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Climbing Kilimanjaro - The whole story

Be forewarned, friends.... this is going to be the whole, detailed, blow-by-blow account of the trip broken down by day.  I am mainly doing this because some people actually are interested in all of the details, and also because there may be folks who, like me, scour the internet for Kili blogs before beginning their climb, and my account might be helpful to them.  I am going to break it down by day, so if you are only interested in the summit attack story, scroll down to that, which is Day 6.  I am basically just copying down here what I recorded in my journal as we traveled.  Here goes....

Day 1: July 6, 2014

We awoke in our hotel at 7:00 am, quickly got ready, and headed to breakfast by 7:30.  Getting ready wasn't too tough as we had really staged everything the night before.  I was able to get one quick phone call in to my family, who waited up late (11:30 pm) to hear from me before I disappeared off the grid for a week.

After saying our goodbyes, I tucked in a good breakfast of eggs and toast, and at 8:00 the land rover vehicle arrived to collect us.  From our hotel we were joined by a man from Sweden named PerMagnus, and then we traveled to a hotel just up the road to pick up two blokes from Manchester, England: Nick Bellingham and Jon Lunt.  Now team SAMO was complete and we were off to the starting gate.  I

t was a long, very very bumpy ride once we turned off the main road.  I almost had a heart attack when this vehicle didn't slow down even a tiny bit as we transitioned from pavement to gravel; I seriously thought we were going to launch.  It seemed like forever on this bumpy road until we finally reached the main gate.  Here we all had to sign in to a book with our name, address, nationality, passport number, occupation, days on mountain, and guide information.  I thought it was interesting that they wanted our occupation.

While waiting at the main gate we were provided with a boxed lunch, which consisted of rice, chicken, a sandwich, juice, and a Kit Kat bar.  It was way more food than I could eat, so I gave my sandwich to a porter.

After lunch we had to pile back into the a vehicle for an impossibly bumpier hour-long  ride to the actual trailhead.  By the time we finally arrived there, we were ALL itching to get hiking! Finally at 2:30, it was time to go, and off we went into the rain forest.

The trail was unbelievable!  I did not expect a smooth dirt trail, lined with log 'rails' the whole way!  This trail was far more maintained and groomed than any of the trails at home that I trained on.  It was absolutely beautiful green scenery, trees lined with moss, ferns, etc.  We saw black and white Calabas monkeys, and of course we all had to stop and take photos and videos.

We arrived at camp at 5:45, and we were all surprised that it was actually quite crowded compared to what we had expected.  The Lemosho route we chose (called the TK Lemosho or Alternate Lemosho route) is known for being less traveled.  Luckily our little area was set up at the outside perimeter of the camp, so it wasn't too bad.  Sun sets here every day at 6:30, and as soon as the sun goes down, the temperature absolutely nosedives.  We were so cold right away that we were pulling out our fleeces and gloves!

As soon as we got there, we found 'tea time' ready for us, with hot beverages and popcorn.  I tried a drink called Milo, sort of a hot chocolate drink that I had read about previously that was very good.  Shortly after we were served dinner.  Let me just say that what our chef, Chili, could do from a cooking tent on a mountain is nothing short of amazing.  Each night we were served an amazing dinner, starting with soup and then followed by a main course, usually with some fruit for dessert.
This night our soup was a leek soup, and the main course was fried fish, boiled potatoes, and sautéed veggies in a sauce.  Dessert was bananas.

After we finished eating every night, our main guide, Leo, would visit the tent to give us the itinerary for the next day and tell us what to wear.  He told us that we were going for a six-hour hike, then we would have lunch, followed by an optional acclimatization hike in the afternoon.  We said our goodnights - in Swahili, we say 'lala salama', and went to the tents.  As soon as I put on my base layer 'pajamas' and crawled into my awesome sleeping bag, I was instantly warmer.  I am so very glad that I didn't skimp on the sleeping bag!

Day 2: July 7, 2014

The official wake-up was 6:30 am, but I awoke earlier than that.  We were greeted every morning by two porters - Benny and Christopher - bringing us hot tea to our tent.  Talk about spoiling us!

I didn't sleep particularly well.  I had fallen asleep early, but woke up at 11 pm, having to get out of the warm bag and visit the toilet tent.  Let me tell you, going out into the cold at night to use the toilet tent is not a lot of fun, but if you drink too much afternoon tea, it's not an option!

After that I couldn't really fall back to sleep.  I got out my phone and tried to read one of my Kindle books that is on it, only to figure out about a chapter in that I'd already read it...annoying.  Finally I figured out how to get comfortable in my sleeping bag on my tummy, and then I slept from about 1:00 - 5:00.  Upon comparing notes with the rest of the group when we met at breakfast, it turned out that it was about the same iffy sleep for all of us.

Breakfast started out today, and every day after, with a very runny 'porridge.'  The difference between today and the rest of the trip was that today I actually tried to eat it, but it wasn't happening.  I don't care for oatmeal to begin with, but this runny oatmeal soup was not going to do it for me.  Luckily, that was just the starter.  This day we were served eggs, sausage (but it looked like hot dogs, and that didn't appeal to me for breakfast) and toast.  We also had hot tea.

