Guidebook: Stedman's "Kilimanjaro: A trekking guide to Africa's Highest Mountain"

After returning to my blog after a several year hiatus, I was pleasantly surprised to note that I was getting a bit of traffic from the website: http://www.climbmountkilimanjaro.com/  , which had links to a number of blogs including this one.  What was even more flattering was finding out that this website was maintained by none other than Henry Stedman, who is the author of what is in my opinion, the definitive guide to trekking on Kilimanjaro.   Go to amazon.com and search kilimanjaro... as of 2012, there is not another guidebook that has a higher rating (5 stars) or number of reviewers than Stedman's "Kilimanjaro: A trekking guide to Africa's highest mountain."

Looking back at my posts for the first time in what seems ages, I was a bit horrified to note that not one  made mention to Stedman's guidebook, which was the bible that helped prepare me prior to the trip, as well as serve as my reference on the mountain itself.  In addition to having sections on each of the major routes,  it also provided a good amount of background information on the mountain and region, to help put in context what I was experiencing on the hike itself.  Internet access was not available on Kili when I made my trek in 2006, as as far as I'm aware its not available in 2012! So for information geeks such as myself, this guidebook was worth the effort to carry.  Its actually very compact  (5 X 7 inches, ~ 0.5 lbs/ 250g).  I used the 2nd edition (blue cover below); but there is a new updated version that I have not seen.

Stedman's guide along with a map are what I carried on the mountain itself (International Travel Maps: Kilimanjaro; you can google this.  It is a very good scaled topo map) .

I've also since taken a look at Stedman's website.  Although I haven't yet had the chance to read everything in detail, I will say that this appears to be one of the most comprehensive and well organized websites on Kilimanjaro trekking.  Once again, the information geek in me appreciates the amount of useful background detail on the mountain, along with the practical/essential tips.  This website might have existed at the time I did my trip in 2006, but it certainly wasn't in the format that is today.  I undoubtably would have used this as my reference point if I was planning my trip in 2012.

This post may be a belated way of returning the favor to a website/author (THE definitive Kili expert?) who graciously made mention of my blog.   However, while for me Kilimanjaro was a singular event that impacted my life,  for Henry Stedman, Kilimanjaro is an ongoing passion, and he continues to accumulate further experience and knowledge that is shared in his book/website.  I would be making the same recommendation regardless of whether or not Stedman had ever laid eyes on Kilimanjarotomorrow.

Demystifying the Kilimanjaro Outhouse

This is not the post you will find in most blogs, but I guarantee there are at least a a few would be trekkers who are wondering about this.

With the amount of foot traffic on Kilimanjaro, it is critical that trekkers adhere to the best of their abilities the adages of "leave no trace" and "take out what you bring in."  When it comes to the issue of human waste, this is accomplished by the construction of outhouses placed strategically along the various routes and in abundance at the camp sites.

These wooden outhouses are erected over deep (6-8 foot cisterns) dug into the earth.  They are not that unsimilar to some of the public restrooms you might find in Europe:  there is no commode, but a couple of slabs of wood to stand on while squatting over an opening leading to the hole down below.   It is my understanding that at various times of the year it is the waste from these commodes are hauled out by porters.

This is  relative, but I found these outhouses to be clean and up to the task, especially when you consider possible alternatives.  There weren't a lot (or any for that matter) insects due to the altitude, and minimal odors.  I've had far worse experiences in public restrooms of large metropolitan cities around the world.  I've heard that at times when the cisterns get filled up, it can be a pretty toxic experience, but that wasn't the case on my trip.  Plus, there were enough outhouses  so that you could be somewhat selective in finding the right, private spot for you to do your business.

Machame camp to Shira Camp: Recap

The elevation gain between these camps was ~2600 feet (Machame: 9843 feet; Shira: 12, 467 feet), over approximately 6 miles.  It took approximately 5-6 hours including lunch break (we liked to take our time).  The majority of the elevation gain occurred in the first 3 miles over a steep, rocky hike.  Fortunately, the path was dry... with rain, I imagined the slippery rocks would have made this part of the hike a bit challenging.

This happened to be the warmest day of our hike (still relatively low elevation) with temperatures reaching 70-80 degrees F (~25 degrees C).  This cooled rapidly later in the afternoon as the clouds moved in (temperature dropped 10 to 20 degrees F)

Shira camp was the western-most location of the Machame route.  The porters regaled us with song and dance as the sun set behind Mt Meru (further west).

Kilimanjaro peak itself, based in the waning rays of sunlight, ready to great us again in the morning

Kilimanjaroyesterday...6 years

It has been 6 years since I summited Kilimanjaro and 4 years since I last published a post in this blog. I apologize to those of you who have left comments that may have gone unnoticed by me.  Most of all I hope that you too had an experience on Kilimanjaro that was as rewarding as mine.

