Kili Family trip

On Decem­ber 14^th, every­one arrived safe­ly in Tan­za­nia, with no lug­gage lost and every­one was hap­py to be there. After a quick brief­ing, we set out on the dri­ve to Itikoni Camp. The camp was very nice and the best place to start before the climb. We ate din­ner and made plans for the fol­low­ing day. 

The next morn­ing, every­one was feel­ing good and hap­py to be in the camp. The tents were com­fort­able; the mess tent, lounge, and the peo­ple work­ing in that camp made the stay fab­u­lous. After break­fast we did a gear check and decid­ed to do a hike before lunch because of the weath­er. It was a good choice, because after the hike it start­ed to rain. At around 5:00pm we went for a sun­down­er. We saw some Colobus mon­keys and Giraffes, a dou­ble rain­bow and got views of mount Meru though with clouds while hav­ing drinks and crackers. 

The next day, every­one said they awoke many times in the night because of lots of animal’s calls – Hye­nas, Baboons, Colobus, and Bush­bucks made a lot of noise dur­ing the night. After break­fast we loaded the vehi­cle and drove to Lon­dorossi Gate, where the Kil­i­man­jaro trek begins. We signed in and start­ed our hike get­ting to camp around 3pm. After a great din­ner all went to sleep.

For the next cou­ple of days, we had good nights of sleep, awoke, had break­fast and start­ed hik­ing. Our plans were to get to the next camp before hav­ing lunch because of rain. All were hap­py to have hot lunch in camp and we got there both days before the rains start­ed. Din­ner was deli­cious every night, and we went to bed short­ly after. 

The next two days we hiked to Lava and Arrow Camps. Then, on the morn­ing of Decem­ber 20^th it was sun­ny and the night was beau­ti­ful. The moun­tain was clear with more snow from Arrow Camp. Wake­up call was at 4:00am and break­fast there­after. We all woke up feel­ing well and ready for the crater. After break­fast we start­ed our hike at 4:50 am. We hiked slow­ly and the weath­er was good. We had some snow on the way to crater so we cut steps using the ice axe. We car­ried enough water and snacks for the trail and had lunch at the rim of the crater. Then, we walked around the Furt­wan­gler Glac­i­er and took good pic­tures. We found a nice vent behind the small­est part of the Furt­wan­gler Glac­i­er, which was deep under­neath. We decid­ed to stay there for tea and rest. It start­ed to snow before din­ner and con­tin­ued the whole night.

Ear­ly the next morn­ing we woke up with a lot of snow. Every­thing was cov­ered with snow. After break­fast we hiked about an hour to the sum­mit. It was a beau­ti­ful hike because of soft snow and every­thing was cov­ered with it. After tak­ing pic­tures we hiked down to Mwe­ka camp and stopped at Mil­len­ni­um Camp for lunch. We arrived in Camp around 1:30pm, washed, and had some tea before din­ner. The clients were all sur­prised that they felt fine and not as tired as oth­er peo­ple looked.

The next morn­ing, we woke up ear­ly so we could get to the gate before the rain. It was always around 10:00am or so when the rain start­ed. After break­fast we said good­bye to the porters and we hiked to Mwe­ka gate. We got to the gate at 10:15am, signed out and ate lunch there. From there we drove to Moivaro Lodge, which was very good as well and all got hot water for show­er. After we cleaned up and had a short talk about the climb; every­one received cer­tifi­cates. Short­ly there­after, Den­nis, (the safari guide) gave a short brief­ing about the safari then we said good­bye and went home.