Mi Adventures'23

Mount Kilimanjaro - july'25

Mt Kilimanjaro (airport JRO). Lofty goals. It was in the same place where Kiran said it would be. In Tanzania! Standing all alone in the mid section of the mighty Africa continent, snow clad at 19300 feet and with only 50% of available oxygen compared to Michigan.

Us, repeatedly going up these mountains all over the Bhudevi topography, why addicted to hypoxia? No one told us to go there. Must be something from the inner voice telling each one of us to go there. Some say "The mountain is calling, I have to go". So we thought. Was it really? Anyway we all went. 20 of us, age range 17–66 including 2 couples, dad/son, dad/daughter, 7 girls, 13 men in overlapping count.

Each trekker carrying 12 and odd pounds in backpacks, unless they chose to hire a personal $20 per day porter, company porter – charges included in total cost – 15 kg/33 lbs in wheelless duffel bags for 7-day gear including sleeping bag. Carried up the mountain. Watching YouTube videos of Kilimanjaro hikers helped us future trekkers.

Got Tanzania visa here in the US uploading our passport face page. Diamox was the medicine in chief, and some trekkers taking random zofran, peptobismol etc.

Unlike mountains in India, where there is/are temples at the peak, pulling all the devotees with a super bhakti magnet, helping them to climb repeatedly year after year, over rock and stone barefoot or barely if any tattered slippers, here at Mt. Kilimanjaro, we climb with all and more of full 21st century amenities: powerbanks, folding solar panels, Indian food on Kilimanjaro trek, telescoping hiking poles, cell phone camera, old-fashioned battery-operated camera, sun hats, gloves, balaclavas, beanies, neck gaiters, crampons for shoes at the peak, snacks, electrolytes, wrap-around sunglasses during day and clear goggles at night to avoid blowing dust, chapstick for the nearby Sahara desert grade dried lips, 6 days of no shave or shower, sleeping in cold tents, praying Gods all the time for the group’s 100% success for summiting and safe return.

We cried with joy for successfully summiting Kilimanjaro, took photos with dual nationality flags, hiked down with the help of trekking poles to protect our knees. Tents, beds, kitchen with stoves, ingredients for the whole 7 days for 20 trekkers and 93 support staff—everything was carried up. Water was harvested from streams, boiled and filtered per standards.

Though far from India with mythologies of Mt Meru, next to Mount Kilimanjaro is another Mt Meru. Common Swahili-Hindi words: Barafu (snow/ice), duka (shop), simba (simha), chai, pesa.

Day 1: Hiked 7 km, ascending 1500 feet. Camp at ~8000 ft, strange animal sounds in the night. Dinner: tea, soup, chapati, rice, veg curry, paneer curry.

Day 2: Hiked 20 km in 11 hrs – second longest of 7 days.

Day 3: 10 km in 7 hours.

Parabolic mountains give false summits—eye only sees part of the curve. Funny tent dialogues: "Diamonds always shine" in response to bald head joke. Brushing teeth? "Do tigers brush teeth?"

Altitude loopiness blamed for awkward dinner comments. 😄 Strange trees (giant groundsels—Dendrosenecio kilimanjari) seen on 7-day Lemosho route through 5 climate zones: Cultivation, Forest, Moorland, Alpine Desert, Arctic Summit.

Day 4: 7.36 km

Day 5: 4 km including the Baranco Wall.

Day 6: The hardest day. Slept 5 pm, woke 11 pm. Started hike at midnight from 15,300 ft (Kosovo camp). Reached summit at 7 am. Photos at the top. Then descended to 13,000 ft. Volcanic ash made descent slippery. Wearing 6 layers, short of breath with each effort—removing gloves, reaching for water from Thermos.

Returned after 6 days of no shower on Kilimanjaro. Took 5 mins to shave, but hours to clean the dust off!

Is 19300 ft the limit for an ordinary guy trekking in second innings of life? Where will Ma Parvathi lead us next? 🙏