Route

There are half a dozen well-traveled routes up Kilimanjaro and we researched the pros and cons carefully before settling on the Western Breach via the Shira Plateau.  Although arguably the most difficult of the non-technical routes, this is a very scenic approach to the mountain, and it gave us several more days for acclimatization than the more popular Marangu and Machame routes.  Known respectively as the "Coca-Cola" and "whisky" routes, these crowded routes have lower success rates and, based on what we could glean from other folks' websites, are much less fun.

The premise for the trip was Barney's 50th birthday in June, 2005.  We both had commitments early in the month, so we targeted the end of June, which turned out to be an ideal time of year - as a bonus, we even had a full moon.

Planning

Having picked the route and approximate date, we interviewed several outfitters and selected Absolute Adventure Travel in Houston to arrange our trip - see "Thanks" page for further details and effusions.  In addition to impressing us with their wealth of knowledge and advice, they offered the option of camping in the Crater, avoiding a nighttime ascent to the summit.  Absolute Adventure Travel made all the arrangements on our behalf, including transfers within Tanzania, our Pre-Trek and Post-Trek safaris, and rental of certain pieces of equipment that it didn't make sense to buy.

Getting to Tanzania

It's cheapest to fly into Nairobi, but then you have a long bus trip or another short flight to get to Kilimanjaro and we didn't fancy that.  The only major carrier that flies directly to Kilimanjaro is KLM, with daily flights from Amsterdam, easily reached by both of us via direct connections.  We met at an airport hotel the evening before our flight and we didn't go into the city - honest!  Barney did not appear to need a haircut in Schiphol airport but he had one anyway.  Greg got a free cup of coffee out of the deal.

Training

To quote from one of the brochures we looked at, "the summit of Kilimanjaro can be reached by any reasonably fit person".  Not knowing what "reasonably fit" meant, we both embarked on a moderate training regimen for a few months before the trek, to be on the safe side.  This entailed a few sessions a week in the gym doing cardio and medium weights, and some day-long hikes.  Neither of us was in a position to train at altitude, although Barney managed to get in some walking in the Alps with Anna.  He also did a "3-Peaks" - Ben Nevis, Scafell Pikes and Snowdon - over a long weekend (not 24 hours!).  Greg and Kathy had some very pleasant walks in the Santa Cruz mountains - Kathy claims she left Greg in the dust a couple of times, but he denies this.

Medical Checks and Preparations

A couple of months before the trek, we had ourselves checked out by the doc, were given the all-clear, and obtained the recommended vaccinations: Hepatitis A, Typhoid, Yellow Fever, Tetanus/Diphtheria and a Polio booster.  We also obtained a course of pills to prevent Malaria during the trip: Greg took weekly mefloquine (generic for Lariam) and Barney took daily atovaquone/proguanil (Malarone).  Neither of us experienced significant side effects from these medications.  We each obtained a six-day supply of Diamox for altitude sickness, and Greg obtained a prescription for an antibiotic, Ciproflaxin, as an anti-diarrheal, which proved to be a wise precaution.

Visas

A Visa is required for entry into Tanzania from most countries including the US and UK.  This can be obtained on arrival, but we didn't want to risk a long line at the airport, so we submitted our applications ahead of time.  Barney had to time this carefully, since he travels a lot and needs his passport frequently; Greg does all his work in the good old USA so he didn't have this issue.

Kit

Our outfitter provided us with a kit list, there was much useful advice to be found in books, and several websites contain the lists of individual trekkers.  A link to Greg's detailed kit list is below; here are some highlights.

We both bought new insulated hiking boots for the trip.  Barney bought some very fancy German hiking boots; Kathy got Greg's hi-tech size 14 boots on eBay (for $20!)  Modern boots don't really need "wearing in", but we wanted to be certain they would work for us so we wore them for our training hikes.  We also had 2 kinds of socks: thick outer socks and moisture-wicking liner socks.  Our feet held up very well - some very minor damage, but nothing to cause discomfort.  Every night our feet were dry and fragrant!!  Well, dry.

Since we knew that porters would be carrying the majority of our gear on the mountain, we each equipped ourselves with a day-pack with a hydration unit and room for camera, film, sunglasses, sunblock, power bars and other bits and pieces needed on the trail.  The rest of our gear went into an expedition bag - in Greg's case, a waterproof duffel bag - which the porter would then put in another bag.  So no point in bringing a big backpack.

Both of us debated about trekking poles and decided in the end to get them.  These turned out to be very useful for the descent - although we saw some folks also using them on the ascent, we didn't.  A pair of long gaiters proved to be invaluable - we wore them every day, to stay dry and protect us from insects and stinging plants in the forest, to keep out dust and sharp stones at higher altitudes, and to keep out the snow near the summit.

Sleeping mats were provided for us.  We rented (extra long!) low-temperature-rated sleeping bags from the outfitter, and brought our own light inner sleeping bags which added comfort and warmth at high altitude.  We also rented down jackets, which made it much more comfortable in the crater and on summit day, and served as excellent pillows.  Our waterproof jackets we wore or carried every day.

Thankful at such times for being guys, we each had a water bottle for nighttime use.  Although we weren't planning on any night trekking, Barney brought a headlamp; Greg brought a flashlight. Other reasons for being up at night made these useful additions.  (Do we have a theme going here?) 

We each had a camera; Barney borrowed Anna's very compact and high-quality Canon digital with an extra memory card, and Greg brought his old, solid metal Minolta 35mm SLR and a lot of film.  The Minolta with a long telephoto proved invaluable on safari (he didn't take the telephoto up the mountain), but was not ideal on the trek.

For most clothing, we found that we preferred synthetic fabrics such as polyester or nylon over cotton or wool.  Greg had a couple of cotton shirts and these didn't perform well - they tended to hold moisture, becoming cold or uncomfortable on the trail, and didn't dry as readily as the synthetics once we got to camp.