Kilimanjaro blog post 3 of 4: Packing List

Below is my packing list for 5 weeks in Africa. I tried to indicate which of the following items was or was not used on the Kili climb. Because I climbed in July, which is the coldest month on the mountain, and because I get cold very easily, the list below is full of warm clothes and warmth accessories.



Luggage and backpacks:

• 32L light comfortable daypack.
• Two light large sturdy duffel bags that fit inside each other. Leave one duffel at the hotel and the other for the porters to carry on the mountain. Make sure all mountain gear, including the sleeping bag, fit inside the duffel you’re taking on the mountain.
• Stuff sack for the smaller duffel (optional).

Electronics:

• Big cam & accessories. – Not brought on the climb.
• Small laptop & large-capacity usb keys & accessories. – Not brought on the climb.
• Baby cam & accessories. – Used on the climb, left the charger at the hotel.
• Backup baby cam. – If you’re paranoid about your camera failing on summithike.
• Cell phone & accessories – I actually rented a satellite phone for the climb because I wanted to call my family from the top of the Kili. Cell phone coverage BTW is awesome on the African continent.
• Headlamp. – Used on the climb.
• Batteries for the headlamp, multiple sets. On summithike, it is recommended to use a set of lithium batteries because they last a long time.
• Backup headlamp. – If you’re paranoid about your headlamp failing on summithike.
• Travel adapters: types C, E, D, G, and M cover the African continent. – Not brought on the climb.
• Watch. – I wore mine everyday and used its alarm to wake me up in the morning.
• Mini music player. – I didn’t bring one, but some people had one and used it while hiking.

Small purse items:

• Small purse. – Not brought on the climb.
• Passport. – They ask for the passport number at the climb entrance gate. I kept mine with me on the climb.
• Mini travel wallet (at any point, mine contains some local $$, some USD, and a credit card). – Not brought on the climb. On the plane, I carried the exact amounts needed for airport visas.
• Mini canadian wallet (Canadian $$ and Canadian medicare card). – Not brought on the climb.
• Mini travel journal with pen and backup pen. – Used every night before bed on the climb.
• Mini lens cleaner cloth. – Always in my pocket.
• Whistle. – Always in my daypack.
• My mini St-Christoph key chain. – Always in my daypack.

Water related items:

• Camelback bottle for the backpack. – Used on the climb.
• 1 or 2 stainless steel bottles. – On summit night, the steel bottles took longer to freeze than the camelback.
• Electrolyte tablets. – I used them inside the stainless steel bottles. They gave the water some nice flavor.
• Water purification tablets. – Optional. I used them in case the water didn’t boil properly at high altitude and never regretted it.

Sleep related:

• Sleeping bag (or bags) in a compression sack, with optional liner and optional pillow(s).
• Sleeping mats are usually included in the gear provided by the company, but some people like to ask for an extra sleeping mat.
• My climbing fellows used earplugs in the noisy camps. For nights on a slope (sloped campsites), I kindof wish I had some kind of sleeping tablets.

Toilet related:

• Ziplock “toilet bag” kept in the daypack all the time. Contains:
• a roll of toilet paper,
• some wet wipes,
• and some hand sanitizer.
• Keep extra toilet paper/ wet wipes/ hand sanitizer in the duffel bag carried by the porters.

Thin fabric bag for the underwear & socks, containing:

• Several non cotton top and bottom underwear for the climb.
• Several any-material top and bottom underwear for the pre/post climb.
• Merino or double layer socks for the climb – I used one pair every 2 climbing days.
• Cotton socks for pre/post climb.
• Thick socks with a liner for summit hike.
• One pair of super thick wool socks for the nights.
• PJ undies and PJ shirt.
• Not for the climb: bathing suite.

Thin fabric bag for the pants, containing:

• Merino base layer for cold nights and for summit hike.*
• Fleece pants as PJ and for summit hike.*
• Light hiking pants for the first two days.
• Sturdy hiking pants for the remaining climbing days.*
• Rain pants: carried all the time on the mountain in the daypack, but luckily never used!
• Not for the climb: shorts.
• Not for the climb: 2 light comfy capris.
• Not for the climb: light comfy pants.

Thin fabric bag for the tops, containing:

• 1 short-sleeve Merino base layers – Wore as main top on the first 2 days of the climb with a thin sleveless cycling gilet on top.
• 2 long-sleeve Merino base layers – Wore as main top on the first remaining days of the climb with a thin sleveless cycling gilet on top.
• 1 more long-sleeve Merino base layer – for cold nights.
• Not for the climb: 2 tanktops.
• Not for the climb: a small number of comfy summer shirts.

External top layers:

• Thin hoodie. – Not brought on the climb.
• Thick fleece. – Used on cold days.
• Thin fleece*. – Always in the day pack, and for summit hike.
• Thin down jacket*. – For summit hike.
• Medium thick down jacket*. – For summit hike.
• Rain shell*. – For windy days, and for summit hike.

