Kilimanjaro – 7 Day Machame Trail

 

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Video playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLFkoEot7Hm9sGGlbAsltdJOZpIm0HdPme

 

 

Honestly, I slept and ate way better living in a tent, on a mountain than I do at home lol. The chef is one talented man. Check out the grub!!!! I think I gained weight on the mountains instead of losing lol ?

Much respect to our 10 porters who sprinted to the campsite way before we made it each day, and set everything up for us! Carrying up to 20kg each of tents, food, toilet (that thing is CLUTCH), for us and for themselves. Carrying bags on their backs, head, shoulders – yowza! There was one female porter too. Our guides, Manase and Arnold were lots of fun too. They summit this mountain 2-3x per month like it’s nothing.

Homemade, home grown food, daily exercise, 12hours of sleep every night!! off the grid and no stress. This is how life should be! But it’s not realistic for everyone I know. But even spending an afternoon once a week for all of the above would go a long way!

Another adventure of a lifetime to add to the books. Thank you MAR TOURS & SAFARI for exceeding my expectations and thank you Kilimanjaro for being so good to us. ?? highest free-standing mountain in the world, tallest point in Africa at 19,300 ft/5,895m

By the way, I was on my period while climbing…so u know what I’m gonna say – stop being a little bitch ? ♥️

I would love to answer any questions or comment u have about this incredible experience. At the bottom of this post are some more tips and suggestions.

Get outside and breathe the mountain air! Your body will thank you I promise

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Day 1:

driving 50 minutes to the machame park gate and our vehicle breaks down. What are the chances? ??‍♀️ hahaha
So we walked the rest of the way – not far. Started at 6,000ft, hiked up 11km to 10,000ft to our first camp site, Machame camp, through the rainforest…and of course it RAINED! Rain just follows us everywhere…brings back nightmares of West Coast Trail ?

 

Day 2:
4 hours, 7km to 12,300ft through the moorland habitat. It was a rough 4 hours 80% up up and up! Definitely felt the altitude in the first bit of the morning, but I kept positive and told myself to stop being a little bitch. Oh, and it rained again lol but it was after we arrived at camp Shira and while we took a nap ?

Day 3:

gradual uphill through the alpine dessert to the lava tower/arrow glacier at 15,100ft where we had lunch, then continued down through moorlands again back to a similar elevation as where we started, 12,800ft, to acclimatize at Baranco Camp. I hate going downhill. It makes my knees feel like they’re 80 years old ? nevertheless, we made it just before the rain came pouring down again. 5.5 hours for 10km total for the day.

Day 4:

6km up to Karanga Camp 13,100ft…1 hour of slippery, steep rock scramble – just trying not to die! Indoor rock climbing is made for princesses lol. Then u have the porter carrying your shit up the icy scramble omg. Stop being a little bitch, Jessie lol. Got to camp before noon (AND before the thunder storm…let’s just assume it’s gonna be raining everyday lol) and just chilling before an easy 4km on day 5 before summit day! When the rain finally stopped, we could see the city of Moshi from our camp site and it looked like we were looking at it from outer space – incredible view. (See video)

Day 5:

4km stroll to Barafu Camp at 15,330ft. But not a stroll for the porters. There is no water source at Barafu so they have to grab buckets of water from Katanga and hike 4km up to Barafu ??

I felt the altitude in the last 10 mins today. I had to sit down and tell myself to stop being a little bitch ? nevertheless, it took us less than 2.5hrs to arrive right before 11am!

Those who will complete the climb in 6 days would’ve skipped Karanga and went straight to Barafu yesterday, but it’s nice to take our time and not be caught in the rain!Thank goodness for early 7am morning wake up calls and 8:20am starts!

Day 6:

February 2, 2018 – Kilimanjaro summit 19,300ft!!

12am start time to the full-moon summit! No joke this really was the most mentally and physically challenging part of our trip. We saw a few people fall sick and weak on the way up 🙁

Day 1-5 were doable…then they slammed us on summit day with a 15 hour hike lol 8hrs to the top during sun rise! It was only 5km but steep!! After coming back down (which I hate…my poor feet and knees), we had to go another 7.5km to our last camp site lol. I felt like I was hit by a truck. But the climb was not like any other. Full moon and sunrise together made for epic photos. The faster hikers and those who started a bit earlier made it to the peak for sunrise around 6am.

I came I saw I conquered! Woot. Selfie ✅ yoga pose ✅ photo with squad ✅ time to slowly climb down so I don’t break my knees.
Thank you @canprev for helping me recover everyday, and Thank you for an amazing adventure Mar Tours! What a memorable bday for @joerehab! His exact words “why did u try to kill me on my birthday?” Hahaha

Day 7: 10km down the mountain in 2.5hrs for a total of 40km to the top and 62km over 7 days. TIME FOR A DELICIOUS SHOWER!!!!!!

HAKUNA MATATA

I’ll be posting some more footage from days 1-5 and 7. Check my link for all photos, commentary, and tips and advice for this climb. Still under construction.

SUGGESTED PACKING


When you research for this trip you’ll get a pretty standard list of things to bring. The travel company gave us the list below. Personally, I overpacked. I only went through 4 pairs of socks and 2-3 outfits, kinda gross I know but you’re living on a mountain for a week, so who cares lol. Just pack enough clean underwear!!!

Sleeping Bag

Hiking Boots

Walking Poles

Head lights (Torch)

Sun glasses

Rain Pants

Rain Jacket

Warm Jumper

Warm Pants

Thermal Top 2

Thermal Pants 2

Hiking Pants

Sun Hat

Balaclava

Gloves

Glove Liners

Gaiters

Warm socks

Toilet Paper

TIPPING
You should also be given a guideline for tipping the guides, chef, porters etc. $1USD = approx 1,500 shillings. The porters make 10 shilling per day 🙁 I’m not trying to tell you how to spend your money but I just want to raise some awareness. From our experience, they deserve every single dollar. They took REALLY good care of us so if you can, tip them well. They will appreciate it so much! (Be sure to check my videos to see how impressive they are..and hard working!!)

VACCINE AND MEDS
Visit your local travel clinic a few months before your trip to find out what you need to get. FYI it won’t be very cheap lol

VISA
Start this process also a few months before your trip to avoid any delays. Don’t start TOO early though, because the visa expires lol. Being from Toronto, I used www.visahq.ca

TRAINING
As long as you’ve got a healthy set of lungs, heart, and well functioning arms and legs, with maybe some hiking experience, you’re set! You don’t have to be in immaculate shape to do this climb. Especially when it comes to acclimatizing to the altitude, fitness is no indicator of that. If beefing up T the gym is what you do for exercise, it won’t help, and will probably set you back lol

There are some things you can do that I personally think could help you along the way though (if possible)
– Practice some long distance hikes
– Climb a few mountains to get a feel for the thinner air at higher altitudes
– Walk in uneven ground. Some endurance training, proprioception, and balance are very important.
– The most critical thing: practice positive thinking! This is all in your head and you can do it! Don’t rush, go slow, drink a sea of water, and go with it.

HAPPY CLIMBING!

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