Ballito couple Chris and Cara McDaniel recently summited Mount Kilimanjaro – and were deeply humbled by the experience.
Chris and Cara have always enjoyed outdoor adventures, and climbing Kilimanjaro had been on their bucket list for some time. So, when their pastor told them he was planning a trip and invited them to join, it felt like it was meant to be.
They set off with seven other hikers, as well as a team of 26 guides, porters and kitchen staff, on one of the oldest paths – the Marangu route – which would take six days. Also known as the ‘Coca Cola’ route, it offers hikers huts for sleeping, instead of camping. But, because this is one of the shorter routes, there is less time to acclimatise to the rapidly changing altitude. The team of guides checked their oxygen and vitals twice a day to ensure safety, and each day they had to hike to a higher elevation before returning to a lower point to sleep, so that their bodies could gradually adjust.
The first day took them through a forested area for around 12 kilometres, reaching an elevation of 2720km by the first night (roughly the elevation of the top of Sani Pass). They slept the first night at Mandara hut, before moving onto Horombo, Kibo and finally, Uhuru Peak over the course of the next few days. The walk was incredibly slow, and the hikers covered approximately a kilometre per hour. As they climbed, the landscape changed dramatically, shifting from lush greenery to volcanic peaks, high moorland, and then stark lunar desert as they neared the summit.
“On about the fourth day, things started to get real,” says Chris. “We woke up early and hiked to Kibo, which is the base camp and the point at which you get ready for the summit. We really felt the cold here; there were icy winds and it looked like the moon.” The group only had a few hours at Kibo to have a light meal of porridge and tea and to get kitted out in a cramped dormitory-style room before they set off for the final ascent.
“They woke us at around 10pm,” explains Chris. “We could hear the wind howling and it was pitch-black outside.” The group walked in single file along the edge of the mountain with nothing but headlamps for light, the temperature below freezing. After nine hours of extremely slow walking, they summited at 7:30am. Permitted to spend just 15 minutes at the summit, the group then had to turn around and begin the descent, which took about 90 minutes. At this point, things were really tough – Chris felt dizzy and nauseous and Cara had a terrible headache. “We had such mixed emotions,” says Chris. “We were so grateful that we had just summited, but you can hardly remember because you’re so out of it.”
Cara agrees that the summit was the most challenging part of the trip. “You can hardly bring yourself to smile for a photo,” she says.
When walking at a high altitude, the slower you go, the better. But with extreme cold and discomfort, this was not easy to do. At one point, Chris said he thought he would have to break away from the group because it was so mentally draining to stop so often along the way. “I started counting to myself,” he says. “There were four steps in a metre, so to make sure I didn’t lose my mind, I literally counted each step.”
In preparation for the climb, Chris and Cara did most of their training in the gym to build strength, along with some hiking trips to the Berg. But nothing could quite prepare them for the extreme conditions they experienced. They took prescription medicine to prevent the side-effects of altitude sickness, which they say made all the difference. They were fortunate not to experience any injuries or major issues related to the changing altitude, but not everyone in the group was as lucky. One of the women in their group had to stop and return down the mountain on the third day after struggling with extremely low oxygen levels, while others suffered with symptoms like vomiting.
Although the journey up the mountain was a real challenge, Chris and Cara agree that being in a group was a huge motivator. “We all leaned on each other,” says Chris. “The camaraderie was unbelievable.” For the couple, the human aspect of the experience was profound, as is the appreciation they gained. “It’s a very humbling experience and a reminder to be grateful for what we have at home,” says Chris.
Cara compares the experience to a detox. “You realise just how little you can manage with,” she says. She also says that staying at camps that were established years ago was something really special. “To know you’re doing the same path as so many people before you, and to be a part of something that great, is incredible.”
Details: Chris and Cara booked their trip through . www.fairtrek-jicho-tanzania.com, [email protected]
