DAY 9: CLIMB TO MWEKA GATE
Our climbers are waking up to their last day on the mountain. They’ll have their last breakfast in the mess tent and then start their trek. They’ll descend through the rainforest past towering trees and lush ferns to a hot lunch at Mweka Gate – where they’ll end their adventure on Mount Kilimanjaro.
MOUNTAIN ROUTE STATS
Starting elevation 13,000 feet
Ending elevation 6,000 feet
Elevation gain 7,000 feet
Distance hiked 7 miles
Average hiking time 5 hours
DAY SIX: The Song of Ascent and “Let’s go home.”
Saturday, January 13, 2024 Jumbo FFS;
Strap in, people, is all I got to say.
Actually, for this day - the day really did begin the night before. After dinner Friday evening, we resigned to our tents about 7:30pm charged to “get some rest”. Wake up time for our summit pursuit would be midnight Friday night / Saturday morning. One Team. One Dream.
Maybe nerves. Maybe excitement. Maybe the thrill of what we have planned for a year was finally here. In any event, I got exactly 0 hours of sleep. A straw poll of the team found that the norm. Most of us slept less than an hour.
For those at home keeping score.
12:00am. Wake up
12:30am breakfast
1:30am begin summit pursuit from 16,000 ft.
7:35am Arrive at summit, 19,341 ft. One Dream: Secured.
7:35-8:30am. Spontaneous celebrations, photo shoots, more photo shoots, Girls club pee break-full access style, followed by general picture taking. If not now, then when? And a few tears... not naming names.
10:20am arrive at base camp. So that’s six hours up and two hours down 10:30am. Rest time (FOB)
12:30pm Lunch
1:30pm begin trek from base camp (16,000 ft.) to last camp at 10,000 ft. 5:45pm arrive at last camp - the last 30 minutes hiked in a monsoon. 6:30pm dinner
7:00pm TTT (to the tents)
So let’s see.... For the Dream Team, that’s 17.5+ hours of hiking and 15,200 ft. of elevation change with, on average, one hour of sleep in the last 36 hours. And then there’s Adam... more to come on him.
Song of Ascent
Eight Strong, two guides and five porters set out into the very dark night of Mt Kilimanjaro at 1:30am in 20 degree temps with a Garmin In Reach promise of 0% chance of rain. (Well of course it’s not going to rain.... because little did we know then that we were headed into a blizzard. It’s not going to rain, y’all. Because it’s going to be snowing.)
Among our power eight were two (MJ and Annie) still not playing at 100%. Altitude had left them nauseous, vomiting, and without food for a few days. So, why not climb a mountain today? In all seriousness, I can’t tell you how much courage and grit and toughness was on display this day by everyone - it was a beast of a day - but specifically MJ and Annie. What they attempted and accomplished in their condition was beyond most - it was the kind of stuff reserved only for Sheroes, which they are and were this day.
In the ascent all you could see was the few feet in front of you where your headlamp light landed and the dots of headlamps from other hikers shining like stars above and below. Our pace was a shuffle. The porters carried the backpacks of our infirmed and others (ok, and mine, “Don’t be a hero”). We literally shuffled our way up (altitude is real y’all) stopping about every 45 minutes. One stop included some coffee and hot chocolate courtesy of the porters. And one stop included some vomiting. But at no point did a stop include turning back. And we quickly realized that when we stopped walking we got very cold very quickly. So we pressed on.
Our first victory was arriving at Stella Point, 18,880 ft. A picture was taken and a snow storm was on. The snow and clouds gave us about 50 yards of visibility while we pushed on for the last 45 minutes to the summit. Because of the heavy snow mostly a single track trail bordered by snow banks was passable making accommodations for trekkers going both directions opportunities for encouragement, fist bumps, and slower travel. It’s an international, diverse and eclectic crew up on top of the world.
Hugs, tears, and prayers were offered at Africa’s highest point. We waited our turn for the obligatory and oh so valuable group photo next to the “you made it” sign. And with that, we were off for base camp. So let’s see... That means about 468,000 minutes (130 hours) to get to the top and -once there - 5 minutes to celebrate, pray and honor. But a whole life to win at Two Truths and a Lie, have a cool profile pic, grow your garden with Kili volcanic ash, enjoy the relationships made or grown, remember the life lessons, carry with you the “I climbed Mt Kili... I can do this” spirit, consider all the great conversations and purposeful encounters with the all the people, and of course, to be reminded of how small we really are in this story of eternity and how grand and majestic is the Creator of all things.
“For the Lord is the great God, the great King above all gods. In his hand are the depths of the earth, and the mountain peaks belong to him. ...Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the Lord our Maker; for he is our God and we are the people of his pasture, the flock under his care. Today, if only you would hear his voice, Do not harden your hearts...”. Psalm 95
“The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork. Day to day pours out speech, and night to night reveals knowledge.” Psalm 19
[Pause: so my “word count” has me at 895 and it’s only 8:30am. “Don’t stress. No freaking out.” I’ll hurry on...]
“Let’s Go Home.”
No two people can agree on everything. But everyone in our group can agree on one thing: that going down is much harder than going up.
After a rest and lunch, Seven Strong set out for our “last camp” at 10,000 feet. A 4+ hour hike. And then there’s Adam.... Our breathing savant, private chi gong instructor, master chef, Leo’s bud and all-around good dude. He didn’t think the day was hard enough already (that’s a lie, he did), so with the help of trip guide Gabriel, Adam creates a new extreme challenge club: Base Camp to Summit Peak to the Park Gate mic drop club (BCSPPGMDC) For those who want to join, that’s a 12:00am start to 10:00pm finish... or 22 hours of hiking on no sleep the day before. Stuff of legend, part 2. Children, do not try this at home.
The rest of us mere mortals arrived at the last camp at 5:45pm, the last half hour hiked in a freaking downpour that turned our campsite into a swamp. Which, of course was fitting - since our leader and constant entertainer was the Shrek himself, John Simon. Alleluia.
Honestly, though, I must admit this was my low point. After this intense day on no sleep and assuming another night of little sleep from the continuing downpour and a drenched tent - my whole body language screamed frustration, sadness and “get me out of here.” Not my happy place nor best moment. “(Attitude check on 3: 1,2,3”. No reply.) So I sent myself to bed - prepared for the worst - and, actually, fell right to sleep.
Tomorrow morning, the call to “let’s go home” will rise one final time. Until then, we remain One Team. One Dream. The Dream Team.