Chris Wristen

The following is an excerpt from my Kilimanjaro travel journal, written June 9, 2010

Two straight days of sun and warmth turned into cold and rain today.

We awoke at Mawenzi to strong wind, frigid temperatures and a cloudy sky. A cold breakfast outside of the dining tent left us all chilled to the core before our 10-kilometer trek even began. Hiking poles came in handy as wind whipped against us on the Mawenzi ridge, but after clearing it and dropping down onto the saddle rim we found some relief. The wind died down and we warmed up quickly.

After spending Tuesday acclimatizing at higher altitude, today’s hike to the Horombo Huts campsite took us down about 2,000 feet to thicker oxygen and somewhat warmer temperatures. The clouds turned into light rain after lunch, though, forcing most of us into our tents for shelter. It wasn’t a big deal, however, because the day’s plan called for a 10K morning followed by an afternoon of rest and relaxation in the campsite. It’s all part of the plan.

The rest today is expected to pay off tomorrow when we awake at 5:30 a.m. and hike nine kilometers and gain about 3,000 feet to high camp Barafu (4,662 meters/15,295 feet). It will serve as base camp for our nighttime assault on the summit.

I like our team’s chances of getting all seven of us to the summit at Uhuru Peak. As a group, we’ve been strong throughout our trek. Plus, Jonathan felt better this morning and — thanks to a little Diamox — seems to have cured his altitude sickness. So far so good.

If all goes well, in about 36 hours we should all be celebrating at the summit.

The following is an excerpt from my Kilimanjaro travel journal, written June 8, 2010

Last night’s concerns of mild altitude sickness may have been misdirected. The true culprit for the light headache turned out to be a partially torn contact lens that aggravated my eye. I replaced the lens this morning and handled the day with no problems.

We awoke at the usual 6 a.m. to hot cocoa in our tents, packed up camp, ate breakfast and began a short but steep morning hike to Mawenzi Tarn Hut where camp was set up. We covered 3.75 kilometers but gained 600 meters in elevation to 4,302 meters (14,114 feet).

After lunch, we took an acclimatization hike up another 350 meters to about 4,650 meters (15,224) where we stayed for about an hour before returning to camp.

I have been impressed with the strength of our team so far. Other than a few minor headaches by a few people yesterday, and some stomach cramps for Jonathan today, everyone seems to be doing well. I’ve also managed to surprise myself with how well I’ve held up to this point. I’ve felt strong and healthy, I’ve eaten very well, and I’ve slept far better at altitude than I thought I would.

As long as everyone feels well tonight and sleeps reasonably well, I think we all can move on to tomorrow’s camp — the Horombo Huts (3,721/12,208) — feeling confident that our hike high/sleep low strategy will help us to be ready to make the summit assault on Friday.

The following is an excerpt from my Kilimanjaro travel journal, written June 7, 2010

After an overcast and drizzly first day on the trail, we awoke today at Simba Camp with our first glimpse of Kibo and its snow-capped peak.

After breakfast, we spent the first few hours marching toward Kibo with it in clear view before the clouds rose and blocked it from our sight. By awaking at 6 a.m. and eating breakfast at 7, we broke camp before the anticipated 8 a.m. start time which allowed us to enjoy the great views. By the time we rolled into the Second Cave campsite for lunch, however, it was out of site for the day.

Our lunch starter with fruit and bread, followed by lentil soup and then — for our British companions — fish and chips.

After lunch, we branched away from the usual Rongai Route and took the Unique Rongai Route — which is specific to Team Kilimanjaro — an additional six kilometers to Kikelelwa Camp. Our pace was particularly quick and we arrived at 3:10 p.m. to find the speedy porters already had our campsite set up. It was a welcome sight after covering 12 kilometers and reaching 3,675 meters (12,057 feet).

A few members of our team began suffering mild altitude sickness today; mostly minor headaches. I did not have any troubles until around dinnertime when a slight headache set in. I took my first Diamox tablet this evening to help fight the symptoms. Hopefully that will do the trick.

