Engineer Chris McAneny begins his trek

10/6/2010 8:43 AM EDT

His name was Winford and he came across as very self-assured and experienced. This is exactly what you need as you head to one of the Seven Summits of the World, and the highest on the African Continent. Winford assured us we could make it, if we promised to never give up. This commitment I made was sorely tested on the summit night...but more on that later.

Our guide,Winford

Final last checks as we stowed our gear on the Land Rover for the drive from the Hotel to the Londorosi Park Gate (Kili is in a National Park, and all trekkers are signed in and out—both for safety and for tourism statistics). Altimeter working, Backpack...here (after packing and repacking oh so many times), Day Pack (where you put clothes for the trek)...here (I think I was developing OCD, I repacked it so many times). A quick picture in front of the Land Rover and we are off.

Quick picture before the road to Kili

There are six routes up Kili; I chose the Lemosho Route. It is the longest and one of the least trekked. I chose this route because 1) I thought it gave the best chance of acclimating; 2) the diversity of the scenery...African plain, forest (from normal, to cloud to rain forest), moorland, which transitions to a volcanic lunar landscape and eventually to the rock, scree and glacier to the summit. 3) As it was least trekked, it would mean we had more of the mountain to ourselves; i.e., we could really experience the nature all around us with less distraction from other trekkers.

The Land Rover left us at the park gate, and we started a 5-hour trek through the forest to Big Tree Camp. You can see why the camp got its name! As you walk during the day, you see relatively few people. There was a group of Norwegian people that we would see, periodically. Interestingly, four ladies and two men. As the hours go by, you walk and take in the incredible environment. Then, all those following the same route and at the same pace would be drawn together at the campsite each evening. A chance to share experiences and just be social, after hours in your smaller group or in your own company.

Socializing at Big Tree Camp

Water and drugs are a trekker’s best friends

One thing that is stressed to best help acclimation is to drink 3 to 4 liters of water per day. I trained to drink more water before leaving, as I’m not a big water drinker. The result of all this water is that you regularly need to relieve yourself of the fluid. That’s OK during the day, as in the forest a tree is always at hand. At night, I found myself waking up every few hours, needing to escape the sleeping bag, climbing round my trekking partner Paul, and finding the two skin/layered tent zippers to get out. This doesn’t make for a relaxing sleep. I had not been in a tent and sleeping bag for six nights for decades. Night one was a novelty, but as the nights went on—and it got sooo much colder—I vowed I would always give thanks to sleep in a bed and have a bathroom close at hand.

The other point I remember vividly is, whilst relieving yourself of fluid in the pitch dark in the middle of the night, you can hear the chatter/screech of the local Blue and Colobus monkeys. Wow, what an Experience!!

The other big debate among trekkers regarding altitude is, ‘should I take anything for it, and if so what?’ The variation of advice is bewildering. You must remember, in the UK we don’t have altitude. Our highest peak is Ben Nevis, at a staggering 4,000 feet. We would be five times that height! To make a long story short, I took Diamox, which most people were using. One strange side effect was that it made your hands (and, in my case, face; even my feet on one occasion) tingle several times a day. This doesn’t sound like much, but it is a very weird sensation.

I hope you find the below plot from the Altimeter interesting.

Altimeter readings

You can see my position every 45 minutes, from the start to end of the trek. Its output also shows temperature and longitude/latitude. I should add that the Altimeter was kept in my backpack at all times, it was protected by bubble wrap, just in case I fell and damaged it in any way. This was a once-in-a-lifetime field trial, and I didn’t want to take any risks!! My Position From Start to Finish My next blog post will tell of the journey from the first night in the tent at Big Tree Camp to the summit night, when we start at midnight and plod, step by step, for seven hours in the darkness to the Roof of Africa.

This post is part of a series chronicling the adventures of engineers Darren Wenn of Microchip Technology and Chris McAneny of Future Electronics as they prepare for and climb Africa’s famous Mt. Kilimanjaro, equipped with a special device they designed for taking measurements in extreme conditions.