You are heading to Kilimanjaro soon. You have everything packed, or at least you think you do. Below are five must-have items that you cannot forget to take with you on Kilimanjaro. Some are obvious and others are suggestions from our past clients, items they wished they had thought of that would have made the mountain a bit more bearable.
1. Camp slippers
We mention these on the packing list. They are listed as optional. However, we guarantee you’ll love having them. Once you get to camp you’ll want to take off your hiking shoes/boots and socks and wash your feet. The last thing you are going to want to do is to put your hiking footwear back on. That is where the slippers come in handy. When we say slippers we don’t mean your dad’s old floppy slip-on. We mean synthetic or down camp slippers with hard rubber traction to walk around camp. Like these from Outdoor Research, Teva, or REI.
2. Biodegradable Wipes
Speaking of washing up. Number two on our list are good wipes. Sure we give you a warm bowl of water to wash up with, but wipes do a much better job at the nooks and crannies. Again, not cheap old wipes but good wipes like REI’s No Rinse Bathing Wipes or Surviveware Biodegradable wipes, or Combat Wipes.
3. A Buff
Again, we do have it listed on our gear list, but it really is essential. Not only is it good if the wind kicks up and you need to shield for mouth and nose from the dust, but it also can block your skin from the sun. Trust us when we say the sun is pretty intense on Kilimanjaro.
Additional, it is nice to get wet to cool you down on the warm days, it also blocks the wind from going down your neck on summit night.
When you are heading down the scree slope after the summit, it is the perfect way to keep all the dust out of your mouth.
4. Extra shoelaces or paracord
Fourth on our list is either shoelaces or paracord. They are interchangeable for this purpose. Make sure they are long because they can be used not only if you break a lace but also as a clothesline when you are at camp. You can tie them between tents or trees and hang your rinsed-out clothing to dry. They also work as hair ties, and to tie items to your backpacks like a quick-dry towel or your hydration bladder hose.
5. Dr. Bronners
Finally, Dr. Bronners 18-in-1 Hemp Peppermint Pure-Castile Soap. This is essential. Not only can you use it to wash your bits and pieces, hair, face, and hands, but you can also use it to wash your clothes. This applies both on the mountain and in your hotel where you can hand wash items if you need to.
Of course, the hotel can do your laundry since they have a laundry service. They can wash anything. They can even perform magic on your filthy hiking shoes. They’ll look brand new for a mere $5-7.
There you have it, these are the top five items that we are glad we brought with us. We hope this helps you have a more pleasant time climbing Kilimanjaro. If there are any other items you think should be on this list feel free to email us.
