Tanzania!

So as I'm sure you noticed, I didn't actually use this blog for first semester... Tor did such a fantastic job with the Seamester blog it hardly seemed worth it (not to mention the lack of internet). But if you want to check it out and see all the stories and get a sense for the experience I had definitely go to seamester's website where you can find the blog and also our "newspaper" the Telltale. The Telltale is really cool because you can get to know all the people who were on the boat with me and it has a more personal touch to it! So be sure to check those out, because my lack of communication on Seamester was frankly saddening and I apologize. 

But... I'm on to second semester now, very much on dry land, and pursuing equally exciting adventures! Currently I am in Arusha, Tanzania, the town acting as a kind of a base of operations for both climbs. I just got back from climbing Mt. Meru and I ship off tomorrow again to go climb Mt. Kilimanjaro! 


The last few days have been absolutely insane! I've been climbing my "warm up" climb, Mt. Meru. I feel like the word expedition is a much better word to describe the trip than the backpacking considering the magnitude of the hike and the astounding luxury of the trip. We had 6 porters, 1 guide, and 1 ranger hiking with us. Basically the porters do everything for us. And I mean EVERYTHING, not just carrying all our stuff up the mountain, but we had a cook, a personal waiter/servant, and had meals in a dining room with a set table and mountain of condiment and drink choices... Literally, when we showed up at the first camp we had this guy take us to our room (with beds). He then showed up later with a bucket of warm water and soap and asked us if we wanted to wash.... I was so flustered I didn't know what to do, but we followed him and he brought us to the bathroom with sinks and toilets with running water... After that he came and told us dinner was ready and sat us down for our three course meal... I was so flustered I literally had no idea what to do. I was so confused the whole time, but I guess I could get used to it! This went on for two days until the third day, or summiting day which was 24 hours of life changing: The day when I almost died and saved someones life (Suspenseful cliffhanger pause....)

We woke up at midnight without really sleeping to start our summiting of Mt. Meru. We hiked through the night gaining 4-5000 ft of elevation and traveling 5-6 miles in 6 hours. It was the most insane hiking i've ever done. It was a moonless night so we used headlamps and I couldn't see much besides right in front of me. It turns out we were hiking on a volcanic ridge the whole time. It was the most challenging hike I have ever have done hands down. It was probably close to 0 F for the last few miles with wind chill! The water in the mouthpiece of my platypus literally froze in under a minute. Besides that I was sleep deprived and at incredibly high altitudes. With about 3 miles to go and another couple thousand feet I got sick from altitude, but I really wanted to summit so I kept pushing through and staying positive! Finally as the horizon turned orange I made it and was rewarded with a beautiful sunrise over Kili and the best views I have ever seen! We didn't linger long though because Luke (one of the two others I'm hiking with) was very sick and needed to descend. I still had a good time staying positive and getting to know Tim (the other kid) well and enjoying the views. It was noon when we made it back to the highest camp. Luke was in really bad shape though, having a hard time breathing and for the last mile or so we took his pack and he needed to support his weight on one of us. As we continued our descent after the highest camp he only got weaker and eventually couldn't go on.... We were about 4-5 miles from the camp we needed to get to and he couldn't move... fortunately Tim did his WOOFER so he took charge. It seemed like he had HAPE or high altitude pulmonary adema (build up of fluid in the lungs), which is fatal so we needed to get him to a hospital asap. Tim and I build a litter our of sticks and our jackets and we carried him down 3-4000ft around 4 or 5 miles to the next camp. It was incredibly exhausting, especially given I hadn't slept at all and summited a mountain, but I had to push through because if what we suspected was right Luke would die in under two days... Fortunately we had 5 people cycling through carrying him, Me, Tim, Joseph, the Ranger, and my German friend Michelle whom I met at camp. Fortunately we were all strong men and after 4 hours made it to camp. From there we took an emergency jeep down to the base and took Luke to the hospital. He stayed there overnight and just got back to the hotel an hour ago. We stayed at the hospital for a long time and got back to the hotel at midnight and ate. (Tim and I hadn't eaten since a small brunch at noon) The hospital told us Luke didn't have HAPE which is good, but they wanted to keep him to check on him. He seems fine right now, just severely exhausted. He was well enough to come on our trip to the game park which was good, and things are looking good for him to be joining us on Kilimanjaro!

So that is my story for Meru, but enough talk here are some pictures...

The First Camp

The Drive Down To The Base

Carrying Luke Down

View Of Kili On The Trail

Ranger and Luke on The Trail

Watching the Sunrise Over Kili

Sunrise over Kilimanjaro From First Camp

Perfect Shadow of Mt. Meru From Summit

Some Views

More Views!

Sunrise Over Kili At The First Camp

Sunrise Over Kili From Top of Meru

We Made It!!! People From Left (Luke, Me, Tim)