Anatomy of a Mt Kilimanjaro trek: the good, the bad, and “pole pole”

I recently completed one of the most difficult and amazing multi-day hikes I’ve ever done: an 8-day trek to the summit of Mt Kilimanjaro and back down.  In this post I provide an overview of the trek, including its anatomy, or structure and internal workings.  There are many aspects that were good, even excellent, along with just two that were not-so-good.  And throughout, there was a frequent refrain of “pole pole,” pronounced like “polay polay”.  It is a Swahili phrase that means “slowly, slowly,” and that is how you need to approach the hiking.  See the end of the post for a few statistics about the hike.

Mt Kilimanjaro includes the highest point in Africa, with a peak elevation of 5895 meters (19,341 feet) amsl (above mean sea level).  The mountain is located in Kilimanjaro National Park in the Kilimanjaro District of Tanzania.  The park covers an area of 1688 sq km (652 sq mi) and includes the entire area of the mountain above roughly 1820 meters (5970 feet) elevation.  The park became a UNESCO world heritage site in 1987.   Mt Kilimanjaro is sometimes nicknamed the roof of Africa.

Most expeditions to Mt Kilimanjaro are staged from the small city of Moshi, population around 200,000.  The nearest airport is Kilimanjaro International Airport, located between Moshi and Arusha.  My seat location allowed me to get only a tantalizing glimpse of Mt Kilimanjaro as my incoming flight approached the airport.

Mt Kilimanjaro from my airplane

Perhaps the most important decisions in planning a trek on Mt Kilimanjaro are the expedition company, the route, and the time of year.  I joined a pre-existing group through a friend, so I can’t take any credit for these key decisions; but I think the selections were excellent ones.  The expedition company was Enosa Expeditions, which is based in Moshi.  Among several choices of route, the group requested the 8-day Lemosho Route.  This route allows more time for the ascent than most others, and the extra time is crucial for many trekkers to acclimatize to the elevation; it is also a beautiful route.  The dates were in late June, which is usually a dry season.  At 3 degrees south latitude, the temperatures do not change a lot with the time of year, but it was certainly convenient that we avoided heavy precipitation.

Some of the key characteristics of the expedition company are the staff, both on and off the mountain, the gear and other support, and attention to safety concerns.  I thought Enosa did an excellent job.

Everyone in the group arrived in Moshi with (at least) a full day for time zone recovery, luggage arrival, gear rental, and an all-important gear check.  On the morning of this extra day, several of the senior guides who would be trekking with us came to our hotel to perform the gear check.  I was glad to have enough space in my room to spread everything out for inspection.

Ready for gear check

There were two important aspects of the check: adequacy and weight.  Each hiker would carry a small day pack with immediate essentials such as water, rain gear, layers, hiking poles, snacks, and camera.  Everything else went into a duffel bag, which many of us rented.  The contents of the duffel bag were limited to 15 kg (33 lb).  The duffel bag and a sleeping bag, either your own or rented, would go into a larger “kit bag,” whose total weight was limited by park regulations to 20 kg (44 lb), the maximum weight for each porter to carry.  I had actually weighed everything before I left home, so I was confident that my duffel bag would be well under the weight limit.

In terms of adequacy, particular attention was paid to a special outfit for the summit night hike, which can be famously cold and windy.  Checks were also made for a variety of layering options, in order to be prepared for a range of temperatures.  Layers were needed for head, hands, body, and legs.  Rain gear, good boots, and hiking poles were mandatory.  Just about anything missing or inadequate could be rented from a local gear rental company – even socks, according to the published list!

The next day, when we arrived at the park gate and met our entire support crew, each bag was weighed and any necessary adjustments were made.  The weighing process included everything that would be carried onto the mountain: tents, mess tent, food, etc.

Each porter’s bag was weighed to make sure it was within the 20 kg limit

On the morning of the start of the trek, right after breakfast everyone needed to check out of their room, put extra luggage in storage, and have duffel bags packed and ready in the lobby.  When the bus arrived, a photographer was designated and many phones and cameras were handed over for official start-of-adventure group pictures.

Start-of-adventure group picture

Our group consisted of 16 hikers; I think this was on the high end of typical trek groups, though I think groups as small as 2 could be accommodated.  Our group included 4 minors, ages 9, 10, 11, and 15. Most (10) of the adults were in their 40’s, with one age 55 and one age 70.  It turned out that I was the most senior member of the group.  The 10-year-old was very impressed that I was attempting the trek, noting that his grandmother, who is a similar age to me, would never even contemplate such an activity.

