Each group climbing Mt. Meru is required to have an armed park ranger (armed due to cape buffalo attacks), a porter (bag carrier) and a cook (to feed the group). Little did I know that I’d be one of 5 foreigners on the mountain and Magara (the ranger), Peter (the porter) and Gaspar (the cook) would be the only people I’d talk to for 3 days.
Mt. Meru is incredible in that the first ½ day hike takes you straight through Arusha National Park where you are surrounded by giraffe, cape buffalo, warthogs and tons of other small game. The first day hike takes about 4 hours and puts you at Miriakamba Hut, around 2500m or 8200 feet. The second day takes about 3 hours up what felt like a continuous stair-master, finally stopping at Saddle Hut at around 3500m or 11400 feet. That afternoon Peter and I we went for a short 1-hr climb to Little Meru Peak where I succeeded in getting him to speak 10 consecutive words in English- surely a record in his lifetime. We were back at Saddle Hut before sunset and in bed by 8pm to prep for our 1am wakeup call to head for the summit. Waking up at 1am to hike for 5 hours in the freezing cold and dark is just about as fun as it sounds- not at all. I had a minor heart attack when I realized my headlamp battery was dead before we had walked one step.
Idiot Travel Lesson # 25: if you rent anything in Africa, make sure it works before you leave civilization.
Luckily the moon was bright enough and we didn’t need headlamps, but I definitely could have used some warning from my ranger about the effects of altitude. The biggest difference between Kilimanjaro and Meru is the altitude- Kili is about 4,000 feet higher but you’re given time to adjust once you hit certain elevations. Meru is significantly steeper but the altitude doesn’t effect you until the last 2 hours- right around 4am when its still dark and you’re walking along a rocky crater rim. We finally reached Socialist Peak (the summit) at sunrise, right around 6:15am. As I mentioned earlier, there were only a few climbers on the mountain, and on that specific day, the ranger and I were the only two people who would make it to the peak. Nothing can describe sitting there alone above Arusha National Park with perfect views of Kilimanjaro. The cold hit quickly and we trekked all the way back down the mountain, leaving the summit at 6:30am and arriving at the park gate at around 2pm. Before I get into the safari portion of our trip, a couple points from the climb:
- most porters carry bags on their heads which I found utterly incredible. Imagine hiking up the steepest mountain in your town/city/state and doing so with a 30lb bag balanced on your head. I’m sure anybody that has been to Tanzania will agree with me in that the Tanzanians (both men and women) are by far the best at carrying stuff on their heads.
-Â some of the people at the park gate who were headed up the mountain had backpacks the size of small cars- if you’re ever headed to a 3rd world country to hike or climb (Peru, Tanzania, Nepal), give some thought to the amount of stuff you have- there is no reason you need 60lbs of gear, even if you’re not the one carrying it.
- ”cake” is the universal word for pastry in Tanzania- I could not understand why the cook was trying to feed us cake every morning until I finally agreed and received a warm croissant.
- ”Mizungu” is the (slightly derogatory) word for white person/foreigner in Swahili. Quote of the trip goes to Magara who, when I asked him if he had plans to get married, told me, “I pray to God every day that I marry a mizungu.”
The day after reaching the summit I met my friend Boehmer and his group of 18, all of which had reached the summit of Kilimanjaro- no small feat. After 3 days of broken English and Swahili with my Tanzanian crew, it was a bit overwhelming to be thrown into a group of 18 gringos. Luckily this was a great crew with even better guides, ultimately making for a great safari.
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