After dinner, Joshua went over the schedule for the next few days, and Peter — one of the funniest guys on our team — noted in a somber tone what all of us were thinking when he said, “Wow, this really is some serious stuff.”

The following is an excerpt from my Kilimanjaro travel journal, written June 6, 2010

We awoke at about 6:30 a.m., and by 8:30 we were on the way to Kilimanjaro National Park in a safari bus packed with gear, porters and other support staff.

Day one was mostly a road trip. We spent nearly six hours on the road to reach the Rongai Gate. We were served lunch, and then a three-hour hike to Simba Camp commenced. We gained about 600 meters of elevation over about seven kilometers before arriving at camp at 2,635 meters (8,645 feet).

The highlight was dinner where our lead cook, Solomon, prepared an avocado appetizer, followed by pumpkin soup and a green banana dish, then a dessert of cake and bananas. It was delicious and surprisingly hearty.

Dinner also provided quality time to learn about our lead guide, Joshua, and how he overcame his Chagga upbringing to become a porter and eventually a guide on Kilimanjaro.

It’s apparent already that this group of seven trekkers — Jonathan and Zephan, Brits Peter and Geoff, and Canadians Jeff and Claire — will make for a fun group this week. We’ve only been together for a brief time, but already it’s clear that this group has a great sense of humor and good chemistry.

For all of the good times that we had today, capped by a clear night’s starry sky, day two will be significantly tougher as we gain about 1,000 meters in elevation.

The following is an excerpt from my Kilimanjaro travel journal, written June 5, 2010

One of my favorite things about traveling during the past few years has been the people I’ve met along the way, and today — my first full day in Tanzania — was no exception.

At breakfast, I met Jonathan and Zephan, two guys from Washington, D.C., who will be climbing the mountain with me. Then, right after breakfast, I met a group of students from Purdue who have spent the past month helping in schools and orphanages. They’ve been living at the hotel during their stay, and this is their final full day in Arusha before heading home. Thomas, Evan, Corrine, Carrie, Heather and Kelsey and their teacher, Jill, adopted us for the day and took us into Arusha.

We went on a dalla dalla ride, visited a Masaai Market, to lunch at a cheap but delicious local place called Milk and Honey, to dinner at a restaurant up the street from the hotel and then back to The Outpost for drinks. They were an incredibly fun group and a real treat to hang out with on my first day here.

In particular, they helped me save my sanity in the Masaai Market despite the constant harassment to buy bracelets, oil paintings, tiny carved animal statues and all sorts of other trinkets. I wish they would still be here when we conclude our climb because they would be a lot of fun to celebrate with.

It’s been a heck of a first day. Morning will be here soon, and the climb will begin. Much like today, we will have guides — these ones being professionals rather than college students — and the adventure will surely become more challenging.

The following is an excerpt from my Kilimanjaro travel journal, written June 4, 2010

Every big international adventure needs to begin by exiting an airplane via a stairwell on the runway, stepping away from the friendly confines of the giant bird and into the great unknown.

That’s how we arrived at Kilimanjaro International Airport, shrouded by the darkness of the night sky. From the plane, it was a short walk to the tiny terminal where a disorganized process of going through customs played out. After that, I gathered my luggage — both bags made it! — and found my waiting driver, Moingira. Three other guys doing the trek — Geoff and Peter from England, who will be a part of my group, and David, a man from Wales, who is part of a sister crew on our same itinerary — also hopped into the van for the ride to our hotels.

Moments after leaving the airport, we narrowly missed what surely would have been a windshield-shattering collision with an owl. That was just the beginning of our automobile adventure as we dodged cyclists, speed bumps, slow-moving vehicles and oncoming traffic before arriving safely at The Outpost.

Upon reaching the hotel, Geoff, Peter and I grabbed beers at the bar — Kilimanjaro Lager — to celebrate the end of a long day in transit. Their luggage was left behind by KLM in Amsterdam, including their boots, so hopefully it will turn up tomorrow.