Immediately after breakfast we packed up, cleaned up, and hit the trail.  A word about clean-up and hygiene:  we were given plastic bowl of warm water either once or twice a day every day to clean up.  Between that and oodles of baby wipes, none of us were stinky on the trip.  However, from this day forward, none of us had clean fingernails either.  Hands got instantly dirty, and somehow that dirt got embedded in even the shortest of nails and nail bed crevices, and as I type this 24 hours after returning to civilization, my nails still aren't totally clean.  That was one of those things that you just have to say, 'oh well.'

So, as we began our daily hike, we had a little bit more of the rain forest to cover, and then we moved into a new zone called the 'heath mooreland' zone.  This part of the hike actually is where the walk in the park started to get tough.  Gone were the smooth lined trails, and now we had a lot of uphills, some of which were very technical and rocky.  At this point we were going the same pace as the porters.  This is really saying something, because yesterday the porters just sprinted up the mountains past us, even with the 50 pound loads on their heads and back.  This was constant, steep climbing, and it's where all of my training at home was paying off.

I found it really helpful to break out my iTunes and listen to some good 'get your butt up the mountain' music! As hard as it was, I was exhilarated and loved it all!

Suddenly, we popped over the top of a hill, and there - in the far distance - was our first glimpse of Kilimanjaro!  I was absolutely giddy with excitement!  Very shortly after this point we descended down a bit into our camp, which is called Shira 1.  It is on the Shira plateau.  This hike took 7 hours and was about 7 kilometers.

Basically, as soon as we arrived we washed up and had lunch.  Today we were served a pumpkin ginger soup, pasta with a vegetable sauce, a potato frittata, and watermelon.  By lunch it was very warm out.  We had been in the sun and were wearing our sunscreen, hats, and sunglasses.  I wasn't sure the hot lunch was going to do it for me, but it ended up being great.

Very shortly after lunch we took an additional acclimatization hike.  These were optional, but I was determined to take every one offered to increase my chances of success.  This was a nice hike through the 'bush' and up maybe 3/4 of a nearby mountainside, then back.  It took a total of about 2 hours, but I am not sure how far it was distance-wise.  This hike was nice and low-key.

My favorite part was listening to the guides who went with us just happily banter amongst themselves in Swahili.  They are a happy bunch!  After the hike we cleaned up again, changed into clean clothing, and went for our tea and popcorn.  Then we just chilled until dinner time.  Tonight we had squash soup, rice and veggies, and chicken.  It was all good.

We enjoyed sitting at the table after dinner this night, and most nights of the trip, chatting with our British buddies, Nick and Jon.  They are both just really funny, and their accents made talking with them even more fun!  In addition to picking up some Swahili on this trip, I've picked up some good British terms too!  (I'm knackered!)

Leo visited us, and then it was off to bed at 8:00.  It was another very, very cold night... there was actual frost on the tent when I had to get up for my nightly visit to the potty tent. I slept a little bit better, though, probably getting about 6 good hours of sleep.

Day 3:  July 8, 2014

Same morning routine.  Given the small breakfasts I've been eating, I decided to also have a protein bar that I brought along to try and bolster my calories/energy a little bit.  Today I decided I should probably start the Diamox altitude medicine, too.  I wasn't having any symptoms AT ALL of altitude sickness, but I also decided that there was no need to take chances as long as I had the meds with me.

Our hike this day was to Moir Hut.  It was a mix of super easy terrain and mildly challenging terrain.  The easy part came first when we had to cross a large expanse of African bushland to get closer to the mountain foothills.  We had a pretty quick walking pace for this part.  At the other side of the bush we had a lot of rock to hike up.  For me, it was very similar to hiking up Stone Mountain in Atlanta.  We walked along a ridge with some really neat washout caves, and then descended down into our camp.  I listened to my music for most of the way today, mostly to help keep my mind from focusing on how looooong we had to walk through the bush lands.

When we arrived at camp, we had a good lunch including cucumber soup and some steak and 'chips' (fries).  I told you this cook was simply amazing!!

We rested for maybe an hour after lunch, and then had another afternoon acclimatization hike.  Today we hiked up a very high ridge near the camp, and we spent a good 45 minutes sitting there at the top just breathing and letting our bodies acclimatize.  Finally it was back down to camp, where we cleaned up with warm water, then tea, then dinner.

I also took my second Diamox dose of the day.  Dinner was 'ok' tonight.  It was a mixed veggie soup that was good, but then it was spaghetti and meatballs, and they were just kind of dry.  Plus, my stomach was weirdly gurgling, so I was trying to be a little cautious of what I ate.  Before bed I took three TUMS, and hoped for the best. 

Unfortunately, hoping didn't work.  I had a major case of stomach problems during the night.  I had to take four trips to the toilet tent and 4 Immodiums before FINALLY, around 3:00, I finally fell asleep for about two hours at best.  Tough night.

Day 4:  July 9, 2014

When the 6:30 wake-up tea came, I felt tentatively better, but I was SUPREMELY cautious about what I ate.  I only had a little electrolyte mix and a little packet of an applesauce type energy thing I brought along.  I was facing a 5 hour hike with no trees to duck behind, so I was nervous.

