Well the time has come! My buddy Erik and I got back from our mini safari around 4:00 this afternoon and was told we had about 15 minutes to put our stuff in our lodge room and get back to the restaurant area for our 45-1 hour long briefing for the climb. The briefing went well and was basically a repeat of the same information we got through emails and and African Travel Resource's website. The basic information revolved around how much water to drink each day (4-5 liters), how we would make our way up the mountain (single file for the most part and very slowly...or pole pole in Swahili), recommended tipping amounts and the procedure for giving it (there will be a tipping ceremony the last morning), what to pack (enough cold weather gear for temperatures just below 0 F at the top and around 25-30 for a few nights), and how to pack (the cross between packing our day pack and our duffle bag for the porters). The guy giving us the briefing also talked to us about generally how each day would go. We were told the routine would be as follows: we would be woken up early, usually around 6:30, and be brought a cup of tea or coffee to our tent. We would then pack our day pack accordingly for the day depending on where we would be going. It will be impossible to know the weather so we would have to have some rain gear in our day pack as well as a couple of extra layers in case it got cold. We would then walk for anywhere from 2-6 hours and arrive at our next camp in late morning or early afternoon. Then would be a short break followed by tea/hot chocolate and popcorn or peanuts. Then another break until dinner around 6:30. After dinner would be a briefing about the next day and then we'd be free to hang out or go to bed.
After the briefing we were given the items that we rented which included a cold gear sleeping bag, thick down jacket, and walking poles. We also learned that we would be making the hike with 5 other people and that our climbing crew would include a head guide, 3 assistant guides, a cook, an assistant cook, 6 helping porters, and 12 ordinary porters for a total of 23. It takes a lot of guys to carry tents, cookware, their own gear, our gear, and who knows what else up, the largest hikable mountain in the world.
We brought our new gear to our hotel room and decided to hit up the pool for a little while before dinner and packing. When we got to the pool we actually met 3 of the other 5 people we would be climbing with. We chatted with them a bit and found out they had a table reserved at dinner for all 7 of us. It was at dinner that we really got to chat to everyone about who they were, what they did, and their thoughts about the trip. They were Liz and Geoff, originally from Australia but living in the UK for 12 years and in their 50's, Marci and Peter who were in their 30's and living in Canada, and Andy who lives just west of London. They all seem like nice, cool people. The funny thing is that they are all far better qualified to be climbing this mountain. Andy has hiked to Everest Base Camp plus a trek in the Himalayas, Jeff and Liz have done a trek in the Himalayas, and Marci just did the Inca Trail trek to Machu Pichu last year. I've never climbed higher than about 600 feet! When I found out that Everest Base Camp was actually a few hundred feet lower than the peak of Mt. Kilimanjaro, I just just a ping of worry...but not much.
After dinner, we had to pack our duffle bags and our day packs and that's where the fun of the night began. It turns out that the large sleeping bag plus the thick down jacket took up the entire inside of my Titleist duffle bag. Uh-oh. I was able to stuff a couple other things in there but not much. I tossed in what I could to the side pockets but that wasn't much either so I was left with virtually all of my cold weather gear left to pack and only my hiking backpack to pack it in. Plus all the snacks I brought. No chance. When all was said and done, I'm going to have to leave multiple upper body levels, a pair of warm pants, and about 1/3 of the snacks behind at the lodge with the other stuff I was never planning on bringing. That makes me a little nervous, especially since my day pack weighs more than my duffle...and by a good bit. I'm not too worried for it tomorrow since it will be a short day of walking and not at a high elevation, but I know I'll have to do something or I'll have some serious troubles after Day 1.
Sleeping is gonna be a little tough with all the anxiousness and nerves acting up. But we are really getting excited!
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