December 22, 2010

December 22, 2010

Today we started our hike. I woke up and showered at the Keys Hotel then ate breakfast with the group at 7am. We then separated our luggage into two piles. One pile included the duffel bag that our porters carried up the mountain with us and the other pile had the bag that stayed at the hotel (mainly safari related things). We packed into the bus and drove about an hour to the Machame Gate. We had to wait around for a while so that Ang Jangbu could register us all at the gate. After another hour or so, we started hiking.

It was slightly steep at first and was on a wide road so that several of us could walk together instead of a single file line (which is what we walked in pretty much every other day going up the mountain). After a little bit, the steepness went away and was a comfortable incline. Between 8,000 and 9,000 feet was the worst though. It was just staircase after staircase. Today is also the day that we gain the most elevation, with exception to summit day. Porters were passing us all day. They must have incredible back muscles. They usually had on a pack in addition to one of our duffels on their heads. Oh yeah, for our 13 hikers, we have a group of 60 which includes 3 cooks, 3 dishwashers, 5 guides and the rest are porters that carry either our duffel bags or anything else needed at the camp such as tents, food, etc. We are not the only ones climbing this route either. There are many guided trips so every porter that passes us isn't always one of ours.

We had a boxed lunch from the hotel that included grilled chicken, bananas, breads, crackers, fruit punch, and a piece of cake. (This was the best lunch we got the entire time we were on the mountain) and the porters made us snacks when we got here. Popcorn and hot chocolate, coffee and hot tea. I'm wearing my watch and heart rate monitor that counts my calories, so I'll list that info at the end of these entries. We got to camp not too long ago and ate the snacks and we'll eat dinner in about an hour.

Dinner was FABULOUS! We had onion soup that was incredible and for the main course we had spaghetti and bread with bananas as dessert. I have a small headache, but Ang Jangbu says that is completely normal. I plan to take Diamox (an altitude sickness mediation that we all were required to bring with us) in the morning. BTW, the sky is AMAZING!!! Nothing but stars. Temp wise, I'd say it's about 45 degrees at night. Tomorrow we hike to camp 2 at Shira Plateau. We're suppose to be done at 1pm, but it's apparently much steeper than what we did today. It took a lot out of my pack and put into my duffel to make my load lighter because my pack was a little bit heavy. Overall, I absolutely loved today's hike!

Starting Elevation: 5,906 feet
Ending Elevation: 9,843 feet
Calories Burned: 3,740
Elevation Gained: About 4,000
Miles Hiked: Almost 5
Hiking Time: 6 hours

Pictures from this day of the hike:



Getting ready to leave the hotel



View of the mountain on the drive there



At the Machame Gate about to start



Hiking through the rainforest



Eating the popcorn at the camp. We got popcorn twice while there. Both times were my favorite days :)



The Machame Camp



Sunset before dinner



Dinner lit by headlamps

I also took videos of each of our camps. Here's Machame Camp: