Like clockwork the sky's cleared during the evenings and by dinner time Mount Meru was clearly visible. I found a guide whose name was Vittorio and asked him where a water source was. He showed me the way to a stream, which runs down the right side of the picture below. This would become a ritual for me during the next two days and it allowed me to get out of camp for a while. It is not recommended to travel alone but the stream is clearly visible from our camp and there were half a dozen other camps all throughout the plateau area. Vittorio only accompanied me the first time and then I snuck off by myself.
I would just like to mention an aside here. When Vittorio walked back with me he looked at my boots and asked if he could have them when the trip was over. I told him they were all I had for shoes but he hoped I would remember him on the final day. Maybe I have mentioned it before but I feel it would be a nice gesture to bring along some extra clothing just to give to the porters but then there were quite a few porters - at least a dozen plus seven or so guides. How do you choose? Maybe tips are enough although the rumour going around was the porters would only sell the boots for money afterwards. There is a genuine feeling of wanting to help out but in the end a tip which is split amongst the porters would seem best.
Back to the water. The guides did provide boiled water but it was full of particles and dead bugs. I preferred to filter my own - do not drink water directly from the stream at Shira it will definitely make you sick. The plateau is beautiful but it is a human toilet and human waste is found everywhere. There are a couple of outhouses but people prefer the outdoors.
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Waking up on December 30th 1999. The sky is clear the evening temperature is about 0 degrees Celsius and the night sky and morning views are spectacular. This picture is looking west at Mount Meru. Arusha is just to the left of Meru at its base. |
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The group of tents inside the depression is our camp. The tents on the ridge are of another camp. As you can see the clouds are starting to roll in already, soon after day break. The large white tent to the right was the main tent where food was cooked. Breakfast was laid out on a blanket in the middle of the camp. The food was very good but I would stay away from the raw vegetables and fruit. Bring some multi-vitamins and vitamin C to make up for the lost nutrients. |
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Jason posing in front of our tent. We spent two days here to acclimatize. The tents were comfortable enough. Mats were provided so all you needed to bring were your sleeping bags. I used clothing for a pillow. |
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Me trying to organize some of my stuff. I ended up bringing a little too much equipment. I brought a sleeping mat and crampons along with seven disposable cameras. Bring a regular camera the pictures will be far more superior and it takes a lot less space. I will try to make a section outlining all the gear I brought and give recommendations of what is not necessary. |
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Mount Meru at sunset. The plateau is always described as being like a moonscape but this gives you an image of desolation. The plateau is extremely beautiful and if there was time it would warrant a great deal of exploration. I really enjoyed sitting on top of the rocks and looking out at the Shira range of peaks and Mount Meru. |
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A rare glimpse of Kibo peak the small hump to the right is Uhuru peak. The dip in the middle is the Western Breach. It will take a good six hours to scale the Breach to the rim. Then another hour or so to climb the "small hump". This is the morning of December 30th. At night the peak can also be seen clearly by the light of the stars and moon |
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I awoke the morning of the 30th with some pressure in my head but felt good. The day was organized so we would hike up for 4-5 hours past Shira Hut which is a small metal Hut where doctors are stationed. Located high on the plateau it is close to a road route connecting back to the village of Kikafu. This is a photo of the Lobelias plant which has adapted to the high altitude and captures rain water within its clustered leaves. This makes it an emergency source of drinkable water. |
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Karaoke, (with the skull on his head) and another guide clowning around. This point is near the camp of Scott Fischer of Mountain Madness who passed away on Mount Everest. He used to lead a team up Kilimanjaro and felt this was a better spot to acclimatize then lower down where our camp was. The skull is from a lion kill or leopard - supposedly the carnivores do venture high up onto the plateau to hunt. |
The highest we climbed on the 30th was 4350 meters and the daytime temperature was 4 to 5 degrees Celsius. Our guide mentioned that up until fourteen years ago the plateau was permanently covered in snow. Nowadays it is completely dry. During the month of March it still does hold some snow but never enough to remain year long. We made a wide circle and descended back to our camp from the route we would take up to Arrow Glacier. I arrived back in camp at 2 pm and it began to rain. I took my usual walk to the stream and filled my bottles. The process is quite quick and it only takes about 15 minutes to fill five liters.