At this point, of course, I'm wondering what caused the problem.  Was it that I was eating a lot of unusual foods and by body was rebelling?  Sara thought it may have been a reaction to the Diamox, which I was less inclined to think since I had tried it at home with no problems.  It also could be that I had already picked up some sort of traveler's big D, but I was evidently the only one troubled.  Just in case, I chose not to take another dose of the Diamox today.  Long story short, I ended up ok.  I kept my food intake this day extremely bland, and never had to find a rock and dig a hole -- thank goodness!!!!

On to the hike...

We started out along the same trail that we did our acclimatization hike on yesterday.  Once we reached that summit, it was down into a sort of valley that was nothing but constant ROCKS for the first two hours of hour hikes.  Of all of the terrain I have hiked on, rocks are my least favorite!  I'm talking about wobbly, under-your-feet shifting rocks that force you to look down constantly.  I just had to suck it up, of course, so I did.

After we finally crossed out of the rocks, it was an enjoyable and varied terrain.  We came around the back side of Kilimanjaro, the north side, and this is the side that looks down on Kenya.  Unfortunately, there was nothing but thick cloud cover way below us, so we couldn't see Kenya at all.  It actually felt like we were in a plane, with that same sort of view.

Our hike was fun.  I felt good and five hours later we rolled into Pofu camp.  We were actually about 150 meters lower altitude than we were at last night's camp, but this is all part of the acclimatization process.  When we got to camp, we had our lunch, which I kept bland.  It was grilled cheese.  This afternoon was a total rest afternoon with no place to take an acclimatization hike, so I chilled in the tent.  I may have snoozed a little bit, but not a lot.  Tomorrow is an easy hike day of only 3 hours, so we get to wake up a little later (7:00 am).  I am really hoping to get some sleep tonight because I am definitely in a sleep deficit at this point.  By the way, this day at 4:00 pm our time, 9:00 am EST, St. Oliver's daily Mass was said for our group, and we were very honored!

Day 5: July 10, 2014

First to talk about last night:

1)  We had a MAJOR wind storm!  It was honestly unlike anything I've ever been outside in before.  We were in our tents when the tempest picked up.  As I'm laying there, suddenly the tent wall started pressing down on my face!  It was funny, and actually a little bit scary at the same time.  After about 30 minutes of this, I heard someone outside my tent banging on the tent stakes.  Unbeknownst to me, they had come out of the ground, which is why I was having a tent wall pressing down on me.  Once the porter fixed it, there was no more problem.  I fell asleep in the wind, and slept fantastically - the best yet.  I think I got about 7 hours of sleep.  By morning the wind was gone.

 I hadn't had to visit the potty tent in the night (again, thank goodness!) and so felt confident that all systems within me were 'go', so to speak.  As we packed, I decided to try another dose of Diamox to see if I could handle it or if maybe it really was the cause of my problem.  I reasoned that we only had a three hour walk today, so if it was going to be giving me a problem, better to find out on a short walk day than later on a long walk, or even worse, on summit attack!

Our hike was again on some nice and varied terrain.  At first, it could best be described as "mountain goat" terrain, because there were a lot of rocks to scramble over.  Then there were some more flat lands and scraggly brush that we've been seeing so much of.  The hike ended at today's camp around 11:30 am.  It is called Third Cave camp.  Our group sat around chatting until lunch time.

As we were sitting around, I began to notice a familiar gurgle in my stomach again.  OH NO!  Right away, I knew I was going to have a problem, so at lunch I was very careful to keep it very bland, but as soon as lunch was over... Immodium time again.  Laid down to rest before our afternoon acclimatization hike, and even snoozed a little bit.  Unfortunately, there was a need for more Immodium, now up to a total of four, which is the maximum labeled dose.  I figured with all that I was safe to hike in the afternoon without fear of a problem, so I did.

We did a nice 90-minute round trip hike to a higher altitude.  When we got back, tea was ready, and we were given a warm bowl of water for our daily wipe down.  We were told that we won't be getting another one of those until after the summit as there is no water source at our base camp, and all water there has to be carried up with us from this camp.  We saw several porters today carrying buckets of water on their heads in the direction of our next stop.

Anyway, I felt ok through the hike and tea, and kept it as bland as possible at dinner, again, with just a little soup and some bread.  HOWEVER, after dinner, more problems.  Sigh.  I decided to take one more Immodium, even though it was over the official dose.  The ironic bottom line is this:  it appears that the medicine I brought along to help alleviate symptoms of altitude sickness has actually CAUSED another sickness.  This leads to good news and bad news:  The good news is that I haven't really had ANY symptoms of altitude sickness, so perhaps it isn't going to be an issue for me.  The bad news is that now Diamox is no longer an option to help me if I do, so I will have to rely on my determination to get me through.  It's off to bed hoping for a good night!

Day 6:  July 11, 2014

No sickness in the night!  Thank goodness!  Today is the BIG DAY!  First up:  A 3.5 hour hike to base camp to gain 720 meters in altitude.  After that:  SUMMIT ATTACK! 

