Imara Kama Simba (Strong like Lion)

2/7/17

Yesterday, Corrine and I completed the six day Marangu trek up Mt. Kilimanjaro! Ah! Spoiler alert...we made it. 

It was a successful trek to say the least. We were accompanied by our guide, Michael, and assistant guide, Julius, who coined us Team Simba early on because we were "strong like lion". Little did we know we would be repeating this and "imara Kama Simba" throughout the trek... it also happens to be a beer slogan here. Aaaanyways, it stuck and it became our way of checking in and keeping up the morale on our journey. 

Along with Michael and Julius, our crew included a cook, server, and four porters. The porters, in particular, are incredible... these guys haul up to 15 kilos on their back of all our junk and food so that we can get along with only a light daypack...  makes you feel pretty pathetic watching these men balance huge baskets on their heads and packs on their backs smiling as they say "jambo" in passing and motor it up the mountain past you while you carry your water and a few extra layers of clothes. Jaw drop. 

 

 

The first day of kili we hiked 3-4 hours through the jungle terrain to Mandara hut at 8,924 feet. We were excited so naturally started walking at a quick pace and were reminded to go "pole pole", or slowly, as we climbed to allow our bodies time to acclimate. We stopped about half way for our boxed lunch of fried chicken, banana, egg, chocolate cookies, and mango juice and watched as several blue monkeys swung above us in the trees.

The Blue Monkey - saw several of these the first day 

 

A handful of groups greeted us on their way down the mountain, all of which looked crazy happy and weathered (some serious sun burns) and would tell us good luck and how wonderful it was (not that the anticipation wasn't already crazy high). We started talking to two American men who were two of three in their originally eleven person group to make it to the top (yikes!). They encouraged us to take our Diamox, an altitude sickness medication Corrine and I both made sure to get from our doctors beforehand. Apparently the three that made it to the top were the ones who took the meds. I also found out the older gentleman we talked to was a doctor who does annual medical mission trips in Tanzania. After digging a little deeper I found out he was born in Eugene!! Small world. We ended up exchanging information. Hearing about his organization really got me excited, something about volunteer travel medicine... I hope to pursue this much more! In fact, I am really looking forward to my time in Kampala (Uganda) because shortly before departing from the States I was introduced to a couple in Indio who co-founded a non-profit organization, Loving One by One Ministries, and are currently looking to add medical providers to their volunteer team! I will be connecting with the founder in Kampala and hopefully can offer some assistance- if not now, in the future! Crazy connections... really makes you believe things happen for a reason. This initial interaction with the couple in Indio was in a Costco parking lot (so random), my moms choir teacher and husband, and one thing led to another... and yeah, ah I get goosebumps. This was after I researched medical missions online for hours and came up with nothing at the right time or in the right place and had basically given up...

But back to Kili...We reached camp that day to find tea, coffee and popcorn waiting for us as well as two buckets of hot water for washing. We feel SO lucky because about 10 mins after settling in for Milo and Africafe it started pouring...I'm talking the kind of rain that has you drenched in seconds. Seriously counted my blessings this whole trip. Also- flushing toilets the whole Marangu route... whaaat!? I was prepared for the worst. 

Mandara hut, night 1

Mandara and Horombo huts looked like this with four beds to a room

A typical dinner would include a broth and bread starter, fried potatoes of some kind, slaw, fried chicken, and fruit

The second day we got an early start toward our second destination, Harombo hut (12,240 ft) where we would stay two nights and again later after attempting summit. This is where the extra research paid off; we chose a 6 day versus 5 day route that would allow an extra day with one shorter hike up and back to allow more time to acclimate. Stats online coupled with witnessing our Aussie and Chilean friends struggle on their 5 day treks, pointed in the direction that this extra day was a game changer if not THE game changer. By our forth day, after trekking the five hours to Kibo hut at 15,520 feet, several of our new friends suffered from insomnia, headaches, nausea, etc. One gentleman in particular, an Aussie whose son and friend were also along for the trek, curled up in his sleeping bag late afternoon and told the guides he wouldn't be making it because he felt "shit". Our Norwegian friends offered him diamox to take then and and again before the ascent at midnight and somehow, he woke up ready to rock. I found out later his son Jordan and friend Ethen weren't so lucky. 

Taken on our acclimitization hike with view of Mawenzi Peak.

We thought it would be funny to take photos throughout the trek posing as Simba and Rafiki on Pride Rock... More gems to come. Our guides loved it.
 TEAM SIMBA.

To be continued...Off to the Ngorongoro Crater to see some crazy wildlife. 

Ps. Shoutout to my mom whose birthday is today! Love you so much and hope you rest soundly knowing we are safe and healthy. Looking forward to celebrating both yours and dad's bdays in March. 

Also happy birthday to my twin cousins Matthew and Julia who turn 11 today ❤