Kilimanjaro: Has Anyone Done It?

[StephanieSD]

I'm climbing Kilimanjaro in February. Has anyone else done this? If so, what were your degrees of success with the porters and cooks getting your food right?

I do lots of hiking and trekking, but nothing that's a week long like this will be. I have to eat continuously when I'm hiking and I'm afraid I'll have to bring so much food my pack will be too heavy (at least at the start of the trip). I know I can have the porters carry some food. I'll probably bring my own loaf of bread, some pasta, and hot cereal to supplement what the cooks make each day, assuming they'll make a separate meal for me when necessary. (I'm waiting to hear back from the tour company. ) I looked at the sample menu, and it's a lot of rice and beans, but some pasta and there are sandwiches for lunch almost every day. I won't be a happy camper if I have to eat energy bars for lunch every day. I just get sick of them after awhile; they're not as filling or satisfying as real food.

I just wondered how others have dealt with adventure tour group situations like this. Thanks!

[tarnalberry]

I'm climbing Kilimanjaro in February. Has anyone else done this? If so, what were your degrees of success with the porters and cooks getting your food right?

I do lots of hiking and trekking, but nothing that's a week long like this will be. I have to eat continuously when I'm hiking and I'm afraid I'll have to bring so much food my pack will be too heavy (at least at the start of the trip). I know I can have the porters carry some food. I'll probably bring my own loaf of bread, some pasta, and hot cereal to supplement what the cooks make each day, assuming they'll make a separate meal for me when necessary. (I'm waiting to hear back from the tour company. ) I looked at the sample menu, and it's a lot of rice and beans, but some pasta and there are sandwiches for lunch almost every day. I won't be a happy camper if I have to eat energy bars for lunch every day. I just get sick of them after awhile; they're not as filling or satisfying as real food.

I just wondered how others have dealt with adventure tour group situations like this. Thanks!

I'm surprised by the sandwiches, but I guess it's non-technical, so that helps. Honestly, food gets heavy over long backpacking trips. On my five day trip last year, it was about six pounds. (A pound a day is a good estimate, really.) What that means, however, is that your pack is all the lighter at the end of the trip when you're more tired. But it also means that you have to look very carefully at exactly what food you're packing. Bread wouldn't really be worth it, for it's nutritional density value. Rice and beans are more nutritionally dense, as are dried fruits and nuts and seeds. Hot cereal is a great idea for the morning (I usually add flax meal to quinoa flakes, but if you're doing full cooking, rather than just boiled water, something like buckweat would be more filling). If you can have dairy, cheese is a good idea, and can last for a number of days without being refrigerated (particularly waxed hard cheeses).

I've never done something like that with porters, but when I pack my own stuff for long backpacking trips, it's all about maximizing nutritional density without also maximizing weight.

[ang1e0251]

I'll admit right here that I'm no athlete but Ann Curry from the Today show climbed Kilimanjaro last month and they had extensive coverage of it. I'll bet you could watch that coverage on their website. Maybe you would even get a response if you e-mailed her. You never know until you try.

Personally, I would probably pack nutrient dense foods like dates and canned meats. They would be heavy in the beginning but you would get the most energy from them.

Someone else with more knowledge than I, chime in?

[StephanieSD]

I heard back from the tour company and they've had gluten-free trekkers with them before so are familiar with the issue. Phew. I of course have to make sure I talk to the guide and the cook and watch the food prep carefully. And if I bring my gluten-free substitutes for the bread and pastas that they usually serve, the porters who carry the rest of the food will carry that for me too. So I only have to carry my daily snacks! Yay!

I don't get the Today Show where I live and my internet connection's not fast enough to watch the video online. But my parents both watched it and they're very concerned. If Ann Curry can't make it to the top, then I might not either. Gee, thanks for the encouragement!

[tarnalberry]

This porter thing...

Fancy!

[StephanieSD]

This porter thing...

Fancy!

It's mandatory unfortunately. We'd prefer to carry a lot more of our own stuff. But Tanzania's main source of income is tourism, and the tourism industry has it rigged so that you have to pay a whole team of folks to climb the mountain with you.

We're taking the bare minimum allowed. We know people who hired extra porters to carry portable toilets and showers up with them! Showers?