We arrived at base camp at 11:50 am and waited in our tents until lunch, trying to get organized for the midnight trek.  We basically have 12 hours to rest.  No headache, yet.  I just took some Advil for some slightly aching muscles in my hips.  This morning's hike was no joke.  It was uphill all the way.  About halfway up, Leo said we were at 14, 700 feet, higher than I've ever been as it is higher than Pike's Peak.

I walked super baby step slowly, as they advise.  In Swahili they say, 'pole pole' (pronounced po-lay po-lay), which means to walk slowly, slowly.  This is the best way for your body to deal with the altitude.  I probably could have walked faster at this point, but was being very intentional about staying slow enough that I wouldn't feel too breathless.  The feeling of not being able to get a deep breath gives me a little bit of panic.

My strategy worked, and although my pace made me the caboose of our little group, I actually felt really good when we arrived.

Again, music has played such a key role in this trip for me.  When I have music playing in my ears, 1) I can't hear my hard heart-beat or fast breathing, 2) It takes my mind off of the arduous task I'm working on, and 3) I have always preferred to walk/run to a steady beat, and this allows me to take my slow steps with a regular beat.  All my marching band geek buds will understand that last one.

 Anyway, we ate lunch, and then were sent to our tents to relax and nap, which I don't really think I did nap more than 10 or 15 minutes.  We were called to an early dinner at 5:00, and then sent "to bed" at 6:00 with notice of a wake-up call at 11:pm, with an 11:30 'breakfast' and a midnight start.

Leo answered all of our questions after giving us a summary of the agenda for the big climb.  I figured that there was no way I'd sleep, so I decided to just listen to the relaxing music of -- ready? -- John Denver.  It was wonderful, and everything was relaxing and fine until 10:00.

Suddenly, the stomach gurgling started again.  WHAT??? I hadn't taken any more Diamox, and I doubted it could still be in my system, and it's Summit night for Heaven's sake and I CAN'T DEAL WITH STOMACH ISSUES WHILE I TRY TO SUMMIT THIS MOUNTAIN!

I sort of panicked.

Right away I took the starter 2 Immodium.  Ten minutes later, another one.  At 10:40 or so I took a fourth.  Now I had the maximum dosage, again.  We were officially 'woken', and I went to breakfast, where I was only able to stomach a tiny sip of tea and the teeniest nibble of a ginger snap cookie.  I was Worried, with a capital W, because 1) everyone else was tucking away plenty of calories to start this endeavor, and 2) my stomach was still gurgling.  So, I made the executive decision to overdose and take one more Immodium.  That was just a chance I was willing to take today, especially given that there were no adverse effects last time.

And so, the hike began.  It was a full moon, as we planned, so a headlamp wasn't necessary, but some people used them anyway.  The hike started out of camp and straight uphill over rocks.  Our pace was even more pole pole than usual, but we got short of breath right away.

The early part of the hike involved hiking up and out of our camp until we intersected with a path on which many different hike routes converged for the summit bid.  Once we met this trail, about 1.5 hours into the hike, then we began the 4.5 - 5 hour trudge up steep switchbacks over rocky, dusty scree (loose gravel) terrain.

Again, this hike was no joke and not for the faint-hearted.  I was torturing myself by periodically looking straight up and seeing the light pinpoints of people zig-zagged up as far as I could see, practically to the stars, it seemed from my vantage point.  Every now and then I'd tell myself, 'just look down.  Don't look up.'  And then I'd look up again in 5 minutes just to feel like I'd gone nowhere.

At this point I am feeling low-energy due to no calories and weakness from my stomach issues.  It took a WHOLE LOT of mental conversations to keep my spirit and motivation up.

A word about hiking in scree:  Every time you take a step up, you also slide backwards half a step.  Again, a very big mental commitment is necessary here.

I need to insert a little note about a very special guide:  Mango.  He has been guiding us along this entire trek, and has an endearing personality.  This night, however, he was elevated to hero status in my world.  Mango was assigned to me, especially.  (We all had a guide assigned to us).  This meant that he paid special attention to how I was doing and gave me several hands up over rough areas, etc.  My well-being was his concern, and I am forever grateful.

It was really getting just plain hard.  This interminable climbing of steep switchbacks ended when we reached a section of some really big boulders that we needed to scramble over.  The wind suddenly picked up to very strong, coming from behind us.  Sara and I both felt like that was a sign from Dad, who liked to say he was the wind at our backs.  When we popped over the top of those boulders, we found ourselves at Gillman's Point.—we had made it to the ridge and the first of three points toward the ultimate summit!

Looking out at the horizon, I could see the faintest hint of a pinkish yellow, indicating that the sun was not long in coming.  It was just after 6:15, and my spirits soared.  I knew that I was going to make it to Uhuru Peak now, despite everything!  I stopped to take a photo at the Gillman's Point sign, then proceeded onward.

The next mark was Stella Point, and it was much less steep of a walk there.  To me, the 25 minutes or so to reach that point flew by because I was so full of excitement.  This was a walk along the rim, and it wasn't anywhere near as bad as what we'd been doing for the past six hours.  However, during this stretch, the total lack of calories and semi-dehydrated state I was in caught up with me, and I knew that I was going to have a problem with blood sugar, etc., soon, so I asked to stop and eat my little 100 calorie applesauce pack that I had brought with me.

