Kilimanjaro the ascent begins

The sign at the start of the Umbwe route informed us “

 “NOTICE TO UMBWE ROUTE USERS

THIS ROUTE IS FOR ASCENT ONLY

YOUR DECENT IS THROUGH THE MWEKA GATE”

All our luggage was now taken off the bus and 29 eager porters with yellow and white hessian bags stood in a neat line waiting for weigh in. We all watched with nervousness as we were not 100 percent sure we had actuality accurately weighed our stuff with the broken scale from the hotel.  We all tried hard not to look too guilty and made a hasty retreat to  sign in at the little hut, all the time keeping a watchful eye on the goings on.  Our hearts were a little heavy at this point as we had visions of having to off-load even more and this would mean loosing the items.  But thankfully they only weighed their equipment. They could only carry a government regulated weight of 20kg and to that add their backpacks. There was much chatter and laughter amongst the porters who all looked excited to have work and to be part of our journey.  Thomas our head guide told us later that the other two guides Frank and Paul were family members and as it turned out so to were all 29 guides.  Thomas said that because he was seen as head of his family and by using family members made it easier to discipline any of the porters should the occasion arise. This would also ensure a smooth trip up the mountain.  We all watched in awe as the porters packaged all the equipment, our luggage and food and including 8 plastic garden chairs and headed off into the forest singing the Kilimanjaro song as they made their way along the pathways.

Our information guide told us that “this is not for the faint hearted – this will test you to your limits,mentally as well as physically” I only read this part once I had got back home. Perhaps if I had indeed read it before the trip I may have suddenly got very ill and not have gone at all. How prophetic these words would become on summit night!

The information guide went on to write that “ the main problems encountered are altitude sickness, which can be countered by use of medicines, and lack of oxygen. It is very cold – the correct kit a must – but our kit lists and hire equipment are top quality.”  to our detriment this last statement was not true. The equipment for hire that was very kindly hired to us free of charge as we were climbing for charity, turned out to be inadequate and could have cost the three of us our lives!!!

The Umbwe route,

“its not what happens to you................

                      its what you do about it...........”

we were assured that the Umbwe route is not only the most difficult of the routes, but the most beautiful. And it did not disappoint in either of those statements.   We were now at an altitude of 1800m and would assent to 2800m to enter into the next zone.  The rainfall here is about 2000mm/yr on the more southern slopes and less rains falls on the western and northern sides which receive less than 1000mm/yr of rain.

 
 

 

 

The tropical rain forest was spectacular in every sense of the word. Many have spoken and written of this place, but none had prepared us for the beauty that lay before us.  This magical forest reminded us of a scene straight out of “the lord of the rings”.  We all did feel like small little hobbits inside this fairytale wonderland.  The forest is the richest zone on the mountain. We did not see any birds but we could hear them singing their own songs between the trees as we made our way through the forest.  This wide band of magical and breathtakingly beautifully mountain forest encircles the whole of Kilimanjaro. 96% of all the water on Kilimanjaro originates in this very forest zone as much of the rain that falls on the forest is absorbed by the thick carpet of leaves and then percolates through the solid and the porous lava rock, to emerge as springs lower down the mountain.

 

 

 

Because of the dampness of the forest and the altitude, there is a frequently wide band of clouds around this zone, this is particularly true  once your reach between 2500-3000m. Protected from the sun by these clouds, the moisture is not easily evaporated resulting in high humidity dampness and a also most constant fog drip. The nights however can be cold when it is clear and the daytime temperatures range around 15-20 degree C.  the most common tree we discovered within the forest is the Macaranga kilimandscharica, which has a smooth gray bark and large heart-shaped leave, dark above and light below.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Whilst we made our way through the forest following an old logging road feeling very small indeed as the giant tree ferns towering over us reaching towards the heavens, Frank continued to show and name all the various plants.  Rachel was in seventh heaven and continued to snap away often lying in awkward positions to “get the shot', much to the amusement of Khabo who broke out in giggles every time she spotted Rachel.   We managed to get several group photos along the way as Rachel's camera had a timer. The only problem was that it had a 10 second timer and this meant that each posed photograph had be be timed and planned out with absolute precision to not catch Rachel in full flight making the dash to be included into the photograph. This of course brought much light relief as we continued our strenuous journey and gave us welcome “photo rest breaks”.

 

 

We then continued along our ascend on a much smaller track. Here we encountered many steeper parts that we needed to climb. I tried hard not to look down as there was usually a sheer drop that convinced me that I was either completely insane or I  convinced myself that I would more than likely tumbled down to my death.  If only I had know what was still ahead, ignorance was bliss at this moment and my guides at this stage certainly did not offer any information.

 

The last few hours of the day became more strenuous and the group could be seen puffing and panting our way our first overnight stay at the Umbwe Caves camp site.  It was already after dark when we tumbled in.

 

 

 

Khabo and I usually finished sometime after the rest of the group as I was filming for the documentary and needed to lag behind.  Khabo and I earned the name the “two old tortoises”  our tents had been made up and all our luggage was piled under the tree for us to collect.  Once the porters knew who was sleeping where, we would arrive in camp with our luggage already in a tents, and our mattresses laid out inviting our tired bodies to lie down and just die!!.

The aroma of our dinner filled the forest and campsite and was all Khabo and I needed to hurry us for the last steep climb into our camp. The sight of our large green mess tent was something that we all looked forward to every day.  As the climb became more strenuous and physically our bodies started to protest the one thing that kept us going was visualizing the green mess tent and our dinner.  Our white plastic garden chairs were placed around our large table and every evening a banquet fit for a king was laid out for us. This became the center of our day and our thoughts!!  Our survival in fact.