With our luggage loaded either on top of the bus or in the back, we and most of our guides piled into the bus and set out for Kilimanjaro National Park.  This map shows an overview of the entire trek, including the bus rides.  For this outbound drive we went along the red route; note that each segment is labeled at its end.  We made a rest/bathroom stop after about an hour, and I turned off my GPS and then re-started it again once we were underway.  When we left the yellow (paved) road we entered the national park and, thereafter, the roads were dirt.  The map also shows, in purple, the much shorter bus ride at the end of the 8-day trek back to the hotel in Moshi.

Overview map of the trek plus bus rides

The next stop was at the Londorossi Gate where a number of formalities were necessary, including the official weighing of all porter bags.  There was an impressively large group of porters waiting for us and for their assignments.  I watched some of the process and had the impression that most of the porters knew what their assignment would be, but perhaps a few had been called up in reserve, with the final number depending on the actual bag weights and number of bags needed.

Porters waiting for bag weigh-in and assignments

My understanding is that the usual number of guides, per national park regulations, is one per three hikers.  But we had extra guides because of the children, so 8 total.  In addition there were two cooks, whose responsibility was to prepare three nutritious meals per day for the entire crew.  I think they did an amazing job under the circumstances of back country camping and carrying in absolutely everything (except water) that was to be prepared.  There were also two waiters who, probably among other kitchen tasks, brought food from the cook tent to the mess tent during meals.

The vast majority of the crew was porters.  They carried the kit bags, one per porter, plus sleeping tents, mess (eating) tent, chairs (1 per hiker), cooking tent, food, wash basins, etc.  At some point we received a written list of the support staff, and there were something like 45 “general-purpose” porters.  All of the porters were important, but perhaps the most appreciated were those who carried the toilet tents – yes, special tents that each housed a toilet for our private use.  We had agreed to rent 5.  This is what they looked like from the outside.  It’s hard to see from the picture, but each one had a net pocket on each side wall, and there was always a roll of toilet paper in the pocket.  (Because the tents were moved every day, they were checked every day and replenished as needed.)

Much-appreciated toilet tents

Even the toilets themselves were pretty spiffy.  They were clean enough to feel comfortable sitting on the seats.  There was a plunger at the back that you pushed to allow clean water into the bowl, and a handle to pull out to empty the bowl into the bottom container.  There was even a cleaning brush in each tent.  We were not told how/where they were emptied, though there were primitive latrines at each camp area.  As it turns out, I developed diarrhea practically before leaving the hotel and continued to have it throughout the trek, so clean toilets were a true godsend.

Amazing portable toilet

After all of the bags had been weighed the buses were loaded, with bags piled high on the roofs and covered with tarps.  The weather was fine, but the tarps ensured that nothing would fall off the bus during the subsequent drive to the trailhead.  I found the loading process to be quite interesting, with a couple of porters on the roof and others handing up bags two at a time.

Loading porter bags onto buses

With regard to the camp sites, there was a daily routine.  First, the porters always arrived at camp ahead of the hikers and set up all of the tents: sleeping tents, mess tent, cook tent, and toilet tents.  They got water and the cooks starting boiling.  All water used for cooking, drinking, and washing was boiled.

This is how our camp area looked the first night; the camp was in the forest.

Sleeping tents at camp

Each tent nominally slept two hikers, though there was one family group of 3 and one single hiker in our group, so 8 tents.  Each tent had a small numbered label attached next to the entry – mine was tent 3 – and each person was in the same tent for the entire trek.  There was a footprint/tarp under the floor of the main tent chamber, with a smaller vestibule area that could be used for boots, poles, gear, etc.  Part of the routine was that a specific porter was assigned to each hiker’s kit bag.  In addition to the tent being set up before we arrived in camp, the duffel bag, sleeping bag, sleeping pad, and a pillow were all in place.  Compared to my normal camping or backpacking trips, this was a luxury.

Around the 5^th day my tent mate had to descend; she had developed an asthma- or bronchitis-like condition and was not able to breathe well.  I presume that an off-line discussion took place between her and the senior guides, and it was agreed that she should descend.  She went down with her gear, a guide, as many porters as needed, and a tent (but not the one we’d been sharing).  I’m not sure how food was handled, but I’m sure she was accompanied and supported down the mountain the quickest way to an access point where she could be picked up by a vehicle and transported back to Moshi.  The guides had the capability to communicate with the expedition company’s base office to make such necessary/unexpected arrangements.

After that I was by myself in the tent.  This is how my home-sweet-home looked after I’d set out all of the small bags that I would use in the evening and the next morning.  I do want to note that the sleeping pad and pillow, both provided with the tent, were surprisingly comfortable.  I’d brought a blow-up pillow and never bothered to use it.  My rented duffel bag is in the back corner of the picture; it was quite sturdy, as well as waterproof.

