Day 35 2/18/99: Forest Camp (9,000')
Our first day of hiking! "Time to
rock and roll," said Alex. Boots: checked. Gaiters: checked. (But exactly how can you
tell which one is the left and which is the right? :-)
On the way to the Londorossi Gate we saw the Mountain (what the local people call Mt.
Kilimanjaro). It looks impressive, but the top was mostly shrouded in clouds. My picture
did not turn out. However, here is a much better photo of the Mountain that I took in 1991
from Kenya's Amboseli Park.
In our 4-wheel drive Land Cruiser Doyle, Lesley, Theresa, and I were
driven for about two hours, first on a paved road, and then on a rough dirt road, as shown
in the picture that we passed several little towns.
We checked in at the park ranger's office. We had to write down our names,
age, and passport numbers--some of us invented the passport numbers since they are back in
Dik Dik lodge's safe! We then drove another 1 hour to the real trail head. This trail is
parallel to the official Shira Plateau route and is much less crowded as only a few groups
(such as Wilderness Travel and Mountain Madness) use this trail, which WT pioneered for
more than 10 years.
Just about ready to start. Everyone is scrambling to put on their
gaiters--which I may add are ESSENTIAL to prevent the stinging nettles from creating
welts--and adjusting our backpacks straps.
I wonder what is going through everyone's mind at this time?
Theresa, "Stephen, get ready to eat my dust--I'm going to get to the top before
you!"
Alex, "Hum, I wonder if Theresa and Stephen are really ready for this big hike. At
least by wearing their red and yellow Northface Gor-Tex jackets it will be easy to find
them if they get lost!"
Lois, "This is a piece of cake. I'm ready to go."
Liza, "Hum, I wonder if there are mosquitoes in this forest?"
Alex again, "Listen up folks. Don't be alarmed. Elephants will not be around to
charge you--you just to have to watch out for elephant droppings on the trail."
[Photo by Doyle] Don't you think we looked ready?
You think that we are backpacking? You think that we are strong enough to carry all our
camping equipment, clothes, and food up the mountain? I don't think so! I had to huff and
puff my way up Kili even though I was carrying only a small backpack and two water
bottles. Instead, we had about 50 porters carrying all our stuff. Believe me, we got lots
of stuff. They weighed all the stuff and then delegated according to each porter's
abilities. Here was Samia trying to get everyone organized.
[Photo by Bruce] Theresa and I were ready
to rock and roll, as Alex would said.
So at exactly Feb 18, 1999 at 12:08pm we started our adventure.
Charito: "Are you sure we need to do this Kili climb? When is the safari
starting?" :-)
It was great hiking through this dense montane
forest. We saw some Colobus monkeys. See the "old man's beard," thick lichen
hanging on the tree.
"Eat, eat, eat!" It's
lunch time.
Somehow I had the misconception of today being a very easy day. Not true.
The hike was 4 hours long, and there were very steep places. It was so steep that Theresa
was actually worried about how she ever was going to go up some 80-degree slopes! Somehow
we managed.
Doyle, "Brad, this is going to be a great hike. Just like my first
hike 10 years ago."
This is what I call a dense montane forest. Just what the heck does the
word montane mean, anyway? According to the on-line Webster dictionary, montane: of,
relating to, growing in, or being the biogeographic zone of relatively moist cool upland
slopes below timberline dominated by large coniferous trees.
I thank the people that went before us and opened this trail for us. Yes,
there is a trail.
Fireball lily.
Impatien.
After 4 hours of hiking, we made it to
camp! It was a very nice camp in the forest. I was pooped.
Alex is explaining the outdoor toilet. I'm dying to see Lesley's video!
Somehow I don't think Greg was fully convinced that everything is going to work out :-)
A great way to energize ourselves after
the hike is with tea, cookies, and popcorn. I feel sorry for the porters who have to carry
the tent, the tables, and all the chairs up the mountain, but I'm glad to be able to sit
down after a long day of hiking.
[Photo by Doyle] Anne and I were filtering the water. I had fun pumping water, but I swear
that this is the last vacation that I want to go on where I have to pump my own water!
[Photo by Bruce] Theresa assissted with the delicate process of filling
the water bottles with the filtered water without spilling. Brad and Doyle did not look
quite convinced. They were more in the iodine tablet camp. Iodine tablets worked fine, as
we were forced to use that in the last two camps since the glacier water had too much
sediments for the filter to work properly without clogging in just a few seconds. However,
Theresa and I avoided the iodine water for as long as possible. Besides, I got to exercise
my arms and wrists by pumping the water fileter. :-)
Dinner at camp always start out with a delicious and hot soup. Remember:
"clear and copious!" At this point I have already lost my appetite and starting
to wonder exactly how the lack of oxygen will affect me. Nevertheless, I forced myself to
eat the roast chicken in peanut sauce. Theresa also had a light headache. Will things
improve tomorrow or take a turn for worst?
I slept fitfully all night
and went to the bathroom--I mean the closest tree to our tent--more than 6 times. I think
I killed that poor tree, but it was a great way to see all the sparkling stars at night!
Click here for next day's adventure and find out about a new
"charcoal" zone on Kili 