I am not one to start something and not finish it, and so as if the trip to Kilimanjaro were yesterday,  I will begin again where I left off 4 years ago.

Mount Meru

As dusk approached, the clouds and fog filtered through Shira plateau creating a surreal visual drama. Forty four miles due west from Kilimanjaro, the 15,000 foot active volcano Mount Meru wasn't about to be outdone by it's more famous neighbor

Kilimanjaro viewed from Shira Camp

In the late afternoon, as we waited for dinner at Shira Camp, the clouds began to open for the first time since early morning. Looking due east, we caught our first glimpse of Kilimanjaro at this altitude. The last time we saw it was leaving Machame camp, where it appeared like a distant peak in the horizon. Now we could make out the details of the glaciers, and we realized how far we had come in only two days.

Sasquatch on Kilimanjaro?

Shortly after arriving at Shira camp, I shot these series of pictures of a rather cumbersome creature with a long mane moving at a high rate of speed in the distance.









Actually, it was only Jeremiah, who had volunteered to sprint around the camp in order to let me test the auto-tracking feature on my new Canon 20D. This was no small feat, as any exertion at 13,000 ft left you pretty winded.

February 2, 2006: Shira Camp Arrival

We more or less stumbled/wandered into Shira camp in mid-afternoon. We were still surrounded by the cloud line and so the views were rather unspectacular. However, this belied the views that were to materialize a few hours later at sunset. We were greeted by a winged sentinel, the white necked raven. Although ground fauna were few and far between, these birds were still abundant, jockeying for whatever scraps were left unattended by the trekkers. Unlike Machame Huts, vegetation was sparse at this camp site. You could see tents sprawled over a flat 1/4 mile stretch of rocky earth when the clouds slowly started to lift.

One year anniversary of Kilimanjaro summit day

This is being posted at 10:45 pm EST on February 5. In Tanzania it is 6:50 am, February 6th; almost one year exactly that Jen, Ajay, Jeremiah and I summited Mt Kilimanjaro.

If you happen to be waking up in Moshi, and the early morning clouds are just right... this is what you would see. You would peer towards the summit and wonder who was standing there- on top of the world for a day.

Day 2: The Enchanted Forest

After lunch, we continued our trek to the Shira plateau. The remaining distance to the camp was about the same as what we had done earlier in the morning, but was much easier in terms of effort. We were now essesntially hiking west along the slopes of Kilimanjaro with relatively little change in elevation.

A dense fog rolled in over the earthy landscape that surrounded us. Old man's beard covered the gnarlled vegetation that we walked through.

February 2, 2006: Lunch and the fresh vegetable dilemma

I've taken a bit of a hiatus from working on this blog, but I'm not one to leave things half finished. It's been over a year since our Kilimanjaro trip began to take shape, but it seems like a longer time has passed. In any case, continuing our trek to Shira Plateau...

Along the midway point of our hike, our first lunch was served. Our guides had set up a table with a blue table cloth and served us a lunch of sandwiches (cheese and vegetables if I remember correctly), biscuits, and fruit, as well as bottled fruit juice and tea.

The cook and waiter (yes, the tentman in charge of setting up camp doubled as a waiter) had done a great job making our meals feel like something special. At least as good as anyone could do under the circumstances. Speaking for myself only, anytime I'm camping, it doesn't take a lot to make me happy in terms of food... I can eat anything. However, we were faced with one dilemma. The cook had prepared the sandwiches using slices of fresh tomatos and bell peppers. We inquired as to how these vegetables were prepared and were told they were washed using boiled water that had also been sterilized by a portable UV irradiator. There was certainly no reason for us not to believe that they had in fact done this. One of the reasons Ajay had choosen Zara Travel for our trip was based on their good reputation and track record. They didn't earn this reputation by cutting corners and leaving a wake of sick customers. However, we had all done enough traveling to realize that we alone were responsible for avoiding the things that might make us ill, such as eating potentially contaminated vegetables and fruit. We were torn between being ultra-cautious and not eating the sandwiches versus possibly offending our cook who had really worked hard to do something special for us. After investing so much time and money to finally make it this far, the last thing any of us wanted was to fail to reach the summit due to a nasty case of gastroenteritis. In the end, I believe Jeremiah and Ajay chose to avoid the veggies, while Jen and I rolled the dice and went for it and ate the sandwiches. Part of my decision was made because I typically have an iron stomach compared to others. The other part of my decision was made because the sandwiches looked and tasted good. To make a long story short, none of us got sick in the end.