First off, the experience was amazing. Absolutely amazing. No photos or words can describe it. Hell, I even almost enjoyed sitting in the arrival terminal of Kilimanjaro Airport for 12 hours. Yeah, twelve hours. You know what’s at the arrivals terminal? NOTHING. Its a 50 x 25 meter room, with 4 benches, a currency exchange place, a KLM office and a PercisionAir office.

Some things I noticed while in on the mountain:
1. If you are Asian, most (locals, ie guides and porters) will assume you are from Japan. That’s just the way it works, sorry.
2. They really like their Asian Kung Fu  movies. Their favorite actors includes the likes of Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan, Jet Li, Tony Jaa etc…

Oh there was alot more rain than I expected. We went up the north side (which was already said to have better weather than the south side) and it rained on a daily basis until we got up to the 4500m mark. You see, the mountain creates it own weather; every morning, the skies will be clear, and by 8am or 9am (depending on how high up you are) clouds will start to roll in. By the afternoon (anywhere between 11am and 3pm) the rain clouds will hit you. I’ve spoken to another climber who went up the more popular, southern approach and he said he was just in the rain constantly; from when he woke up until he went to sleep. So be prepared for that- get good waterproof gear and clothes that dry very quickly if you can.

Three things I wish I brought with me:

1. Canned meat – Around half way through the 4th day on the mountain,we stopped getting meat in our meals. It was so bad that by the 24hour mark, I was pretty much eating non-stop to keep my energy levels high. Our climbing group were resupplied with a little bit of chicken the night we were to summit, so that was … good.
2. Proper sleeping bag – I brought a sleeping bag meant for +7C, and I knew going in, that this was not warm enough. It was, however, a tiny tiny sleeping bag. You see, I made a one day stopover in Amsterdam, and a one night stay in Nairobi, thus I wanted to travel as light as possible. I knew it would be much colder than +7C at night on the mountain, but I thought to myself: “sleeping bag + sleeping mat + wear alot of clothes to sleep = it’ll work out”. It didn’t. I was freezing every night. By the 4th night, it was so bad, I had to ask for hot water in my (plastic) waterbottle right before I went to bed. I would then take this waterbottle, wrap it in a sweater, and put it in my sleeping bag. I’d put on two pairs of wool socks and pretty much all my warm clothes and only then, was I warm.
3. Suncreen - There weren’t many sunny days. The one day it was actually sunny (it wasn’t even that sunny, the sun was out) my face was sunburned to the point where my skin peeled for 4 days and it was painful just being in the sun. And I was already wearing a hat. Crossing the alpine desert at 4500m really does make the UV rays stronger than it looks.

Three things I considered not bringing but was glad I brought in the end:

1. Shoes for wearing in camp - It rained daily. When I reached camp, it felt nice to have a pair of dry shoes to wear. And in the mornings, when I was eating breakfast and packing, I could wear the camp shoes while I put my hiking shoes out to dry~
2. Hot Chocolate – Amazing. I lived off milo and tea for the first four days, but the night before the summit (and right before I headed out to the summit) I had some hot chocolate, and it just felt so good. Don’t underestimate the power of comfort foods on the mountain.
3. DSLR – I really was just going to bring my G10 for the climb. You see, a DSLR is much heavier than my G10. I was confident I’d make it to highcamp alright, but to the summit? Not so sure. However, I was so glad I brought it and I didn’t ahve any trouble lugging it up to the summit after all (then again, I think I could of done a second summit the next day, that’s how ready I was for this mountain).

Three things I brought that I didn’t need:

1. Small towel – Didn’t really use it… washing became a non-necessity and I didn’t really break a sweat.
2. Second hiking pole – I ended up only using my hiking pole on the day we crossed the alpine desert. Even when going for the summit, the one pole I brought along became useless after an hour. Needless to say my second pole didn’t even go up with me. Then again, this is more of a personal choice not to use hiking poles.
3. Second pair of thermal underwear – Didn’t use it. But at least  Adrian, who had lost his luggage coming to Tanzania, made good use of them.
Note: You can tell I’m really scraping the bottom of the barrel for things I shouldn’t of brought.

All in all, I think I packed pretty well for this trip, considering how light I actually packed. I think some asprin might of been good too (I had to borrow some mostly out of caution, I probably could of done without the asprin).

These are just my random thoughts, I’ll have my (much longer) travel log posted … eventually….?

So, here’s what I got:

Clothing

North Face Summit Series Shell
- Paclite Goretex shell; Windproof, waterproof, ultra lightweight.
- Anyone who has traveled or gone hiking with me know I always have this on me!