Home sweet home inside my tent

The daily routine was roughly as follows: wake-up call (by my assigned porter) at 6:30, along with a small basin of warm water for washing.  After toilette and dressing, breakfast at 7:15 or so.  Every day there was hot porridge, single-egg omelets, toast and/or pancakes, fruit, and hot beverages (e.g. tea, coffee, hot chocolate). Some days there was prepared ginger tea, which was a treat.

I forgot to take pictures of the outside or inside of the mess tent, but it was impressive: long tables with seating – and chairs – for 16, with battery-operated LED lights for evening meals.  Porridge (or soup, for lunch and dinner) was presented in large metal serving containers with lids and huge serving ladles.  There were lightweight plates, bowls, and mugs, as well as metal cutlery, all nicely arranged with a paper napkin at each place.  Hot water (or ginger tea) arrived in large insulated jugs.  Water bottles could be turned in at any meal, to be re-filled with already-boiled water.

We generally started hiking by 8:15 or 8:30, after setting our duffel bags and sleeping bags in a collection area and leaving only tent-related items in the tent.  Each day a different guide led the hike.  And the leader always walked slowly, emphasizing the “pole pole” message.

Most days we arrived at the next camp by 2:00.  Magically (see below), everything had been transported and was set up and in place by the time we arrived.  We had a hot lunch (soup, meat and/or vegetables, fruit) and then either rested or had a short afternoon activity.  The soup was typically cucumber, corn, potato, squash, or similar.

In the evening there was supper (similar to lunch), a briefing of the next day’s schedule and hike, and a health check.  The guides kept a daily chart with the following information: saturated oxygen level, pulse, and notes about medications taken, headaches, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, etc.  After the first day most of us started taking Diamox, though I took half doses for 2 days before going to the full dose.  As mentioned previously, I had diarrhea each day, and the over-the-counter medicine Immodium didn’t seem to help.  I could tell that I was significantly dehydrated at least 2 or 3 days, and probably moderately dehydrated the other days.  I often have challenges to drink enough water, and the higher requirements at high elevation posed even more of a challenge.  Adding flavor (e.g. Crystal Light) or electrolytes didn’t quite make drinking appealing to me, so this was an ongoing issue until the descent.

After the briefing and health check everyone generally went to their tent and got ready for sleep.

The guides encouraged us to share with them how we were feeling and if we had any concerns.  So I mentioned that I was concerned about the potassium-depleting diuretic characteristic of Diamox, since potassium depletion had played a role in my father’s untimely death over 30 years ago.  Day 3 was especially difficult for me, among other things including a brief episode of nausea in the middle of supper.  As it turned out, several people rearranged tents that night, since our single guy decided he’d like company for at least one night.  After all of the switches I was going to be alone in my tent.  But a few minutes later, my friend came into my tent and said that it had been noted that I seemed to be not doing well.  The guides were concerned about me and one of them would sleep in my tent with me.  Frankly, I was too exhausted to be embarrassed or to protest; instead I simply accepted – and truly appreciated – their concern.  (And I felt better the next day.)

The daily health check questions were intended to assess whether anyone was suffering from acute mountain sickness (AMS), the mildest form of altitude sickness.  AMS is actually fairly common and does not, in itself, indicate a need to descend.  But if it persists or gets worse, descent is the only remedy.  In retrospect, I’m sure I was experiencing AMS and the guides were monitoring me to make sure I didn’t get worse.  Most people do acclimatize (if the hiking route is suitable, as ours was), and I did somewhat, though I continued to have minor AMS issues throughout the trek.  My AMS and diarrhea were the only negative aspects of the trek.

There is one more area of safety that I want to mention.  If an injury occurred, or if a hiker became unable to walk, there were gurneys deployed along the most direct trail to an exit point.  On some expedition routes a stretcher is carried by a porter.  Later, as we hiked down from the summit, we passed numerous gurneys along the side of the trail.  Here is an example of one being moved to a higher location.  It was good to have the confidence that the guides had access to safety equipment and knew what to do in case of an emergency.  Several of our guides carried oxygen bottles, though I’m certainly grateful that no one needed it.

Gurney for emergency use

The guides were our leaders in several ways.  The trail was generally easy to follow, so way-finding was not an issue.  But the more senior guides were familiar with many of the routes on the mountain and knew intimately what terrain we would experience each day.  There were several camps and other spots with cell phone service, and the guides provided updates to the expedition company’s home base.  Our guides were always cheerful and supportive, making it clear that their most important responsibility was our safety, followed by assisting in any way they could to ensure a memorable experience – and, if at all possible, reaching the summit. One of the ways to enhance successful summits was to constantly reinforce the practice of hiking slowly, “pole pole.”  That became my most frequent refrain.  A number of our hikers had Apple watches, and I think they were somewhat surprised at how low their hiking heart rates were.  I presume this was  attributable to the slow-but-steady pace.

