Climbing Mount Kilimanjaro - almost halfway!

Wednesday June 9, 2010
After a great continental breakfast in a swanky dining room at the Arusha Hotel, we pack up and leave for Marangu. Have to deal with a temperamental elevator to get all of our luggage down. One was out of order and the one that was working would stop at your floor, open it's doors teasingly and quickly close them before anyone could actually enter. You would then have to wait for it to go all the way down and all the way back up before getting a second chance. Everyone had the same issue, so it took a while to get everyone down. It tried to maim my arm as I tried to jump off with all my bags, backpack, and custom-made African xylophone in tow.
Met our new tour company - CPAR had broken our visit up so the last 2 days were handled by different people. It was a bit disappointing after having such a great relationship with the drivers from Leopard, our previous company. The new drivers and guide were a little less inclined to get to know us, or even share information. We have 2 buses instead of smaller jeeps. We load all the luggage on top and take off for the Marangu Hotel, over 2 hours away. Arrive and get our rooms in fabulous guest cottages, dump our bags, collect a bagged lunch and then head off for Kilimanjaro so we can get on the trail before noon.
The description of the hike said it was a 3/4 hour climb, which we assumed meant 45 minutes, when in fact it actually meant 3 to 4 hours. Some dismay expressed by some of our group, but we assured everyone they could just do whatever they felt like. Go through lengthy formalities at the gate - they need everyone to sign in before they go up the mountain, probably in case they don't come down. Divided up into groups with 5 different guides - first group was the keeners down to those out for a brief stroll who had no intention of making it to the first rest stop.
We set off at about 12:25 up the rainforest trail. Have to try and take in the fascinating scenery as we struggle up the trail - very rough going in a few places. Our goal is the Mandara huts, which is stopping point for the first day of climbing. We have to hike back down after reaching the huts, whereas "real" climbers would spend the night in the huts and rest for the next day, so our pace was a little brisker than the other climbers. The boys are booking it up the trail, with Peter in hot pursuit. At the halfway point, Karen G. decides to wait for the next group and go back down while Megan and I take a brief rest and push off. We keep each other going, even when the going gets tough, and then even tougher. As we near the end of the trail, we start getting the rain in rainforest. We are the last group to make it to the hut - it took us about 2 hours and 40 minutes and we are elated but exhausted. Devin, Matt, Jeremy, Daniel, Bronwyn, Alanna, Morgan, Kayla, Carah, Peter, Joe, Darcy, Susan, and Karen S. have also reached the huts. We have to turn around and head back down immediately as we need to be down before 6pm. I ask the guide if going down is easier, and wish he'd lied to me after he said "no."
The rain continues for most of the descent, but we are so tired we barely notice. It actually was a little faster going down, although we were cautioned "pole, pole" (slowly, slowly). We get down to find one bus had already left. The people that had only walked a short distance were tired of waiting for the rest of us so went back to the hotel to enjoy its magnificent gardens.
Drag ourselves onto the bus (you know you're going to feel worse the next day) and get back for a nice shower and the best meal we've had all trip. We turn in early -for some reason 9:00 seems like a reasonable bedtime. Janice and I are in a guest cottage secluded away from the cottages of the rest of the group, so we decide Susan and Peter will have to supervise this night. Jan first had to squish a grasshopper on our wall - neither of us had the energy to gently shepherd it out the door. When I pointed out that the squashed carcass on the wall was not much of an improvement, Janice graciously scraped the guts off before we flaked out.