Baby, there ain't no mountain high enough

The last few days have been some of the most challenging yet amazing days of my life. On early Monday morning, after three intense days of climbing and running on four hours of sleep, I made it the summit of Mt. Meru!

Mount Meru is Tanzania's second highest peak after Kilimanjaro, standing at 14,980 ft (4566 m). Meru is an inactive volcano located in heart of Arusha National Park. It's last major eruption was over a century ago. While not as high as Kilimanjaro, the climb up Meru is known to be more challenging and technical.

We began our journey Saturday morning. Our group of 12 hired quite the team of porters to help carry all our food and water, though we still had to carry many things ourselves. We were also required to hire a ranger, who carried a gun at all times to protect us from wild animals. The first day was fairly relaxed, despite carrying heavy bags up steep trails for five hours. The trails meandered through dense forest and beautiful views of African plains below. We arrived at our first lodge in the afternoon. We were pleasantly surprised to find that the facilities were vastly better than what we were expecting—decent bathrooms, bunk beds with mattresses, and AMAZING food from the cooks. When we got there, they had hot tea and popcorn waiting for us. We played this Canadian card game called Euchre (Raelyn our Canadian friend taught us of course) on the deck overlooking the view, and went to bed early.

Our group pre-climb, at Momella Gate

Raelyn & I on the deck at Miriakamba Lodge

GIANT tree!

Waterfall where we stopped to eat lunch on day 1

Miriakamba hut, Mt. Meru summit in the background

Day 1 hike

Pre-climb yoga sesh

Playing some Euchre, wearing our awesome hats
we bought at the second-hand market.
Excuse me, I mean "head socks."

The next day, we began our climb bright and early. We hiked for four hours on day 2 to reach the second lodge, but the climb was much steeper and we were beginning to feel the effects of the altitude. After eating lunch, we climbed to the summit of “Little Meru,” a smaller peak with beautiful views of the clouds, Kilimanjaro, and Big Meru off in the distance. The goal was in sight.

We went to bed at 8pm that night, and woke up four hours later to begin the summit….

Contemplating life on Little Meru

At the summit of Little Meru

The never ending staircase

View of Kilimanjaro from Saddle Hut Lodge

After a quick snack and tea, we began the summit climb at 1am in the cold and dark. The first two days of climbing were horribly deceiving. While long and steep, there was nothing technical about the climb and anyone in decent physical shape could complete it. The third day was a whole different story.

It took us over 5 hours to reach the summit. I’ll admit, I was absolutely miserable. It was freezing cold and pitch black. Summiting was steep, rocky, and treacherous, with high winds and little oxygen. We had a fantastic view of the stars and milky way, but I was too busy staring intensely at the ground trying not to fall off a cliff to really get a good look at them. Despite being exhausted, we couldn’t take long breaks because as soon as we stopped moving we immediately got cold. There were a few points that required us to scramble over practically vertical walls of rock with steep black abyss below, following faint green blobs of paint that served as trail markers. They were impossible to see in the dark. There were a few moments where I was literally frozen in fear clinging to a wall of rock, with all my survival instincts yelling at me not to go on. To make matters worse, I had an upset stomach and was feeling very nauseous and weak, but I was determined to make it to the top. There was one point when we stopped to take a break, and I thought we might be getting close to the summit. We asked our guide how much farther, and he said “we are almost half-way.” ONLY HALF-WAY?! Yeah. That was my low point. 

If this description sounds overly dramatic, I can assure you, it isn’t. Those were probably the most challenging 5 hours of my life, mentally, physically, and emotionally. And I’ve run three marathons; I know pain.

Needless to say, I was ecstatic to reach the top. I could see the Tanzanian flag marking the peak only a short ways ahead, just as the sun began to rise over Kilimanjaro in the distance. The clouds and the light were unreal. I ate a victory bag of peanut M&M’s at the top, and signed my name in the “I conquered Meru” book. It was all worth it.

The park recommends climbers take two days to descend the mountain, but we decided to be beasts and do it all in one day (mostly because we had class the next day and we didn’t want to pay for another night in the park). After making it back to the lodge, we took a quick hour break for lunch and booked it out of there to make it back to the gate before it closed at 6pm. I was exhausted, running purely on adrenaline and a strong desire to be home. Every step down the mountain sent pain shooting through my knees. We hiked for a total of 16 hours that day, reaching the gate just as the sun went down. So glad to be home. 

But don't let this description scare you! If you ever visit Tanzania, I highly recommend climbing Meru. Just be prepared to suffer a bit on the last day. You won't regret it. Next stop.... Kilimanjaro. 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ANDY! Miss you so much.

Sunrise over Kili