To this point, my stomach had cooperated - although early gurgling during the journey had me studying the passing boulders for potential rest areas... just in case!  Thank goodness I didn't need it.  Anyway, I felt this snack would be safe to eat, so I did, and I  felt like my blood sugar came back enough to safely go on.

We arrived at Stella Point, and I could see Uhuru Peak uphill in the distance, so I didn't even stop to take a photo at Stella; I just kept going.  I wanted to get there!

As I passed the Stella sign and made my way on the final push, my emotions about fulfilling this long-time dream started to get the best of me, and the tears flowed.  Right away I was chiding myself for  crying when I needed my breath to actually BREATHE, not sob!  The air was so, so thin.

I got myself under control, until suddenly at just about 8:00 am the famous sign came into sight... and the waterworks started again!  In fact, I am getting choked up all over again just by writing this! Right that moment, my iTunes started playing Van Halen's "Standing on Top of the World", which is a song Steve had picked out for me before I left.  The timing was totally unplanned, and TOTALLY perfect.

After that song, I switched my tunes to the song by Imagine Dragons called "I'm on Top of the Word", which is the song Sara had picked out for our trip and a song I played on repeat many miles of my training hikes.  I dropped my backpack, and fished inside for the baggie which Steve had packed for me to collect a bag of summit dirt.  I also got out the sign Emma made for me to take a picture with, and I got into the line for photos.

YES, believe it or not, there was a LINE at the top of Africa!!!  LOL!  There were maybe 20 or so people there when we were.  Amazing, isn't it?

First we took a photo with our whole group, and then some individual shots.  We didn't get to spend too much time at the summit due to the thin air and windy conditions, so the guides started shepherding us down fairly quickly.

Now to talk about the descent.  You'd think that the hard part was over, wouldn't you?  I think that I expected it to be, but I was oh! so! wrong!!!  We descended an entirely different route than we ascended.  This one is a straight/direct route down through an ash and scree field.  (Did you know Kilimanjaro was a volcano?)  It literally is like skiing with your hiking boots on, and I have to say that part seemed kind of fun--at first.

The end of the "scree-ing" was at about 9:00 am, and little did I know we still had almost four hours of hiking to do, downhill, on what can only be described as knee-pulverizing rocky terrain.  Imagine walking on a sandy, rocky, slippery, uneven terrain downhill where your knees take the brunt of every footfall and your thighs are screaming.  That begins to describe it.

When—one hour into this Bataan Death March—I asked Leo how far to camp, he responded, "Three hours."  I thought he was joking.  Nope.

My cheery attitude, I must confess, took a nose-dive.  I was hungry, thirsty, hot - because I still had on all of my summit layers and the temp was easily in the 80s in the sun where we were.  Now with two of my warmest and thickest socks, my feet started to rebel too, and I felt like I was getting some blisters.  I started wishing that someone in any of the hundred blogs/books/articles/videos I perused before this trip would've suggested a clean pair of dry socks to pack to put on after the scree ski!

FINALLY, at 1:00 pm, we arrived at High Camp.  For me, this meant that I'd been hiking up and down a mountain for 13 hours, was running on no sleep at all for 30-plus hours, AND I had consumed about 200 calories in the last 18 hours! I was so exhausted that I couldn't even think of a time in my life to even come close to this feeling.  I debated skipping lunch and just flopping down to pass out asleep in the tent, but my intellect took over and told me I had better consume some food.  So I went to lunch, where I managed a small bowl of soup and a 1/2 piece of pita bread.  I excused myself, came back to the tent, put in earplugs, and fell asleep for a little over an hour.  I woke up, wrote in my journal, had dinner a little later (soup, rice, chicken), and then went back to sleep.  Mission.  Accomplished.

Day 8:  July 13, 2014

What a great night's sleep I finally had last night!  I went to bed just after 7 sometime, turning out my light at 8:00.  I went straight to sleep, which never happened any other night of the trip, and then I slept all the way until just after 6:00 am with a tiny bit of wakefulness when I rolled over in my bag.  It was yet another freezing cold night, just as every night had been, but it was the last one!  And truly, my sleeping bag was perfect as I was never ever cold sleeping.

We were brought our wake-up tea at 7:00 am by Benny and Christopher again, as always, and then had to start packing up for the last time.  We had breakfast of eggs, beans, and some sort of tortilla.  My stomach has been ok since day 6, so yay!

The porters were really antsy to get going, so we had to hurry up and finish packing and get out of our tents.  Just after 8:00 am we started our last hike - downhill all the way.  I've already said all I can say about downhills, except that day 2 of downhills on already very sore muscles is even harder.

Today's terrain ranged from rocky to slippery mud.  My knees are done.  My thighs and calves are planning an imminent mutiny too.  You know it's bad when four Advil don't even begin to help.  We finally arrived at the gate just after noon.  We had to sign out of the book, noting our success or failure to reach the summit (all success!) and then we all loaded into a mini-bus, team SAMO, plus most of the crew of 30 porters and guides from our team.  Keep in mind that we are on day 8 of no real shower and you can imagine how ripe that bus was!  Thank heavens for open windows!