I was pleased to learn that several of the senior guides had been university trained as naturalists.  This meant that they were familiar with bird, plant, and animal life as well as the ecology and geology of the areas through which we hiked.  On the last morning of the trek I asked one of the guides the name of a pretty, flowering tree that was prevalent in the camp area, and his response was a Latin botanical name!  I thought that was terrific.  And the knowledge shared, often in response to questions, certainly enhanced my overall experience.

Another area in which the guides helped was carrying my day pack.  On the second day I must have already been visibly struggling a bit, and one of the guides offered to carry my day pack.  It really wasn’t heavy, but accepting the offer of help made it just a little easier for me to manage the hike.  (This picture was from a different day.)

Help with my day pack

For summit night, extra porters were enlisted so that every hiker had a helper.  Once again I was happy to have the help with my day pack – as well as keeping my balance on the steep trail.  My helper even helped me blow my nose once I’d put on my ridiculously heavy mittens that severely limited my hand mobility.  This help was another example of the guides and support staff doing everything they could to make it possible for hikers to have a memorable experience and reach the summit.  It was terrific, and much appreciated!

For some reason I didn’t realize before the trek that the camp sites were established camping areas.  If reservations were needed, this was taken care of by the expedition company.  At the beginning of the Lemosho Route, there is less traffic and the camp sites are smaller.  Later, after other trails join, the camp sites are larger.  The largest is Barafu, which is the staging area for summit attempts on most routes and is sometimes called summit base camp.  This is a view of Barafu from above, on the way down from the summit.  Our assigned camping area was in the lower part of the camp, on the back side of the hill in the background.  This picture gives a sense of the overall traffic on Mt Kilimanjaro, since most groups spend barely 24 hours at this camp.

Barafu Camp, sometimes called summit base camp

Last but certainly not least, one of the most important aspects of the inner workings of the trek was the amazing work done by the porters.  Every morning they broke camp, mostly after we had begun our hike.  As we left the kitchen staff was finishing up washing dishes from our delicious breakfast.  As porters and bags were ready, each porter picked up his load and started up the same trail we were hiking.  Most days, it was not long before porters began to catch up to us and pass us.  Most, like these, were carrying a personal pack as well as the official load on their head.

Porters carrying their loads up the trail and passing hikers

Especially the first couple of days we tried to step to one side of the trail, to give porters room to pass; but they often found a parallel alternative path.  After those first days we hikers stopped yelling at each other to step aside, and simply greeted the passing porters with “mambo jambo” (roughly, “hello, hello”).  This usually elicited a friendly “mambo jambo” in response, to which I tended to add “pole pole,” and the porter would often reply in kind, as if to reinforce the guides’ message.  Sometimes when I did step aside I offered a fist bump, which was generally responded to in kind.   No matter how heavy the porters’ loads, they were able to hike faster than we hiked.  So every day the porters arrived in camp ahead of the hikers and were able to get the tents set up, water collected, and cooking started by the time we arrived.

It is noteworthy that Barafu, the largest camp pictured above, has no nearby water supply.  The closest water is about 2 miles away near Karanga Camp, where we spent the previous night.   Porters made special trips from Barafu back to the stream to carry water.  This was the only camp site where we didn’t receive wash water.

Finally, it is also noteworthy that the entire trekking operation is strictly pack it in, pack it out.  Trash was collected in special designated bags.  At Karanga there was a fresh food refresh and trash was carried out.  I’d heard that this was going to happen but didn’t actually see any of this behind-the-curtain activity.  And because of the strict park regulations, the trails and camp areas were impressively clean and litter-free.

I was completely impressed with the porters.  They seemed to understand relatively little English, but they were always cheerful with their greetings and fist bumps as they passed.  The smooth operation of a trek is highly dependent on the porter operation running smoothly, and ours certainly seemed to.  As I’ll describe in later posts, the porter crew even serenaded us on two occasions.

In subsequent posts I will describe each day’s hike.  But first, here are a few statistics:  The trek covered about 42 miles in 8 days.  That’s barely 5 miles per day on average, but they were challenging miles.  The total elevation gain was 15,750 feet and the total loss was 18,050 feet, for an average grade of 15.2%.  That’s pretty steep over such a long distance, especially since the average elevation was about 12,500 feet.

Elevation profile

The long descent after summiting, accomplished in less than 30 elapsed hours, was just under 14,000 feet with an average grade of 19.8%.  That’s pretty unrelenting!  The ascent from the last dip down to 13,000 feet late on Day 5 to the summit was a little steeper, with an average grade of 20.8%.  But the most challenging section was the summit night hike, which was entirely above 15,100 feet in elevation; here the average grade was 24.0%, which is challenging at any elevation.  Perhaps the saving grace was that it just wasn’t possible to go faster than “pole pole”!