BootsnAll Travel Community

Here are some useful things (or things we wish we had) that we didn't see on typical Kili packing lists:

- Games/cards/books - Most of the time on Kili, you will be just sitting around so its good to have something to keep you occupied or something to play with the porters or other hikers.

- Business cards - Okay, what do you do if your batteries die on Uhuru peak? Have a few people take your picture and give them your business card so they can e-mail pics to you. I took pictures for a woman whose pen was frozen so luckily I was able to memorize her e-mail address.

- Journal & pen - A Fisher Bullet Pen works well as it's very compact, writes down to -30F and will not leak at high altitudes.

- Pack towel - You will have the opportunity to wash up using a bowl of warm water everyday, but we weren't provided towels. A synthetic pack towel dries very quickly.

- 1 roll of toilet paper per person - You never know what you might come down with on the mountain.

- Lots of extended time hand warmers - We primarily used these to dry out our boots overnight after heavy a heavy down pour as waterproof boots don't really drain themselves. They also worked well to keep our Camelback nozzles from freezing on summit day.

- Thick garbage/trash compactor bags - Put everything in a plastic bag (even sleeping bags, Thermarests, etc.) Even if you have a fully waterproof duffel, you need to put wet clothes in a plastic bag otherwise it will make the rest of your clothes damp.

- Rain ponchos to cover you and your day pack - It really poured our first day and everyone was soaked whether they had rain gear or not. Maybe a plastic poncho would have helped - maybe.

- Down booties/socks - These were so nice to wear hanging out in our tent or even sleeping inside our sleeping bags. A real luxury item that I'm glad I splurged on!

- Emergency medicines - It's good to keep Nifedipine on hand for HAPE and Dexamethasone for HACE just in case. Your guide won't have this.


Anything else anyone can think of?

Agree again.

Nobody in our group brought cards or anything, and while it's fun to sit around and chat in the mess tent, you do get bored. We contemplated drawing our own but nobody could be bothered!

I did bring a book though which was nice to have while sitting in the tent resting.

Business cards: great idea, never thought of that! In the end we exchanged email addresses and have kept in touch, which has been nice.

Towel: definitely. I took 2 and still found myself wiping down with a dirty towel later in the trek.

Toilet paper: 1 roll, not enough. I was unlucky enough to come down with some diarrhoea late in the trek. By then the guides had run out of a supply and only one person in the group had any left. I was getting a bit nervous!

Garbage bags: I didn't and really lamented it! I had to borrow a bag or two off others in the group to put dirties and rubbish away.

I had a pack with a built in rain cover so ponchos weren't too important...however, I would recommend bringing one or even a mini tarpoulin or sheet of plastic, something to put in the storage area in the front of your tent to put your boots on at night. It would just add another layer of protection to prevent tracking dirt into the tent. Ours was filthy!

Foot/hand warmers...god yes! My fleece gloves just weren't enough.

Emergency medicines: hell yes! Have your own stash of antiseptic cream/solution, band aids, bandages, strapping tape etc too. I had a good stash of antibiotics and things for various ailments, and as I said, I came down with diarrhoea so I was able to self medicate. Able to treat blisters and things too.

Other thing I took that nobody else seemed to take was a multi-purpose tool...knife, bottle opener, pliers, screwdriver...yeah it was a bit of extra weight in my pack, but a guy in my group had his poles damaged and couldn't adjust the height, so used my device to unscrew it and repair it.

Most important thing you need to take with you: personality. It was disappointing a few in our group, who were all there together, stuck to themselves while the rest of us socialised. That bonding exercise seems pointless at the start...the old "when am I going to see these people again?" mentality, but when you're struggling or just feeling a bit down or sore or sorry, having that support around you is so important.

Enjoy the experience...that means everything you see, everything you do, and everyone you meet.
There's so much more to it than a photo at the sign!

Almost forgot a couple of things very, very important that most people should bring:

- Foam earplugs - The client to crew ratio is about 1:4 on the mountain and the porters can get pretty loud an night when you're trying to sleep. Most everyone is asleep by 10 or 11pm, but if you're trying to sleep at 9, it can be difficult with all the noise from surrounding tents.

- Eye shade - This is good to get in a couple hour nap in your tent prior to and after summit night or to sleep in an extra hour in the morning

WCN: If you're referring to a travel tour for the kili climb, most companies will lock what you don't bring up the mountain for you at their hotel/offices. Is that feasible for your tour operator?

I stayed at the Ilboru Safari Lodge, which works with African Walking Company, and they locked my non-climb gear in their storage area.

Valuables (fully itemised, witnessed and signed, with receipt given for collection) were put in the safe.

I'm sure most reputable operators would have similar arrangements.

I wish I had brought handwarmers. I've never used them before and didn't think they would be necessary. On the summit attempt my boots were cold from sitting in the tent vestibule. I lost feeling in my toes shortly after departure and didn't get them warm again until gillmans point.