We rode maybe 45 minutes to the town of Moshi, where we were taken to a little restaurant for lunch.  I ordered a cheeseburger, fries and a coke.  Despite the fact that Chili, our mountain cook, was able to provide us with unbelievable meals on the mountain considering his limitations, I was still ready to sink my teeth into a burger!

At the restaurant, Leo made a formal presentation to each of us, handing out our special mountain diploma certificates.  He thanked us for a great week and told us he was proud of us all.  At this point we gave him the tips to distribute among the crew, and though we tipped well, it still didn't feel like enough for all they'd done for us.  After lunch we were driven another two hours back to Arusha and our hotel.

You'd think we would've raced to be the first to shower, but my first priority was to get in touch with my family who I missed so, so much.  It was just fantastic to hear their voices and to tell them just a little of this story.  Now I've showered and I'm settling in for the night, hoping for another wonderful night of uninterrupted sleep.

EPILOGUE:

Today is July14, and I've spent the afternoon typing this up.  I wanted to get it transferred from my journal while my memories were still fresh enough that I could give enough detail.

This morning we all woke up with our muscles in our legs just truly knackered.  (Thanks, Brits!)  After breakfast, we decided to go to the nearby Impala Hotel spa and get a massage.  I did not want anyone touching my legs, so I opted for just a foot massage.

Evidently, here they must consider calves part of a foot massage.  When the poor lady reached up and gave my calf a squeeze, I nearly kicked her in the face!  I then kindly explained that my calves were not to be messed with.  We are walking like a bunch of old ladies.

Unfortunately, my stomach issues are back today.  At this point, I'm no longer thinking the Diamox is to blame, but maybe I have a bacterial thing going on.  Sara has a Cipro prescription, and I think I am going to take that.  We leave tomorrow for a three day safari, which should be so enjoyable!  We are going to Ngorongoro Crater, Tarangire nature preserve, and Lake Manara.  We have been promised all manner of wonderful animal sightings, so I'm really looking forward to it.  I'm hoping to get this digestive stuff under control by then.  I

 know that this has been a lot of detail, but I hope you've enjoyed it!  If you're a stranger who has stumbled across this blog, are planning a trek to Kili, and want to ask me any specific questions, please email me at jenifertruitt@aim.com .  Of course you, my friends and family, know I'll be happy to talk to you about more of this any time!  I've posted some photos on Facebook, and will have a great video to upload a few weeks from now when my sweet hubby manages to edit all of the footage down to a great highlight reel!  Thanks to one and all for your amazing support and prayers during this journey.  They bolstered me more than you'll ever know!  Peace!


PS:  If you enjoyed my account of the trip, and would also enjoy a slightly different perspective, check out my British comrade's blog post by clicking here!

Time to Climb!

Hi everyone! I wanted to do one more update before we start our climb. Yesterday, before my sister arrived, we went into town. We had a guy take us around and bring us to some local shops, etc. This place reminds me of the place I visited in Argentina, so the third-world ness of it wasn't unfamiliar.  We bought some souvenirs and enjoyed a walk through the central market. Last night Sara arrived late, around 9:30, and we went right to sleep after. Unfortunately my sleep was short lived, for some reason, and I was awake for many hours in the middle of the night. I hope to sleep better tonight.

Today we were very low key. We spent a lot of time sitting outside under the warm sun. I was having a very nervous and anxious day today, but I feel better tonight.

As I write this, we have just finished our pre-climb briefing with our guide. His name is Leo. He is being assisted by a guy named Phoenix and a guy named Mango, plus up to 33 porters and a cook!  The lead guide was all business, but I think he was impressed with our level of knowledge and preparation. Every question he asked us we had the answer to. I feel rather like a student who just passed a test!  He will be coming to collect us at 8:00 AM. That is midnight back home!   We knew that there were going to be two others on our trek, but have learned tonight there will be three additional people for a total of 8. Two of them are just flying in tonight so I can imagine how exhausted they will be tomorrow. . I don't really know what else to say about this but "let's do it!"

Hello from Africa!

We made it!! After well more than 30 hours of traveling, we safely landed in Tanzania and were deposited at The Outpost "hotel" (a term intentionally put in quotes!)  I am happy to say that the flights were smooth and unneventful. I don't think my brain was wrapped around the reality of two loooooong flights (6 and 8 hours) back-to-back. I am so glad we had extra legroom in the "economy comfort" section, but it didn't escape my notice that the business class section had beds!!! Spoiled rich people. Lol!  I was thinking there would be wifi on the planes, because there was on the domestic leg, but nope.  There also is not wifi in our room, so here I sit in the cafe typing away.  I would be texting my fam, but it is 1:40 am there. It is 8:40 am here.