Columbia thermal undergarments (top and bottom) x2
- made of bamboo nanocarbon; lightweight, quickdry

Columbia hiking pants
- convertible into shorts

Columbia hiking pants
- insulated fleece interior

Millet insulated windstopper
- waterproof, windproof

North Face fleece zipup

Nylon polo, track pants
- campwear

Neck warmer
- covers neck and face
- convertible so that it covers entire head as well

Gloves x3
Ear warmer
Touque (not pictured)
- different thickness gloves for different temperatures. Can wear all three on summit day

Socks
- various thickness, wool socks for summit day

North Face Hiking shoes
Adidas camp shoes
- North Face Goretex shoes for hiking, old pair of (velcro!) Adidas for camp

Accessories

Source 32 oz. aluminum canister
Source 2L camelpack w/ drinking tube

Headlamp
handheld flashlight

Portable aqua x3
- Water purification tabs
- Makes water taste like ass

Calcium/vitamin C water tabs x2
- Adds calcium and vitamin C to water
- More importantly, makes water taste like orange (and less like ass)

Acetazolamide, 250mg x 21
To help with acclimatization.

Doxycycline, 100mg x 39
- Prevents Malaria

Coleman hiking pole x2

Nikon D5000, Sigma 18-270mm lens, Nikkor 35mm lens
Canon G10
spare batteries, SD card
- May leave my Nikon at camp on summit day (depends how tired I am)

Montbell Sleeping bag
- Small, lightweight
- slightly concerned that it won’t be warm enough, but that’s what clothes are for

Vaude 25L daypack
- compatible with the camelpack, see here and here

North Face camera sidebag

North Face duffelbag

Pillowcase
Sunglasses
Toilet paper
Garbage bags
Clothes clip
Alcohol swabs
Notebook

Hot chocolate powder
Granola bar
Small chocolates
Weider energy in (I decided not to pack these)
Chewing gum (not pictured)

Procrastination 3 – Domomo 0

So in frustration I turned to Twitter:

me: Hotels in Kenya are *#^%&*# expensive I tell you
usagijen: the question is, Kenya afford it? *ba dum psh*

Bad jokes are bad.

I’m starting to get some pre trip jitters :X

23 December : Hong Kong to Amsterdam
Depart 00:05
Arrive 05:45

24 December : Amsterdam to Nairobi
Depart 10:20
Arrive 20:25

25 December : Nairobi to Kilimanjaro
Depart 07:30
Arrive 08:30

I get a full day (29 HRS!) in Amsterdam which is great! Spending the night in Nairobi? Not so great. But the only other alternative was a 1hr stopover in Nairobi. It wouldn’t be a problem except when it comes to checked-in luggage, I have terrible luck.  So 1hr? I really doubt they can get my luggage over in time, and unfortunately, I need my gear… you know… to climb Kilimanjaro.

Getting back to Hong Kong isn’t as bad:

3 January : Kilimanjaro to Nairobi
Depart: 20:10
Arrive: 21:10

3 January : Nairobi to Bangkok
Depart 23:55
Arriving 13:35 (Jan 4)

4 January : Bangkok to Hong Kong
Depart 18:40
Arrive: 22:25

Ok… 5 cities, 5 countries. That’s a pretty grueling flight schedule! But, I bet I’ll be sleeping the whole time on my way to back from Africa (and the HK-> Amsterdam is a midnight flight for a reason, ie I should be sleeping!!!). An added bonus is that I’ll get Amsterdam to myself! Apparently its a ghost town during Christmas over there, but that won’t stop me from enjoying it.

My goal for the one day there?

1. Find a way into the city
2. Find breakfast
3. Find a coffee shop and enjoy a nice hot drink
4. Take a lazy afternoon stroll around town, enjoy the empty city.
5. Have an early dinner at a small restaurant.
6. A quick evening drink.
7. Head back tot he hotel early.

That is probably the laziest mini trip I’ve ever planned. Speaking of which, I don’t have any hotels booked yet. I’ll save that for later (procrastination wins again!)

Recently, things were finally settled with our climbing operators. Guides and porters along with transportation and such will be handled by Ultimate Kilimanjaro for a cool $1,576 USD per person with the itinerary as follows:

Pre-Climb
Dec 25 – Pickup from Kilimanjaro International (JRO) and transfer to Moshi. Overnight in Hotel
Dec 26 – Drive to Arusha National park for a 1 day safari

