Trip Report: Tanzania Day 3 – Kilimanjaro Trek – Rongai Gate to Simba Campsite

Sunday September 21, 2003

Good Earth Tours came to pick us up at the hotel at 8 am. We didn’t leave until close to 9 am though, because we had to wait for another couple (groan). They were climbing the Marangu route, so our first stop was to drop them off. We drove through Moshi en route to the Mount Kilimanjaro National Park gate. Along the way, we passed lots of Maasai herdsmen tending their cattle, Chagga people getting out of church services, and lots of children waving from the side of the road. At the park gate, lots of groups of hikers were beginning their climbs, and there were huts set up to rent or sell camping gear.

After dropping off the first couple, our group drove the rest of the way to the Rongai route trailhead. The road got much worse along the way. The dust on the north side of the mountain is several inches thick in places, and very floury. It coats everything, which makes sense seeing that it is composed of ancient volcanic ash.

Our total drive time to Rongai was about 4 hours, during which time we never saw the mountain, as it was always clouded over.

We stopped at Tarakea for our lunch, which was a bit odd. Our guides led us to a table in a police canteen where lunch was served: an avocado, a banana, 1/2 orange, orange juice, a bag of chips, a bag of peanuts, a chocolate bar, and a muffin. Way too much food!

Then they went to a nearby ‘locals’ restaurant for their own lunch.

After lunch, it was another 1/2 hour drive to the trailhead.

The porters packed up and started up the mountain “pole pole” or “slowly”.

Lots of local children gathered, and we gave them some fruit bars we had on hand.

We passed through a farmer’s field and then the trail turned through a forest where we saw more colobus monkeys.

We came out on a high plateau with cypress and lobelia. We hiked about 2.5 hours today, to an elevation of 8600 feet at the Simba campsite.

The walks will get progressively shorter until summit day, in order to allow us to acclimatize. Today’s pace felt slow, and the incline was steady but gradual.

We pitched camp by a stream after not seeing anyone on the trail until late in the day. There are perhaps 20 people at this campsite. The porters pitched a dining tent for us, and we had tea time (with popcorn and hot chocolate) and then a dinner of mushroom soup, fried tuna, pasta and vegetable sauce, and mangoes, all of which was surprisingly good. The clouds cleared enough for us tonight to be able to see Mawenzi peak, but Kibo is still clouded over. We were able to pick out the Southern Cross and Mars in the night sky, and it was cold enough to wear my fleece to dinner, but not to bed.