So here we are at our hotel. It is quaint! It is made up of little concrete huts, I guess you'd say. The room has windows with screens but not glass, so it's not climate controlled. It was a little chilly last night so we skipped showers and crawled in bed, where we slept great! I only woke up once, and listened to something rustling around outside. I saw a sign about leaving doors closed so monkeys don't come in, so maybe that's what it was? I can only guess! We woke up at 7:45 this morning, and it's still chilly, so we just went to breakfast in yesterday's clothes and a jacket. I guess I'll suck it up and get a shower next, cold or not. I hear hot water is "iffy" here! :-)

Breakfast was good, eggs and fruit. We are eating at the outdoor cafe here at the hotel. It is the only place I can get internet. Not sure what we will do today. It was totally dark when we arrived last night, but the glimpses I caught of "town" didn't make me anxious to go out exploring. That's not me complaining, but being realistic about safety smarts. It is a third world place we are visiting, remember.

To my family, it is going to be tricky to reach you via messaging due to the internet situation and our time difference. I will try later today!

The adventure has begun!

Some trip details...

I thought that some might be interested in the itinerary details of our trip, so here you go!


I depart on July 2nd from Atlanta.  It is a three-legged flight to our destination in Africa.  First we fly to Detroit, then to Amsterdam, and finally to Arusha in Tanzania.  I have calculated about 20 hours in the air between these flights.  Luckily, on the long flights I was able to get something called "economy comfort seating", which supposedly allows a little more leg room.  It's not first-class, but it's a step up from coach.  I hope.  And evidently they can give those seats away without warning.


I will be arriving in Arusha, Tanzania on the 3rd at about 7:30 pm.  My thought is that I'll probably go to bed shortly after arriving in the hotel (nothing fancy there...hoping for electricity and warm water) to help get adjusted to the time change.  I have all day on the 4th and 5th to laze around the hotel and just generally rest up before we start climbing on the 6th. 


We depart on our big trek adventure on Sunday, July 6th, early morning.  We will be climbing anywhere from 5 - 8 miles per day, from what I gather.  They insist that you walk SLOWLY to  help acclimatize to the altitude change each day.  Therefore, it seems we have 6-8 hour hikes each day.  As I think I mentioned earlier, I only will be carrying my daypack.  Porters carry tents, etc, and set it all up for us.  I just have to make sure I'm carrying what I need for that day.  Around midnight of day 7 (July 12), we are scheduled to start our attack on the summit.  If all goes well, we should arrive there after sunrise, around 6:00 or so in the morning.  We turn around and immediately head down, where we take a short rest at the camp we left, and then hike further on down more than halfway down the mountain!  We hike for around 16 hours that day, less breaks.  This is the day prayers will be most fervently needed, assuming altitude hasn't taken me out of the game by that point. 


The next day, the 13th, it's just a couple more hours of hiking, and we are done.  We will get our certificates for climbing (again... assuming...) and then we are delivered back to our hotel, which probably will look a LOT nicer now than it did at the beginning of the trip as it will offer running water (hot or not) with which to shower for the first time in more than a week.
We have the 14th, all day, to rest again, and then on the 15th we will begin our Safari.  We will be heading to the Ngorongoro crater and three other areas of savannah.  This is (for all you natural science lovers) where australopithicus africanus early humans were discovered.  If I spelled that even close to right, it's thanks to Dr. Wangeman back at Lakeland College in the early 90s! ;-)  This safari is three days long, and then we leave Africa on the 18th, arriving home to the US on the 19th. 


I'll post this info again, but we are traveling under the direction of an outfit called Team Kilimanjaro.  If you go to their website, www.teamkilimanjaro.com, there is a link for "interactive" options, and from there you can click on the map to see where we are on the mountain.  We will be identified with the code HS-SAMO or HS-NIBE.  Our lead guide will send updates back to headquarters any day that he can with our progress.  I encourage you to follow us, and PRAY for our success and good health!  Please??!!!??  One week from tomorrow it all begins!

All (medical) systems GO!

Over the last several days I've had a series of doctor appointments to make sure that I am "all systems go" for this trip.  First, I had to be sure that my anemia was still under control, since I haven't had a follow-up on that since February.  That report:  EXCELLENT.  My hematologist told me that I had plenty of iron in the blood, my blood cells were fat and healthy, and - I quote - "Go climb a mountain!"  That was very good news, indeed.  When I first went to see him, my iron was extremely low and my blood cells were thin.  According to my lab report, a "low limit" is 36 for iron, and mine was 12 last year.  Yesterday I saw the new report, a year later, and it was 114!  I'm solidly in the normal range for now.

Next, I had my regular doctor visit yesterday for one last check-up before I go and to get all of the prescription meds I need for the trip.  He gave me a good, clean bill of health, and a long - LONG - list of meds to take.  I will be taking meds to prevent malaria for several weeks, even after I return.  I chose to use doxycycline for this purpose rather than a specific anti-malarial.  The reason I made this decision is because the doxycycline is an effective and approved option, and the added bonus of using it is that it will provide some coverage against other possible bacterial infections.  I am bringing along a medicine called Diamox, which will be used to alleviate altitude sickness problems.  According to my dr., I don't need to take this preventatively, but rather will start it if I feel symptoms such as headache, nausea, etc.  I'm also bringing along a few other preventative-type meds.  All totaled it is six prescriptions, plus my OTC pain killer of choice (Excedrin) and, of course, Imodium - just in case!

