The One Where We Hiked Kili – Day 1 (1/15/2013)

My Dad and I woke up at the bright and early hour of 6am, which, after two and a half days of traveling, my Dad was more than happy about.  We feasted sumptuously at the breakfast buffet, strapped on our backpacks and headed out to meet our Kili team.  There were 5 of us climbing together: a Japanese couple in their late 20’s who were half way through a one-year round-the-world adventure; a British lawyer on holiday, also in his late 20’s; and the two of us.  Together with our guide Jacob; our assistant guide Lamock, and all of our gear the 5 of us piled in a van and set out for the base of the mountain.  Day 1 is evidently meant to be a confidence booster since we strolled leisurely through the woods for 3 hours (and even took a lunch break half way through) until we reached our camp site, a set of A-frame huts in the woods with a dining hut and a set of his and hers pit toilets.  Despite carrying all of our gear except our small daypacks which we kept with us, our porters (2 per climber) beat us to the huts and had hot water for washing our hands and faces and a snack waiting for us when we arrived.  We then took a half hour walk up to a crater to help us acclimate.  Then it was an early dinner and night to bed since the days only got longer from there.