Gloves:

• Fleece gloves – for the climb. Used on all cold days, and used as inner gloves on summit hike.
• Glove covers (first tried big waterproof gloves but they were too tight above the inner fleece gloves, then I tried big mittens but they also were too tight above the inner fleece gloves, finally I tried a pair of socks with a hole cut out for the thumb. They worked perfectly).
• Chemical hand warmers to put between the inner and outer gloves on summit-hike – mine did not work but many other people had them.

Other accessories:

• Gaiters – for the climb. They were recommended but I did not need/use them.
• Balaclava and/or bandanna. – I didn’t have one. But some people used it on the climb to protect their neck from the sun and/or to breath through it on dusty trails.
• Sun hat – for the climb and for the rest of the trip.
• Winter hat – for the cold days and for summit hike.
• Sunglasses. – Always in the top pocket of my daypack.
• Microspikes for the bottom of the hiking boots – brought them for the climb but did NOT use them.
• Walking poles – I used to never hike with them before the Kili, but I found them essential on the Kili. Also, it’s good I brought mine all the way from Canada, because some of the rental ones were not in their best shape.

Misc items:

• Quick dry towel. – Used on the climb.
• Light mesh bag for the laundry. – Used on the climb.

Shoes:

• Hiking boots – kept in carry on luggage during international flight in case luggage gets lost. My "Solomon" boots were not high at all: just the minimum above angle length required to call them boots!
• closed shoes – for the evenings at camp.
• Sandals – for the pre/post climb.

Essential Objects:

• Reusable rubber twists, or tie wraps, or pieces of string. – Very useful everywhere!
• Enough USD to cover the mountain tip. – Used on the climb.
• Folder with all the travel docs: copies of passports and visas, itineraries, maps, receipts, immunisation record, travel insurance info, etc. – Not brought on the climb.
• Meds: pain killers, diamox, immodium, anti malaria pills for the post-climb safari, anti acids, ginger chews, motion sickness pills for vehicles, etc.
• Hiking snacks. – More important than it may seem. Especially small bite-sized ones for summit hike.
• A few thin supermarket fruit bags. – For daily tent garbage on the mountain.

Toiletteries:

• Sunscreen. – Used every day on the mountain. Remember to bring some for the way down from the summit.
• Bug repellant. – Used on the first two days on the mountain.
• A small pair of scissors.
• Mini comb. – Used on the climb.
• For the girls: sanitary pads (used on the climb), hair removal items (not brought on the climb), a simple pee-while-standing device (I didn’t use mine on the climb, but girls from other groups did. There is even one lady who used it inside her tent with a “pee bottle” so she wouldn’t have to go out in the freezing cold at night).
• A few pairs of daily contact lenses.
• A case for normal glasses.
• Mini mirror for the contact lenses.
• Soap (for post climb), a few millileters of campsuds for the climb (didn’t use it because they gave us soap).
• Tooth brush and tooth paste.
• Shampoo. – For post climb.
• Dry shampoo. - I didn't even know what it was, but I saw other hikers use it on the mountain.
• Dental floss.
• Lip balm. – Very important on the mountain. I ran out and boy did I regret it!
• Tweezers.
• Qtips.
• Hair ties.
• Earrings. – Not brought on the climb.

Other Objects, most of them not essential:

• Large recycling/garbage bags. – Even though the duffels were put inside dry bags before being carried by the porters, some hikers preferred to line the inside of their duffels with garbage bags to ensure waterproofness.
• Micro compass/thermometer combination on a mini keychain – non essential but fun to have.
• Home keys. – Not brought on the climb.
• Some clothpins to hang wet clothes outside the tent. – Not used on the climb.
• lock. – Not brought on the climb.
• Mini disposable emergency toilet bag. —Not used on the climb.
• Catchy book.
• Small light fabric bag for little things to keep (entrance tickets, mini rocks I’m allowed to keep, etc).
• Mini sewing kit. – Brought but not used on the climb.
• A few safety pins.
• A small carabiner or two.
• Ziplock bags.
• Sharpie pen.
• extra shoe laces.
• Binoculars. – For pre/post mountain use.
• String attached to glasses to make them not fall.
• Swiss army knife.
• Small roll of duct tape.
• plastic eating utensil (combo of a knife/fork/spoon). – Not needed on the mountain.

First aid kit:

• Band aids and/or small bandages of various sizes.
• Alcohol wipes.
• Medical tape.
• Gauze.
• Moleskin for the blisters (I prefer bandaids myself).
• Rehydration tablets.
• Possibly polysporin.

** Pant layers used on summit hike: merino wool base layer, fleece pants, sturdy hiking pants.

** Top layers used on summit hike: merino base layer, thin fleece, think down jacket, thick down jacket, rain shell.