above. I felt like I was in Jurassic Park racing against meat eating birds. There was still no lightning, just the roll of thunder echoing through the mountain walls. After hours upon hours of hiking the sight of Horombo hut in the distance comforted me.

January 1st, 2010 Altitude: 12,204 feet 6:30pm

Horombo hut was swarming with more climbers than there were at Mandara hut. Horombo was perched on a small plateau that overlooked the city, but as I stood there gazing down the clouds still covered the view. I signed in and was given my hut number. I was lucky enough to share the hut with the same Polish couple I was walking with before. Despite the language barrier we seemed to get along pretty well. Horombo hut had running water and far more picture perfect moments. I was exhausted after my eight-hour hike and decided to take a well-deserved nap before dinner.

January 1st, 2010 Altitude: 12,204 feet 8:30pm

This time it was not the sound of drums that woke me up, but the sound of water falling outside my hut. I opened my door and saw the giant plants nestled across the hills that supplied running water from above. The sun was beginning to set and the clouds began to disappear again. I sat facing the sun, knowing it would get much colder after it went down. There was a twinkle in the sky as the stars began coming out one by one. The moon was even bigger than last night, supplying enough light to see at night. After dinner I was escorted back to my hut and told we would be getting an early start in the morning.

January 2nd, 2010 Altitude: 12,204 feet 6:30am

I jumped up and grabbed whatever warm clothes I could find. I opened the door to my hut and could sense the chill in the air. I looked up in early morning sky and saw the moon beginning to go down over my first glimpse of Kilimanjaro’s peak. It was breathtaking, seemed so far away but I knew I was closer than ever. My porter had managed to warm some water so I could wash my face. The Polish couple had already made their way to the breakfast table but all I wanted to do was sleep for another hour. The sun was quickly rising, as was the temperature. During breakfast my guide told me I had the choice of either doing an acclimatization day to get used to the altitude and then continue to Kibo hut tomorrow, or if I felt good I could attempt reaching Kibo hut today. I felt pretty good and couldn’t feel the altitude holding me down, so I told him I wanted to try reaching Kibo hut that same day. Would I have known what lay ahead of me, I would have made a very different decision.

January 2nd, 2010 Altitude: 12,800 feet 8:30am

After breakfast I began my next stretch, another six hour hike. However, judging from yesterday’s hike I knew it would take much longer than six hours. The first part of the trail was the highest incline I had attempted so far. The landscape changed once again from moorland to alpine desert. Vegetation was scarce and sand coated the trail. There were giant boulders randomly scattered across the land, adding little beauty compared to previous days. The peak was visible in the distance, but I tried not to think about how far away it was. Hardly an hour into the hike and I was already exhausted. I pulled out my iPod and played my “Kilimanjaro Mix” I made before leaving. “The Climb” by Miley Cyrus came on, how fitting for what I was doing. I resorted to listen to what Miley had to offer: //“Ain't about how fast I get there,// //Ain't about what's waiting on the other side// //It's the climb”// Who knew I’d be motivated by an eighteen-year old pop star?

January 2nd, 2010 Altitude: 13,500 feet 12:30pm

I finally reached the top of the hill, thanks to Miley of course. I looked ahead and saw the //real// Kilimanjaro. I’d been hiking for days and thought I was hiking up the mountain, but in reality I was hiking the side of it. I still had another 6,000 feet before reaching the summit. This was the point I could either turn around and go down to acclimatize to the altitude and try again tomorrow, or push myself to reach Kibo hut before sunset. There was a long stretch of flat land ahead of me, with no incline. I figured it wouldn’t be too difficult to walk, so I pushed myself.

January 2nd, 2010 Altitude: Somewhere before 15,000 feet 4:30pm

The long flat land turned out to be torturous. The altitude was pushing down on my back and my steps were closer together. It seemed like someone had taken heavy stones and put them inside my bag as an evil joke or something. The peak of Kilimanjaro vanished behind more clouds, and suddenly there was nothing to look forward too. I began loosing motivation to walk further, and even Miley Cyrus couldn’t help. After a brief lunch stop where I had lost my appetite, the clouds came rolling in. I could smell the rain approaching fast as the winds picked up. I stuck my hiking poles into the ground hoping they would hold me up. I went around one more bend and could see Kibo hut in the distance, “only two more hours” my guide yelled out.

