The first successful summit of Uhuru Peak was made in 1889 by German geographer, Hans Meyer and Austrian mountaineer, Ludwig Purtscheller. It was Meyer’s third attempt to summit and Purtscheller had the privilege of celebrating his 40th birthday on the summit. It took another 20 years before someone else summitted again.
It took the better part of the 20th century before Kili became a trekking destination. In 1939 only 58 people visited and less than 1,000 visitors by the 1950s. Fast forward to the mid-1990s and it exploded to 11,000 trekkers and by the 21st century Kili sees an average of 35,000 climbers per year.
There are five climatic zones on Kili:
1. Cultivation [4000-6000ft / 1200-1800m] – a highly productive agricultural terrain due to the fertile volcanic soil. Small nocturnal mammals such as tree hyrax and galago reside here.
2. Forest [6000-9200ft / 1800-2800m] – a lush and dense ecosystem with high rainfall. Squirrels, antelopes, monkeys and leopard roam the area.
3. Heather and Moorland [9200-13,100ft / 2800-4000m] – the heather ecosystem connects the wet forest below with the arid moorland above. Due to lack of foliage the moorland is dry, cold and windy with overnight frost. Elands a type of antelope occupy this area.
4. Alpine desert [13,100-16,000ft / 4000-4900m] – this zone consists of almost no vegetation as it is cold and dry but with lots of sun. Temperatures fluctuate and water is scarce. Hardly any animals venture here except for the occasional African wild dog.
5. Arctic [16,000ft / 4900m and above] – below freezing temperatures at night with very little rain, plants or animals.
There are seven established routes on each cardinal point. The most popular being Machame and Marangu both from the southside of the mountain. Wanting to experience a more remote and quiet route, I opted for the Lemosho Route from the westside with a plan to swing left onto the Northern Circuit circumnavigating Kibo to Barranco Wall on the southside and wind up to the summit, Uhuru Peak. Lemosho is a relatively new trail, added by the National Park to reduce congestion on other routes.
Another reason for choosing Lemosho is that it is longer with shorter
elevation gains thereby making it a slower and more natural
acclimatisation experience. Camping all the way through, the route is a
repeated “climb high, sleep low” which provides ample time to adjust to
a higher altitude. Acclimatisation is an important part of the trek.
My body is used to working at sea level where oxygen intake is at
maximum. However, once I climb beyond 6561ft (2000m) the air thins out
and I need time to adapt to less oxygen. The further up I go the more
adaptation I need. By disregarding gradual adaptation, I could end up
with Altitude Mountain Sickness (AMS) that could develop into pulmonary
oedema or cerebral oedema which could prove fatal. Certainly if I was
to show signs of AMS the best way to manage it would be by descending,
taking AMS medication and/or resting an extra day as my body recovers
and adapts.
The route begins at Lemosho Glades at 7380ft (2100m) above sea level.
Standing at the Lemosho Gate I was surrounded by a dense rainforest
very clearly indicating what I would be experiencing on the first stage
of my climb. The path was narrow but very well maintained. Either side
was a green wall of deep foliage with light filtering through the
canopy.
With Kili only three degrees south of the equator, it means that the
temperature does not fluctuate much, and the forest is quite humid
especially after heavy rain. This is a great environment for plants to
grow and thrive. Ferns, junipers, sycamore trees and moss are just some
of the plants found in the forest zone along with the endemic
‘Impatiens Kilimanjari’. This flowering plant is only found in the
jungle floor of Kilimanjaro. The inch-long
flower is pinkish-red that’s a little orchid-like but it has a yellow
tail that from a profile looks more like a tropical seahorse. As a
perennial plant it blooms almost all year round.
Anyway this wondrous undisturbed forest was a constant visual delight as
I ascended the trail at a steady pace up to Mti Mkubwa Camp. The trail
itself didn’t deviate, it continued to be mostly narrow and well
maintained, hiking single file. The camp’s elevation was 9120ft
(2780m). It was nestled amongst tall trees with the tents setup ready
to be occupied and the mess tent prepped and ready for dinner. After 4+
hours of trekking I was famished and looked forward to a hot stew,
crunchy bread and a cuppa to replenish my burnt calories and fully fuel
me for the next stage.
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