u/No_Conference_3155

We (team of 3 ppl, ages 45-46) summited Monday morning, August 3. Wanted to provide a few notes that I think are not repeated everywhere on this forum.

- We used African Scenic Safaris and they were beyond excellent. We summited during high season, but Joel and Hiari timed it such that we never had any lines.

- Was very surprised by relative fitness on the trail. I certainly prepared, but was surprised that we were the first or second team to camp each night based on sign-in. We were also the first team to Stella Point and second to Uhuru Peak on Monday. We are reasonably fit but middle-aged and by no means athletes. My theory is that the group climbs are large and thus move slowly, and we were relatively fit compared to the other private climbs (which skewed older).

- The dust is no joke, and I was underprepared for it. I did not practice with a buff (not needed in SoCal), and wasn't used to breathing through one at high altitude. So my nasal passages were completely overloaded on the descent from the summit. I still have a mild cough. Practice with a buff.

- The sun is also quite strong. We did a Lemosho 8-day, which I have read is the most scenic. That may be, but we were primarily hiking East in the mornings, and once I noticed a burn beginning, I was mostly looking down. I wonder if Rongai (during southern winter) or Machame (during southern summer) would be prettier simply because the sun will be behind you and you can look around the whole time.

- We got lucky on altitude sickness. I had some mild nausea on summit night (could still eat and drink), one team member had an asthma attack between Stella Point and Uhuru Peak (but had inhaler and it was fine), and the third had no issues. Made for a relatively smooth climb but I have spoken to people who had HAPE issues despite Diamox so seems a crapshoot.

- Strongly recommend African Scenic Safaris - they seem to know their stuff.

I summited Kilimanjaro earlier this week, and the ascent proved relatively straightforward (we were second team to the peak). I have decent hiking experience, mostly training for Kili, but no mountaineering, and limited backpacking.

Considering doing Mt. Whitney Mountaineer's Route with International Alpine Guide to learn some mountaineering and avoid permit hell. Would do this in the summer, not an ice ascent. Does anyone have experience with them on this route? Trying to see what to expect. Not sure whether will be late this summer or next year.

I just did a high altitude (Kilimanjaro) trek with a Forerunner 970. The watch has an altimeter and does acclimation calculations. But when it gives morning and evening reports it assumes the significant effects on my numbers were purely a function of jet lag. This was obviously wrong; the Forerunner AI just doesn’t account for altitude. Do the more hiking focused watches include altitude in their health AI?

I just completed an 8-day hiking trip without internet where I logged about 10 hikes on my Forerunner 970. All appear on the watch.

When I returned to civilization and synced, only the most recent four hikes downloaded to the app and Strava. What gives? Would like to get all of the hikes logged to the app itself. If it’s not on Strava it didn’t happen. Any advice?

Making a run at Kilimanjaro in 30 days. Been training (lots of weights, lots of running, ~32k feet of climbing), and plan to continue at least the next week or two.

The question is how much and when to dial things back:

- When to stop speed work/long runs? Or do I just dial back?

- When to stop leg workouts in gym?

My current routine is ~17-20 mpw running, trying to get in a hike (1-2k feet) once a week, and ~2-3 days in the gym.

I have an Osprey Talon 36 and have been training for Kilimanjaro (5 more weeks). For 'bigger' (3-4k ft gain) hikes I've started to meaningfully up the weight, getting north of 22 lbs on my most recent Baldy summit.

I have a few local (1.5k feet gain) hikes planned next few weeks and want to get up to ~30 lbs. I struggled to get it up to 22 lbs on my last hike even with lots of extra water. I am a scuba diver so I have numerous dive weights available. It is safe for the pack to add those to add weight? Concerned it may stress the seams and cause damage that would become apparent once I'm in Africa.

I've been training for Kilimanjaro for the past 9 months in a time window (late July into early August) I have managed to carve out of work and family obligations. The trek involves carrying 15-20 lbs on my back, which is what I have trained for (so less than "real" trekking). Very much looking forward to it but have concerns the borders for return to the United States will be closed if TZ reports a single case, so looking for a "plan B" (Nepal appears to be in its monsoon so EBC is out).

Any suggestions? There are some local ones here in the Sierras but they involve heavier packs and I don't think I'll have time to train up for that pack weight if the Ebola situation worsens. Open to Inca trail but planning a trip to Peru with family over Xmas already.