Now I’m off to bed in my tiny cottage. The bed is draped in mosquito netting, which will be a first for me to experience. The sounds that will sing me to sleep tonight will be the crickets chirping, occasional animal cries … and ironically enough, the distant thumping of a techno club where I can distinctly hear people singing the refrain to “Don’t Stop Believin’” by Journey as I write this. Small world. Halfway around the globe, and some things never change.

Still, I’m sure the adventures tomorrow and in the days that follow will be unlike anything I’ve experienced back home in Kansas.

The following is an excerpt from my Kilimanjaro travel journal, written June 4, 2010

We are 5 1/2 hours into the eight-hour flight from Amsterdam to Tanzania, and the past 3 1/2 have been spent flying above the African continent. This is the first time I’ve glimpsed the continent with my own eyes instead of through the filter of a television, and it feels like we’re stuck on a freeze frame because the picture has remained the same: a whole lotta nuthin’.

It’s daytime and there have been mostly clear skies, so my face has been plastered to the airplane window staring at the ground about 36,000 feet below. The view has been sand, sand and more sand. Nothing else. It’s not at all like flying over the United States or Europe where you see open spaces with cities popped up here and there. There has been no sign of civilization below, not in Libya, not in Sudan.

The sand runs out and turns into greenery near southern Sudan and northern Uganda, but civilization still seems nonexistent unless it’s hidden by the trees below.

I suppose Kenya will be the same way unless we venture close to Nairobi.

The following is an excerpt from my Kilimanjaro travel journal, written June 4, 2010

Unlike my past few trips overseas, this one won’t involve riding any trains. The closest that I will come to that was my hotel last night: The Yotel London Heathrow.

I got a room for the night at this bizarre little place built into Terminal 4. In fact, it was only about 25 meters from the check-in counter for KLM. I had a 6:30 a.m. flight this morning — first to Amsterdam and then on to Kilimanjaro — and it made the most sense to stay close.

The place was as compact as advertised, with the room feeling somewhat like a private couchette on a train except with a bed that’s actually quite comfortable.

If you’re not claustrophobic, the place is perfect for a quick overnight. If you are, just walk in, lay down and go straight to bed before you have time to think about it. The peace of mind of being able to roll out of bed and check in for your flight is worth lack of frills the place offers.

The following is an excerpt from my Kilimanjaro travel journal, written June 3, 2010

I’ve always been a coach passenger, and I’ve never had a problem with that.

Coach prices fit my budget and make expensive trips more feasible. I’ve done three trips to Switzerland and a long-haul flight to Alaska in coach during the four previous summers, and all were fine.

In fact, I’ve never flown first class in my life. That’s why the words caught my attention when I checked in for the first leg of my Kilimanjaro trip yesterday in Kansas City. The self check-in computer informed me that for just $45 I could upgrade my hour-long flight to Chicago and sit in first class.

Just three days earlier, my brother-in-law had joked to me “Enjoy flying coach all the way to Kilimanjaro and back.”

I thought about it for a moment and decided, “what the hell, why not?” I swiped my credit card and was off to my first class seat.

It turned out to be money well spent. I opted not to indulge on the complimentary alcohol because of the excessive amount of medication I’m taking at the moment — Malarone for malaria prevention, an another antibiotic after suffering a last-minute medical emergency in the days prior to departure.

The extra space was worth the cost, as was the cushion between me and numerous screaming babies — something that would come back to haunt me on the overnight flight to London when I was back in coach again.

A symphony of screamers wailed for all but 30 minutes of the eight-hour flight to Heathrow Airport. There were solo screams, call-and-answer cries, even duets. It was, without question, the worst overseas flight I’ve ever been on … a fact made more vivid now that I’d had a taste of life in first class.

I left Wednesday, June 2, for Tanzania and arrived back in Kansas City on Wednesday, June 15.

During that time I spent time in the city of Arusha and successfully reached the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro, the highest point in Africa and the highest free-standing mountain in the world. I also spent a day in London on the way back home.

In the coming days I will be posting dispatches from my travel journal to recap the trip. Enjoy!