Machame Gate

Day 1
Machame Gate (1800m) - Machame Camp (2850m)

We set off from the hotel at 8.15am to head up to Machame Gate - this took around an hour, and we called at a supermarket to buy last minute snacks - I bought cashew nuts and a bag of miniature mars bars.

Machame gate is 1800 meters amsl (above mean sea level). When we arrived we had to sign in and waited around for about an hour, making last checks on our kit and making last use of a proper loo!

And so it began - we headed off with our guides and porters into the rainforest. It was very cloudy and humid - we were all wearing our waterproofs, but soon took them off as it was far too hot while walking. I was carrying 6 litres of water with me - half in a bladder and half in bottles. This put a huge weight on my back along with my other day equipment. (Porters carried our larger rucksacks for us with sleeping bags etc in them, while we carried a day sack with spare clothes, cameras, snacks, water etc in).

Lunch was brilliant - the porters had gone ahead and set up a table and chairs for us to sit at, and then brought hot soup out for us with bread and butter and hot drinks - luxury!

I struggled with the weight of the water, and there were lots of steps (my worst enemy when it comes to hiking) so when we arrived at Machame camp (2980m) I felt pretty demotivated. We could see the summit far in the distance, and I just kept thinking how on earth was I gonna do it.

Others in the group picked up on the fact that I didn't feel great and did their best to cheer me up - I had some great conversations with people about art and photography which made me feel like I was finally part of the group.

The temperature dropped very quickly once the sun had set, so everyone went from wearing shorts and t-shirt to several layers and hats and gloves. I shared a tent with the Exeter uni girls as I'd gotten on well with them throughout the day, but didn't get much sleep at all - probably 1 hour in total, even though I was very tired

(Exeter Uni were doing the climb at the same time as us lot from Chester Uni so we all went up in one big group)