Climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro via the the Machame route climb involves trekking
approximately 50km over the course of 7 days. Since this was to be my
first extended mountain hike, my first extended camping trip, and my first
time at an altitude above 3000m, I had no idea how physically taxing it
would be, nor how my body would react to being at altitude. My exercise
routine involved two-hour kung fu classes twice a week, a few short day
hikes, a single short hike at 2500m, and an attempt at regular morning
walks up and down the hills near my house in San Francisco. Wally's routine
involved going to the gym and using the stairmaster for four miles a day.
I think he was more disciplined about getting in shape than I was.
Besides physical and mental preparation, there were a whole slew of other
things that had to be taken care of before leaving:
- equipment purchase/organization (see
equipment guide
for details)
- visa for Tanzania (forms available from the
Tanzanian
Embassy)
- yellow Fever immunization (required for entry into Tanzania)
- malaria pill prescription (suggested)
- other immunization/booster shots
- travel insurance that covers high-altitude trekking
(we used
Worldwide
Travellers)
Coupled with not really knowing what conditions on the mountain would
be like, preparation occupied its fair share of my mental energy; it actually
prevented my from going about my normal life during the few weeks prior
to the climb. Here's a snippet from my journal entry from December 23,
2000:
"With less than two weeks remaining before we fly out
of the Bay Area, I am finding myself filled with both excitement and worry.
The last few days have been a frantic scramble to take care of 'loose ends',
which unfortunately include important things like getting a visa for Tanzania
and having five needles jammed into all my important arm muscles (for immunization/booster
shots -- yellow fever, typhoid, hep A, polio booster, and tetanus). The shots
have left me feeling on the verge of contracting deadly illness..." [
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