Kilimanjaro: The Final Check-Up

One Week to Go: The Final Big Check Before Kilimanjaro

There are only around seven days left until my flight to Tanzania. That means my preparation for Kilimanjaro is finally entering its final phase. Today, I’m at the MegaMarsch in Erfurt, walking another 50 kilometres. It’s somewhere between 25 and 30 degrees, sunny, hot and dry—and accordingly sweaty. You could say that’s pretty good preparation for Tanzania. For me, though, this march is above all the final big check-up before Kilimanjaro. Another 50 kilometres in one go. Another lot of elevation gain. Another chance to see how my body performs under strain over many hours. And another opportunity to check whether the training of recent months has actually delivered what I had hoped it would. As I walked through the heat, it felt pretty crazy to think that this time next week I’ll already be in Tanzania, hopefully looking up at Kibo somewhere. If all the flights work out.

Things You Can’t Train For

That’s also on my mind more than I’d like right now. I’m watching the current geopolitical situation and the crises in the Middle East with some concern. Of course, there is absolutely nothing I can do about it, and it will probably all work out without any problems in the end. But on a trip like this, one major delay at the wrong point is enough to throw the entire plan into disarray. The connecting flights need to work, ideally my luggage should arrive in the same country as I do, and in the end I need to be where the actual journey begins on time. So I’m simply hoping there won’t be any major chaos with flight times, connections or luggage transport. At the same time, I’m checking the weather on Kilimanjaro regularly. And that, too, doesn’t quite look the way I had expected at the moment. The weather should actually be relatively stable at this time of year. At the moment, though, it seems to be at least somewhat more unsettled. That means I need to rethink my gear once again at the last minute. For a while, I genuinely thought I was almost finished when it came to equipment. Of course I wasn’t. I’m still missing a proper hardshell jacket. I miscalculated a little in my original planning there. Because of the currently more unstable weather, I’m also going to plan for additional rain gear after all. I already have rain trousers at home, but I still need to add them to my final gear list and packing list. I also need to sort out a poncho. None of these are huge problems. But that seems to be the pattern of the last few days:

Almost everything is ready.

And then I think of something else again.

A Cold, of All Things, Right Now

The much bigger issue, however, is my health. Of all times, I was hit pretty hard by a cold last week. Probably one of the most inconvenient times of the entire year. The cold still hasn’t completely gone away and I can still feel it deep in my bones. And yes, that worries me. My lungs and breathing are already important concerns for me on Kilimanjaro. I’ve prepared intensively over the past few months, significantly improved my fitness and tried to test and assess as many things as possible in advance. A cold one week before departure was not part of the training plan. So I’m really hoping I can get rid of it completely in the remaining days and that it doesn’t end up affecting my chances of reaching the summit. Still, I remain optimistic overall. Of course, I’m increasingly asking myself whether I’ll actually make it to the summit. The closer the trip gets, the more real that question becomes. The training is done. The long marches have been walked. The countless stairs have been climbed. I’ve spent many hours on the treadmill at an incline and invested a great deal of time and energy in preparation over the past few months in other ways too. Ultimately, I couldn’t have done more than prepare as well as possible. Whether it will be enough, I’ll only find out on the mountain. And that now makes me nervous and incredibly excited at the same time.

A Lot of Money in the Post

At least organisationally, I’m now quite far along. I’ve also sorted out the cash by now. I found it quite interesting that, as far as I know, you’re not allowed to simply take Tanzanian shillings into or out of Tanzania.

So I wanted to get US dollars in Berlin beforehand, as they are also widely accepted. However, that turned out to be more complicated than expected. I first tried to get the money from a bank, which ultimately didn’t work out. In the end, I ordered it through Reisebank, which is affiliated with my bank. So I paid a fairly large sum by credit card and then actually had an envelope containing that much cash sent to me. That felt pretty absurd. But well. It worked. So at least I’m on track when it comes to cash.

Pack. Check. Check Again.

My gear is now almost complete too, and I’ve already done a test pack. I’ve bought a large duffel bag. Now it’s mainly about going through all my equipment systematically once again. I need to check the number of individual items, sort and label everything properly, and make absolutely sure that nothing is missing. Although, after the experiences of the past few days, I assume I’ll think of something else no later than five minutes after the final pack. My travel first-aid kit is also largely put together. The technical equipment has now been planned and prepared as well. I’ll probably describe exactly what I’m taking in more detail in separate posts. Quite a lot has come together, especially when it comes to the first-aid kit and tech. For now, though, the important thing is that both areas are largely ready to go. Actually, that now applies to the entire trip.

Actually.

I’m excited and nervous. Probably much more nervous by now than I was a few weeks ago. But I’m also incredibly excited about this trip. I think I’ve earned myself a good chance through my training. I’ve done quite a lot over the past few months to prepare as well as possible.

Worked out packing lists and ticked them off meticulously. Checked everything again and again. There’s not really anything more I can do now. Well, apart from...

• Buy another hardshell jacket.
• Get a poncho.
• Get rid of the cold.
• Count everything one MORE time.
• Sort.
• Label.
• Pack.
• Unpack again, because something I still need is guaranteed to be right at the bottom.
• And then pack it all again.

But then, hopefully, I can finally get going on Thursday. And this time next week, I’ll be in Tanzania.