Thanks to Those That Helped Us Get to the Top

Sam and I could never imagine trying to climb Mount Kilimanjaro on our own, though we did see a few people who were after this feat.  We owe our success in summitting in part to all the guides and porters that were there to help along the way.

When we arrived in Moshi, Tro-Peaks told us that we would be climbing with two other people, but their flight, which was only supposed get in the night before we left, had been delayed. So the climb just ended up being the two of us in our camp, and, of course, we saw many other climbers on the same route as we took.

We had two wonderful guides along the way. Washington usually took the lead when we were hiking. And as Sam mentioned, "pole pole" was the motto throughout. This was Washington's 177th time to climb the mountain, so he was definitely a pro!  Thomas, one of the owners of Tro-Peaks, was our other guide, who usually laid out the plans for the day He was full of information about the mountain and stories about previous climbers.

Thomas and Washington

 We also had 8 porters with us as well...It was so amazing that 10 people total were there to help just us two. If you're not familiar with porters, they are the guys doing the heavy lifting and the hard work. They not only carried their bags, but also our big backpacks too. They carried all of the tents, food, water, and cooking equipment too, often with one bag on their back and another on their heads.

 Porters hiking on the trail

He carried my bag the whole trip. He had no idea what Ohio State University is, so I won't hold it against him!

Two of them served as our cook and waiter, making sure we ate more food than we even felt like so we kept up our energy.  We often ate better than we would eat at home, including a tea break promptly every afternoon.

Our dinner table inside the tent

They always left camp after we did, but they always made it to the next site before us and already had everything set up and ready to go when we arrived. The day after we returned to Moshi, still tired and sore, we learned our porters would be heading back up the mountain the next day with another group to help them to the top! We would like to especially thank this crew since, without them, our climb would have no doubt been impossible!

All of the porters and cooks together on the last day

(Written December 14th)