Climb
Dec 27 – Rongai Gate (1,950m) to Rongai Cave (2,835m). Time: 4hrs Distance: 7km
Dec 28 – Kikelewa Cave (3,600m). Time: 6-8hrs Distance: 9km
Dec 29 – Mawenzi Tarn (4,316m). Time: 4hrs Distance: 6km
Dec 30* – Mawenzi Tarn (4,316m). Time: 3-5hrs Distance: 8km
Dec 31 – Kibo Hut (4,703m). Time: 5-6hrs Distance: 9km
Jan 01** – Uhuru Peak (5,895m). Time: 6-8hrs Distance: 6km
Jan 01** – Horombo Hut (3,720m). Time: 4-5hrs Distance: 16km
Jan 02 – Marangu Gate (1,843m). Time: 5-7hrs Distance: 20km

Post-climb
Jan 02 – Overnight at hotel
Jan 03 – Transfer to Kilimanjaro International

*Yeah we don’t actually make any ground on Dec 30th. We will climb up to Kibo Hut (our destination for the next day) and return down to where we started off that day. I believe this is  meant to help us with acclimatization as the oxygen up there should be half as dense than that at sea level.
** New Years summit woot! Also the toughest day, unfortunately.

While we originally intended to do an additional excursion to Reutsch Crater (5,800m), it would involve sleeping at an altitude of 5,750m. We had been advised by Ultimate Kilimanjaro that it was a highly risky maneuver and thus we abandoned this plan. I guess the safari will have to do!

Over the next four months, there’s a mountain of things I need to resolve (no pun intended):

How do I get to Kilimanjaro?
This is more of a “how do I WANT to get there?” as there are almost no direct flights to Tanzania, much less Kilimanjaro. Most of the affordable flights are 24+hours of travel time (to be fair, maybe 10hrs are spent on stopovers). So how do I want to get there? via Dubai? via London? Do I want to stay and make a mini trip out of it since my ticket is so damn expensive anyway?

Do I have all my gear?
Although this can wait until last minute. I think I have the basic hiking gear sitting around at home.

Vaccinations and medications? Will I acclimatize properly?
Do I need to take Diamox? “Side effect : Blurring of vision” is not my definition of “enjoyable”. However, during my trip up Mt.Fuji (3,766m), I believe I experienced mild symptoms of Acute Mountain Sickness (AMS). Lets just say vomiting my way up Kilimanjaro is probably not how I imagine my climb.

What camera do I bring up Kilimanjaro?
I have a Canon IXUS 75, Canon G10 and Nikon D5000 all ready to go. All three vary in weight and quality. And from what I’ve heard, even 1lb can make all the difference on summit day.

What I have going for me is the fact that I feel like my training is going well. While I’m not physically ready at this point in time, I think I will be by the time December rolls around. If not, then I can really start to panic.

I did get all the common childhood vaccines like Hepatitis B, diphtheria, tetanus, measles, mumps, rubella and polio; actually I got the Twinrex Hepatitis A & B vaccine 3 years ago, and I’m pretty sure I’m vaccinated for meningitis … but the others, I have no clue.

Actually I should probably see a professional on this one, another thing on my “to do” list this weekend I guess

Planned summit date is Jan 1, 2010; needless to say, I’m expecting a “crowd” at the summit.

There isn’t actually alot of time (6.5 months?) and the past two months I’ve been trying to get 30-45 minutes of exercise in on weekdays (jogging/hiking), taking Saturdays off and 1-4hr hikes on Sundays. I think after two months, my body is getting used to the daily exercise (lol yeah, I never was an exercising person) so starting next week I’m hoping kick things up a notch and get in some swimming on Friday mornings and doing some upper body exercise on Saturdays as well.

My Sundays hikes are starting to take me farther and to different places. The past two months, most of the hikes have been in the hills near my apartment, today I actually went out to Cheung Chau today for a nice (read: VERY HOT) 4 hour hike (where I actually spent a good hour getting lost). The change in scenery was …. refreshing and full bugs biting my legs.
[googlemaps http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&source=s_d&saddr=22.207717,114.028473&daddr=22.219398,+114.029503&hl=en&geocode=&mra=mi&mrsp=0,1&sz=15&dirflg=w&sll=22.210411,114.033451&sspn=0.023084,0.04549&ie=UTF8&ll=22.210371,114.033451&spn=0.023839,0.025749&z=14&output=embed&w=300&h=300]

I have a google group (sorry not open to the public atm) set up for my friends and I to discuss the many aspects of the trip (ie when to go, which routes to take, etc). This wll be my first multi-day trek (I did do an overnight trek up Mt.Fuji back in ’07 ’06 god how time flies)

My plans for this blog? Not sure yet, possibly to document my adventures up one of the seven summits? My goal/dream is to, of course, successfully reach all seven although that’s just getting ahead of myself. Kili should be the ‘easiest’ of the seven summits (although probably still very very difficult) so that’s a start.

Planned trekking dates: End of December 2009 – early January 2010
Possible routes up: Rongai