Day 3 Trekking

Day 3 on the Machame route is described as below.

Interestingly the number of people I talk to, who say Wow , really exciting I would loved to do something like that, but. I am now thinking should I have got my BUT out sooner, then I could now be more like Homer and be sitting on my butt.

So back to the planned route in October, for those wondering what it may be like.

The route goes from Shira (at 3840m) up to the Lava Tower (at 4630m) then back to Barranco camp (at 3950m), it should take around 7 hours over semi desert. The walk up to the Lava Tower and then back down is part of the acclimatisation. Reaching up to 4600m is where most climbers start to feel the symptoms of breathlessness, irritability and headaches. I am guessing at this stage I will be looking out for Rob, who was the person who raised this trekking idea to me in the first place. He will then be looking for Andy who told him about. So when they say 1/3 of people who try don't make it, I wouldn't if it is because a few end up as the outlet for irritability.
The descent again to the Barranco camping area is supposed to make you appreciate the true acclimatisation benefit of this day. The descent also offers great opportunities to take some beautiful photographs.

So with a headache, having nearly killed the person who suggested this, I am now supposed to take serene  photographs. I best consider a new camera, that is ok when thrown........

On line Sponsorship

So no excuses for me, and now no excuses for you, the on line sponsorship site is now up and running, and so you can now all contribute to my challenge at Virgin Money Giving.

After looking at a few sites who provide this service, Virgin Money appears to be the best. They operate a not for profit method, and only take a minimum of the amount your sponsor. Ideally I would like all your money to go to Scope, but the hassle of getting cheques or cash and banking etc, would lead to chaos in my life, so please forgive this, and get out your wallets.

So to sponsor me, or to see my progress please go to:

http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/IanMetcalfe

Sponsorship

Raising £3,500 didn't sound so difficult to me, in fact of all the challenges that will be presented, the money raising side of things I didn't really give too much thought to. Firstly I expected that my company would dig deep into its pockets, as part of our CSR actitivty and help me most of the way. I then thought I would be able to tap into some of the companies I regularly do business with, and encourage them to sponsor me.

So last night I started my campaign, wrote out standard letter and contacted the 5 companies with whom I do business with. It was at this stage suddenly the amount sounded a lot more than I had thought. I am hoping not only to meet the minimum of £3,500 put push on to £5,000 if possible.

This morning I have two out of office emails, 1 email to say they would need to find out what was involved from their company point of view but one positive who not only would try and organise something, but also wanted to know if they could personally sponsor. So a good result, then suddenly my first money, a cool £150 from one person.

So my sponsorship tally is off to a good start, now I need to organise my on line campaign so that I can really get the total moving.

Now I am committed

Friday 19th, and after a brief chat with my local GP and a small amount of form filling,  he has declared there is no reason for me not to attempt this trip. With that done, Saturday was passport photo's for the final registration, and then the purchase of a pair of hiking boots.

They look  a little bright, but surprisingly thus far very comfortable. My intention was to try them out on Sunday with a short walk, however the onset of a cold on Friday, which progressively got worse, plus a DIY chore at my "to be" mother in law meant no walk. However I did wear them on Sunday while I did the DIY, as yet again we had snow, and after 3 hours of wear had no side effects. So I best start contemplating a walk in them.

With the intial pieces of the puzzle in place, I am now down to my strategy for fund raising, so watch out, as communication about how to sponsor my event are soon to be on their way.

Clothing.....

Clothing & equipment for this trek appears to be a somewhat large list of items that I don't appear to have to hand.


Footwear - water repellent and fully broken in hiking boots, I am not sure they sell them "broken in" in the shops, so looks like I will have to get in a bit of hiking practise done :-)

Trainers for use in the camps, I was thinking more of bedroom slippers, but I am now wondering if once at camp there are some exercise activities to undertake! The boots are supplemented with hiking gaiters so that "scree" doesn't get into my boots on the descent and also to keep my boots dry when in deep snow!!!! Now I was aware it got cold, but who mentioned deep snow ! Will I require a huskey as well.

Finally 2 pairs of medium/heavyweight walking socks and thin liner socks. Normally my socks struggle to last one day, so 2 pairs for 10 days could be a bit of a stretch. Wonder if I need to take a washing machine with me.

So another task - get out there and buy some hiking boots and get them "broken in".

United beat Milan

Somewhat off topic, but last night Manchester Utd beat Milan in a 2-3 first leg match. A great performance by Wayne Rooney who seems to have the stamina of a pit pony, he was running everywhere yet could still compose himself for two great goals. So is there something I can learn from "Wazzer" in my preparation for this trip.

Train hard, eat well, earn lot's of money (for Scope) but above all you need a good team around you.

On this expedition  there should be a team of 10 trekkers, together with a support group of guides, a doctor and of course porters to carry the camping equipment and supplies.

It is fair to say that a true expedition  would be to carry it all yourself, but the trip has now become much more of a refined experience, and whilst they don't provide hotels with en suite bathrooms at each campsite, it is fair to say that life will be much easier, and much safer with this support team around.

Later in the year we will be holding a meet and great session with the other trekkers so we can get to know each other before the event in a friendly environment. Other trekkers experiences tell of irratibiity with altitude, so at those times we need to think of "Wazzer" and remember it is team work that will make us successful and ensure that we can reach the summit and our goals.

