If you’re reading this and looking for a guide for Mt. Kilimanjaro I cannot recommend Aloyce enough. Professional, LOCAL, and so knowledgeable. I wouldn’t have made it to the top without him. And he gives a very fair price. His WhatsApp number is +255-755-688-712 or you can find more information on Above the Rim Tours.
The distance between myself and the peak of world’s tallest free standing mountain wasn’t very far. I could see the sun reflecting off the snow (yes, snow in Africa) but I remember thinking “I’m going to have to tell everyone I didn’t make it”. At this point I had been climbing for 5 days, at an altitude of around 19,000ft, my oxygen level was below 60 mm Hg and I had gotten sick a few times on the way up. I couldn’t keep my eyes open. I couldn’t catch my breath, trying so hard to take in the oxygen that just wasn’t there. My head was pounding. Everything in me wanted to give up. My legs wouldn’t move and I was afraid I would pass out at any given moment. I’ve heard stories of people needing a helicopter to get down the mountain when the altitude sickness gets extreme. Organs can shut down and it’s life threatening. But then the singing started. My guide, Aloyce, his assistant, Jackson and our porter, Bryton began to sing to me in Swahili; blessing songs. Bryton kept his hand on my back to keep me upright and whispered encouraging words in a language I don’t know but somehow it kept me going. “One step, one step”. Was it hours or minutes? I’m not sure but all the sudden I was there. I would’ve cried if my tears didn’t instantly evaporate (it was only around 10 degrees f). I hugged my hiking companion, Chanden (more on this badass lady below), took my photo with the iconic Kilimanjaro sign and began to descend. We started our climb to the top from base camp at 1:00am and made it to our last camp at 3:00pm. Only two hours down the mountain and I was feeling like myself again. The postponed adderline finally hit and I could not stop smiling. I DID IT.
Chanden and I met on Facebook. I booked my flight to Tanzania before I even looked at how much it would cost me to climb Kili, which was a mistake at that time but now it’s a blessing. I needed to find at least one other person to hike with me to reduce the costs of the trek. For even one person to climb Kilimanjaro, you need a guide, a cook, and 7-8 porters. I thought this was a bit extreme but I know now that this amount of help is highly necessary (unless you’re already an experienced mountaineer, which I am not). Each climber added to the group decreases the cost signficantally. I posted on every Kilimanjaro page I could find looking for a hiking buddy and I got connected to Chanden.
Chanden is 64 years old, less than 5 ft tall, originally from India, grew up in England and is now living in Canada. Shes been solo traveling for the past 6 months and is one of the most incredible individuals I’ve ever met. Just in her past solo trip she’s done the Camino, Everest base camp, Mt. Fuji and Shikoku. She can make it up and down a mountain with ease and we spent everyday together on Kili, even sharing a tent. I can’t forget to mention that she got a full hip replacement last year. Fate is a weird thing because it brought us together and we are the perfect traveling pair, who knew? It was Chanden’s encouragement that got me up that mountain and she was proud of me like a mother would be. She is the definition of “age is just a number” and blew our minds as she flew up Kiliomanjaro.
Everyday went like this: at 5:00am Wilson, one of the porters, woke Chanden and I up in our tent with a cup of hot coffee and two scoops of sugar. Then we’d meet in the porter’s tent for breakfast that our chef Alex made (usually porridge, fruits, pancakes and eggs) then we’d hit the trails. 5-7 hours of hiking up the mountain to the next camp with our guides Aloyce and Jackson. Our porters would pass us on the trail right away and we wouldn’t see them again until we made it to camp. Once we arrived to camp we’d have lunch, take a little nap, have tea and then dinner. Every meal was different and delicious. I never would’ve guessed I’d be eating so good at such high altitudes, all thanks to Alex, the “stomach engineer”. We went to sleep around 7pm each night and I was exhausted enough from the trek to instantly fall asleep. We repeated this until we made it to the peak and back down to our last camp.
Two things I’m going to remember most from this Kilimanjaro adventure: the stars being so bright I didn’t even need a headlamp in the night and (maybe not such a positive memory) the camp shoot toilets. These toilets presented a challenge everyday, whether it was the smell or the sight or just how foreign it was. Although my time in India and Thailand prepared me a little bit. I was warned about these toilets. You can pay extra to have a porter bring a portable toilet but there is no way I’m letting someone else carry my own privy up a mountain.
Kilimanjaro is an impressive sight. Everyday had different scenery and rock formations, there’s history of volcanic eruptions and it is the center of numerous local legends but what was even more impressive to me was the porters. These guys are elite athletes. Climbing thousands of feet up a mountain carrying 30-60 pounds on their backs. Some had solid hiking boots and others had just a pair of Nikes. They smile and laugh and talk to one another and I couldn’t imagine doing their job. Kiliomanjaro is a seasonal hike, usually from May-October. These porters will take on as many jobs as they can during the season and will make $15-$17 a day. They rely on tips as this does not nearly cover the cost of living in Tanzania. I didn’t anticipate to tip them as much as I did, and if that means cutting my trip a few weeks short to show my appreciation for these guys I’m all for it. It was the energy of the porters that made Kilimanjaro so special. I got the pleasure to become close to one of our porters close to my age, Bryton, who knew a bit of English and answered all my questions about his lifestyle here in Tanzania. We bonded over playing pool on his phone between lunch and dinner but he always let me win.
I asked Aloyce if I could buy our porters a couple of rounds of beer. We went to this local place, it was a cement block that sold everything from gasoline to children's shoes to beer and wine. They even did currency exchange. We finally sat together as equals and I'm so glad I got to have this moment with them before we went our separate ways.
I got the chance to interview our guide, Aloyce (who has summited Kiliomanjaro over 100 times) to ask him all about his life growing up in Tanzania, how the tourist industry impacts the economy of Tanzania, his most memorable experience on Kiliomanjaro (a story that made my jaw drop) and more. He answered with so much honesty and enthusiasm I can’t wait to share it with you all. I’ll send this out in a couple of weeks when I get the podcast rolling!
Next is a five day camping safari with Chanden who used her persistent and impressive negotiation skills to get us a good price. I’ve been obsessed with the Serengeti forever and I can’t wait to CAMP in it!!!! Fingers crossed for lots of animal sightings and buffalo migration. Talk soon.
We rockin’ with Chanden 😤