January 2nd, 2010 Altitude: 15, 419 feet 6:30pm

The whole day was a blur for me. Reaching Kibo hut was by far the hardest thing I had ever done. Suddenly using that acclimatization day wasn’t such a bad idea. Everyone was tired and vulnerable. My clothes were wet and my limbs were frozen. I did a quick change into warmer clothes and shut my eyes for a nap. It must have been no more than five minutes before my guide woke me up informing me I had to eat something or else I would get sick. Like a child I fought him, but like a parent he won. I sat down at the table and was served a bowl of spaghetti. I put my head down on the table gathering my thoughts, and within seconds was face planting my way into my spaghetti. I had lost all control of my body and wasn’t even able to pick myself up. A handful of hikers came rushing over holding me up. //“What’s your guide’s name son?”// //“Wednesday” I said// //“Oh no, he’s delusional”// //“Nooo, his name is Wednesday” I kept saying.// It took them a while to understand that his name really was Wednesday. I couldn’t help but laugh a little inside but didn’t want the others to think I was hysterical too. After passing out I felt a sudden sense of energy, like I was cured of altitude mountain sickness (AMS). I was able to talk, my appetite was back, and my headache was gone. Maybe this was just what I needed!

January 2nd, 2010 Altitude: 15, 419 feet 11:30pm

After much deliberation with my guide, who’s name actually turned out to be Wensay, I convinced him I was ok to continue my hike. He warned me that today would be the most difficult part of my hike and I’d be facing a lot of obstacles I would have to fight off. He showed me how we would be hiking in a zigzag formation because we cannot walk straight up the mountain. I grabbed two pairs of every warm piece of clothing I had left, my iPod, bottled water, camera and my headlamp—I was ready for my summit hike. The goal was to reach the summit by sunrise but also go as slow as possible. Leaving Kibo hut was a war zone. Snow had invited itself in for the evening and created a bigger storm than anticipated. It was snowing, raining, hailing, etc. all at once. I could hear the low rumble of thunder below and lightning illuminate the dark sky above. Providing little help, my headlamp only showcased what was right into front of me.

January 3rd, 2010 Altitude: About 18,000 feet 4:30am

I could really feel the altitude pushing down on my body. It became hard to breath, so I frequently began stopping for water breaks. There was nothing around for me to see, it was pitch black. Every step I took felt like my last. Every couple seconds I shot a glance up to make sure my guide was in front of me. The wind howled like an angry monster, forcing its snow to whip across my face. I heard a low rumble of thunder below the clouds, and kept wondering how it was snowing above them. I stopped again, perched under a huge rock. I took out my water bottle and tried to open it. The cap had frozen shut, and I started loosing hope. I shot one more glance up the massive mountain and saw a thin orange line forming around the summit, and then, everything went black. I woke up as my guide was dragging me down the mountain. He kept telling me I had passed out and we had to get to a lower altitude fast. I’ve heard stories about people dying at such high altitudes or even facing long-term consequences because of altitude sickness, but I never thought it would happen to me. I wanted to cry but the wind and snow wouldn’t allow it. Suddenly the words of Miley Cyrus’ “The Climb” echoed in my head: //“There's always going to be another mountain// //I'm always going to want to make it move// //Always going to be an uphill battle,// //Sometimes you going to have to lose,// //Ain't about how fast I get there,// //Ain't about what's waiting on the other side// //It's the climb”// Reaching back to Kibo hut I felt bittersweet about my hike. I didn’t make it to the summit, but at that time it didn’t matter. I was safe and alive. I guess Miley Cyrus is right in a lot of ways. Life is mountain and reaching the top isn’t what’s important, it’s the journey there.