Bags, Porters, and Luggage
During this journey you’ll pack and repack a few times, living out of your backpack during the day and accessing the rest of your gear in your portered boundary bag at night.
You will find several different types of luggage on your gear list:
- Small Pack – 32-40 liters, enough to carry light snacks, layers, water, and any other accessories during the day.
- Small Duffel – carry-on luggage for travels to Tanzania. This item is not needed on Kilimanjaro, so feel free to use an alternate carry-on sized item you already own instead. Note that this duffel also makes great luggage for the safari!
- Travel Luggage – whether in the form of a large duffel or suitcase, you’ll check some kind of luggage when you fly to Arusha. We prefer duffel bags, although hard-sided suitcases are OK.
- Boundary Bag – provided by Alpine Ascents during your gear check in Arusha, this 115-liter, waterproof pack will contain all of your gear and is portered from camp to camp so that you do not have to carry it.
There is some flexibility to how you might choose to pack for this trip. Read the below to gain an understanding of the logistical flow.
STAGE 1 – TRAVEL TO TANZANIA
Pack everything (except for a few items mentioned below) into your travel luggage and check it in with your airline. We prefer to flat pack our small pack inside this luggage.
Pack your small duffel (or similar) as your carry-on, being sure to include any usual comfort items for international air travel. Staying relaxed in the days prior to your expedition will contribute to your acclimatization! Pro tip: we typically fly with our hiking boots, insulated pants, and parkas in our carry-on baggage. In the event of lost luggage these items are difficult to replace in Arusha.
STAGE 2 – TRIP PREP IN ARUSHA
Situated beneath Mount Meru, Arusha is mid-sized town in close proximity to Kilimanjaro, Ngorogoro Crater, and Serengeti National Park. Here, we take the time to do a thorough gear check. At the gear check, you will be issued an Alpine Ascents boundary bag to use during the trek.
After our gear check, we’ll pack as outlined below:
- Small duffel & travel luggage – pack up anything you want to leave behind, and plan to store it at your hotel during the climb.
- Small pack – your trekking clothes and footwear go in this bag, along with your water bottles, trekking poles, hydration mixes for your water bottles, some extra snacks, camera, and a few layers sufficient for an all-day trek. Your guide will assess the weather forecast and give specific coaching.
- Boundary bag – everything else is packed into this duffel bag, which will be ported for you from camp to camp on the trip. Note that you will not have access to it during each day as it is portered for you.
STAGE 3 – CLIMBING KILIMANJARO
Day by day, gradually ascending to allow our bodies time to acclimatize, we’ll climb Kilimanjaro with the all-too necessary assistance of our porter team. Each day, we’ll pack our boundary bags and hand them off for the day. During the day, everything we need must be packed into our small packs, including layers, water bottles, cameras, etc.
Upon arriving to each camp, we will again have access to the gear in our boundary bags. After descending from the top of the mountain, we will return to Arusha and de-issue boundary bags.
OPTIONAL – SAFARI/SERENGETI BALLOON RIDE
After the climb, some will go on to participate in a safari and/or balloon ride over the Serengeti. During these portions of the trip, you will be using only your personal luggage, having already returned the boundary bag. The small duffel is useful for this state of your journey, as there is a 15kg weight limit for the flight back from the Serengeti.