Day 2 Trekking

So what is in store for Day 2 of the Trek I asked myself, well according to other experiences it goes a bit like this:

Starting from Machame camp you climb an hour or so to the top of the forest and then for 2 hours at a gentler gradient through the moorland zone. From here you continue up a rocky ridge onto the Shira plateau. This is the first chance to see the Western Breach with its stunning glaciers, as per the photo you see here.

A further short hike to reach camp for the night, where temperatures will drop well below freezing. So now I am thinking my fleecy pajama's could be a good idea......

In terms of distance they reckon that it is only about 9 kms, but by now the altitude is starting to take its effects as we reach 3840m.

So having read a little about Day 2, here in Manchester we also saw snow again, in fact I had to struggle over the slippery hills this morning for about 45 minutes........ I was assisted by a 4 x 4, heating and leather seats though.......

Stay tuned for more of the trek to come.....

Weekend of nothing

So with lot's of plans, nothing materialised, and I have to admit to doing nothing more than move some papers from one side of my home desk to the other. I did manage the gym on Friday night, but honestly I would have done this regsardless of any planned trip.


My fellow walking partners are obviously seriously into their training. Doing a 7 mile easy hike on Saturday morning. They did of course invite me to join, but I had other more pressing appointments with Kate in Manchester.

This week I have visitors from Japan with me, so the evening as well as the days are pretty busy, therefore I will wait for the doctors appointment on Friday, and if that is a thumbs up, I will get serious.

I know that is what all procrastinators say.....

I started with a gym session today, up at 6 am and a good 1 hour 15 mins, so at least I can say I am working on my overall fitness. Will start drawing up some list of potential sponsors as well.

Day 1 Trekking.

According to information read to date, on the Machame route a typical first day is trekking from the Machame Gate (1490m) to Machame camp (2980m). This takes around 7 hours mainly through rain forest, where not surprisingly, considering the name "rain" forest, it is often raining. Distance wise is dependant on how one get's to the starting gate, which is down to the weather at the time. If conditions are dry it is normal to drive to the gate, but if muddy, i refer you to "rain forest" again it is another 1 hour trek.
This is a great opportunity to see a rain forest close up, however it often means the trail is a very soggy, muddy and slippery experience, on the bright side at least when you arrive at camp, and find your tent, you can look forward to night temperatures dropping to freezing point.

To be honest  this does sound a little bit like walking to Pingot Lane, the access to my home, and I think temperature wise, for anyone who lives in the cottages down there, freezing point is normal conditions!

This is what Rose cottage (my home) looked like many, many years ago, but honestly there is not a lot of difference in looks today, other than to say the lane has many more pot holes now!

As for preparations, ah yes, moving on until the next updated then.

The Machame route

This is probably the most scenic and most beautiful route to the summit. The 6-day route is however physically more challenging than the Marangu route. The day walks are longer and steeper but the views make up for it.

After some trawling of the Internet I managed to find plenty of information of the Machame route, so over the coming days will give an overview of each days trek to the summit.

However I did find much easier routes up Kilimanjaro, including one that involved taking a jeep. This route appeared to save the trekkers legs about 3 days of hard trekking, but was worse for altitude sickness as there was no time for acclimatisation.

I must admit that it sounded more attractive.....

Meanwhile any plans for preparation last night disappeared when the visit of an old work colleague ended up with two beers and a curry and lot's of conversation, however I did manage to get an appointment with the doctor for Friday 19th to discuss my fitness, vaccinations and possibly my mental state.

So more tomorrow and in the meantime for those of you who are wondering what one of the reasons for me taking up this challenge is, follow the link to find out more about Scope.

More about Scope

Kilimanjaro is calling me

Last night I finally started to read the information in my pack that had been sent through after the initial registration, and I now realise I need to get into form filling zone, as until I return some additional forms, including a medical I am not fully registered. So this week I must sort out an appointment with the doctor,

then I need to send in some mug shots. If I am up a mountain in sub zero conditions, I am wondering what the use of a photo of me will be !

So plenty of administration to do this week.

As for the training, for those who don't know I have been going to the gym for the last 6 months, 3 times a week, early mornings. So I am telling myself I am reasonably fit, despite the pouch I still wear around my waist. Well just to show I don't know anything, for the first time in 6 months I have pulled a muscle while running, oh well another excuse to putt off the training.

More on the Machame route tomorrow, when I have investigated a bit further as to what it is !

How did I get here

Around 4 weeks ago while having a few drinks and dinner with my neighbors, Rob informed me that he was having a mid life crisis and that he has signed up for trekking up Kilimanjaro for the charity Scope. I had to be honest and say I knew very little about the work Scope did, or for that matter too much about Kilimanjaro, other than a brief recollection about DJ;s and pop stars running up there last year. At the time my partner Kate seemed to be encouraging me to go, but having said that I had drunk rather a lot of wine by this time.




The following Monday I was on to the web site reading up about Scope, and the work they do and also about the trekking expedition. I then did an enquiry within work to see if they would help with the sponsorship, the minimum amount was around £3,500 which seemed a reasonable piece of money raising.



I then declared my enthusiasm to go at home, without really any consideration for the time I would be away from home, and what sort of commitment this would be.



So here we are in February, I have registered, my information pack has arrived, now I have to declare my commitment, stop being superficial about all of this, and get on with the serious business of understanding the undertaking, getting physically prepared, getting mentally prepared, setting a sponsorship target that is worthy of what I can achieve and stretches and finally decide to go or not go.