Blog - Tony P Murphy

(Editor's Note: Due to connectivity issues, some of Tony's blogs are being routed through his home office for posting.)

The day finally arrived when we would begin our adventure.   After breakfast, we boarded the bus… a very crowded bus and began the three hour drive to the Kilimanjaro National Park.  At the entrance we signed in and saw all the porters who would be accompanying us and taking all the gear.  In our trekking party we had over 90 porters join us, so our group in total is almost 120.  Wow, what a lot of people.

We then left the entrance to the park and went to another entrance where the hike would begin.  Before the hike, we had incredibly rousing singing from the porters who were joined by the Omani group… it was quite spectacular. On the way, we passed a herd of zebras, displaced by the fires on the west side of Mt. Meru. This fire had caused a lot of haze since we had arrived and even reduced the visibility of the mountain in Arusha.  The mountain, a dormant volcano, lies 40 miles west of Kilimanjaro and is known as Kilimanjaro’s brother.

We began our hike at Lemosho Gate (2100 m) and from the beginning we rose in elevation and went ‘pole, pole’ (Swahli for ‘slowly, slowly’). And so we did, go slowly slowly.  The trail was like many you would see in Colorado or elsewhere, but the environment is a rain forest, the first of five biomes we will pass through as we get to the summit. Incredibly lush with lots of vegetation, the rain forest is also home to the Colubus (black and white in Swahili) monkeys, and we saw many of them during the afternoon.

We finally reached the campsite, Mti Mkubwa or Big Tree, (2650 m) to discover all the tents set up by the porters. When we arrived after the 7 km hike, the porters celebrated our entry by another round of songs, and again we all joined in.  After settling into our tents we had a wonderful meal prepared by the cooks and then a briefing for the day to come. All in all a great day and looking forward to those coming!

--Tony Murphy

(Editor's Note: Due to connectivity issues, some of Tony's blogs are being routed through his home office for posting.)

Wednesday saw another beautiful day in Arusha, and with all the group in the hotel planning began in earnest.  In the morning, we had some team building activities, followed by meeting the guides for Big Expeditions, the company dealing with all the logistics for this adventure.  And what logistics are involved in this: making sure that we would all be safe is paramount on our minds and the guides, and then carrying all our gear plus feeding us on the mountain.  No minor feat.

After going through the safety issues and the logistics, we were introduced to five of the 10 guides that would accompany us.  Julius, James, Reggie, Samuel, and Edward -- between them  they have had almost 800 ascents of Kilimanjaro!! We knew we were in good hands at this point!

Following lunch, we spent time going through the GLOBE protocols that we would use on the trip.  The Mt Meru Hotel where we were staying had some great areas for practicing the protocols.  It was wonderful to see the students get prepared and excited about taking the measurements. A shout out to Erika Podest, NASA SMAP campaign, for sending the soil moisture probes so we could use them in her absence.  They work great! Thanks Erika.

Done with our work it was time for the GLOBE group photos and we took many, many images to record the ending to a day of preparation.  Later that night, we all divided our gear into two bags, essential for daypacks and the remaining stuff into backpacks that the porters would carry.

--Tony Murphy

Before I arrived in Africa, I took another quick hike in the hills around Boulder to try to prepare myself for the coming adventure.  It was a beautiful Saturday and the area looked its best: clear blue skies, a little coolness in the air…..a wonderful day to hike.  The environment of course is different than Kilimanjaro in that Colorado is drier and has a different type of vegetation.  The exercise and being out is what was important in my preparation.

I left Denver on Sunday morning and arrived at Kilimanjaro airport at 7:30 pm on Monday night….a long time to travel to begin this adventure.  After getting my visa and meeting with the Big Expeditions staff I was driven the 45 minutes to the hotel in Arusha for my first night in Tanzania.  It was incredibly dark on the drive to the hotel….giving a sense of remoteness.  Despite its proximity to the equator, Arusha’s elevation of 1,400 metres (4,600 ft) on the southern slopes of Mount Meru keeps temperatures relatively low and alleviates humidity. The temperature here today will reach a high of 28C (83F).   

Tuesday while waiting for the rest of the group to arrive, Barbara Monday and I visited with a local family.  Descendants of Masi, they welcomed us into their home in Arusha and we learned about their lives, some Swahili, and had images taken in native Masi dress. It was wonderful to get out and meet some of the local people of

Arusha.  They opened their hearts and home to us.   

Wednesday holds a day of meetings with the team and some acclimatization.    We will practice GLOBE protocols and get to know each other.  It should be a fun and busy day.  

In about 15 days, I will begin the journey to Africa to join a team of GLOBE students, teachers, and scientists on the Kilimanjaro Learning Xpedition.  This is an exciting trek as it takes us up to almost 6,000 metres (over 19,000 ft).  Almost 30 years ago, I was an expedition leader on a scientific and educational expedition in the Indian Himalayas, and that was an incredible experience. That group included students doing botanical research in a valley high in the mountains of Kashmir followed by a trek through to Leh, Ladakh. Taking part in a scientific expedition at high altitude was challenging, but the rewards were great. I’m looking forward to meeting my fellow hikers in Tanzania and I also look forward to sharing the experience with you through my Xpedition Blog.

On this trek as we head up the mountain, the Kili team will collect GLOBE data, which will be entered into the GLOBE science database that can be accessed by anyone around the world.  GLOBE has supported this trek previously and I am honored to be part of the team in 2015. In addition to the students, teachers and scientists, Jason Barnes, vice president for education partnerships, from Discovery Education, will also join us.  As the countdown continues, I am looking forward to this trek and invite you to follow along as we hike the mountain to the top of the world!  For more information click here