In this last three weeks before departure I am just focusing on training as much as I can, working on plans for my mom to follow (who'll be helping out at home in my absence), purchasing last-minute items, and just generally getting excited!  I'm not sure there is anything else very specific for me to blog about before I leave, so check back around the first of July for my pending departure comments!  Also, if you have any questions about this, feel free to ask!

Gearing up... or, having a really good excuse to shop!

Obviously there is no undertaking a trip like this without some serious outfitting of gear.  I started last summer to build up my travel kit, and now, a mere 28 days out, all I need are a few last minute items.  So, what will I bring?


First and foremost, I knew that (A) I hate to be cold and (B) it's going to be VERY cold on that mountain.  Therefore, I immediately decided that there would be no skimping on the gear to keep me warm.  I started with  a sleeping bag.  It was recommended that trekkers bring a sleeping bag rated to zero or below.  If the average person could be warm enough in a zero degree-rated bag, I wanted more, so I researched and found the North Face Dark Star sleeping bag rated to -20 degrees F.  Yep, that's 20 below zero.  Now, I am sure it won't be THAT cold on the mountain, but I'm ready for it just in case!  It's a mummy bag, and as soon as it came in and I crawled inside, I discovered that there just miiiiiggghhht be a small issue with claustrophobia.  I'm working on that!


The next most important item to keep warm would be my coat.  Again, internet research proved invaluable here, and allowed me to find a product line that was highly recommended with glowing reviews.  This line is the First Ascent line by Eddie Bauer.  I figured if people wear this line of gear to summit Mt. Everest, then I should be golden.  From this line I ordered my base layers (long underwear, if you will), a warm down-like jacket, and an outer shell, plus ski-type pants.  I had the opportunity to test all of this out during the winter when I had some hikes in the single digit temps, and it all worked as advertised.  I was never cold for a minute!  In fact, there was never a time when I needed ALL of my layers, so that is encouraging.  The only outer layer that I had some issues with was the gloves.  I tried several different kinds, ranging from $12 gloves to $49 down-filled gloves, and none of them seemed to really keep my fingers from feeling cold.  It wasn't something that I would consider really bad, but neither did I feel very confident.  My research and testing unfortunately extended into the warmer weather season, so the system I have settled on hasn't been cold tested.  I ended up buying a pair of mountaineering mittens from North Face and a pair of glove liners to go under them.  I also have some of those little chemical heat pack hand and foot warmers that I'll be bringing along.  I will probably bring a pair of the gloves that I tested, just in case I need them too.


I suppose the hiking boots should have been first on my list, but like I said, the warmth issue was a big one for me.  However, having shoes that will do the job is a very high priority.  I knew that this issue wasn't really an internet trial-and-error issue, so I went to Alabama Outdoors, and very luckily met with a hiking expert who helped me find the perfect hiking boot for me.  I ended up with a pair of Salomon boots that fit my feet just right.  I've had them for a year now, and they've been on my feet for a large percentage of the 700-plus miles I've trained.  At first I did have some issues with the boots breaking in, mostly just some aches from stiff shoes, but as of yet (KNOCK WOOD!) I've not had a single blister or any real problem.  These Cinderella slippers will be taking me happily up the hill!


Other items that have been purchased and practiced with include hiking poles, backpack with water bladder and hose for drinking, good wool socks, bandana 'buff's, and hats.  Of course I have all of the other typical items on the checklist to bring, and this post would get too long if I tried to include it all.  Yes, we're bringing good DEET repellant for use on the safari.  Probably the most amusing item that we're packing is the "Shewee".  You're just going to have to Google that one.  :-)


I've read that somewhere in the neighborhood of 3 in 10 people's luggage doesn't arrive to Tanzania with them.  This worries me quite a bit, so I will be wearing my hiking boots on the plane, and I will carry the items I'd be most worried about replacing on the plane with me, too.  Today, after I finish typing this, I am going to go and take the pile of Kilimanjaro stuff that has been building up in my closet and will lay it all out to take an inventory.  I will definitely make a list and take pictures of everything I'm bringing so that if the worst happens and I have to replace some of it, at least I will have a good record of what I'm missing and won't have to rely on a panicked brain to remember it.


I really hope that all of my research and reading has paid off and that I have all of the essential gear for the trip that I need.  If you read this and think that I might be forgetting something important, please feel free to share! 

Training for the Top

Just this past weekend, I passed the 700 mile mark on my training, meaning that I've logged over 700 miles on my feet since I started officially training last July.  It is hard for me to believe that I've walked/hiked/run a combined total of over 700 miles!  Even the author of the notable Kilimanjaro field guide, Henry Stedman, was impressed with my mileage, but in his words, "...it will still be bloody hard..." to climb Kilimanjaro!  (Henry is British, so I love reading that line from his email to me with an Austin Powers accent.) 


I officially started to train for this trek almost one year ago, on July 12, 2013.  That date marked one year from our anticipated summit date, so it seemed like a good day to kick off the training.  I started a Facebook group page for Sara, Liz, and myself with the idea that we would record our workouts there and encourage each other to persevere when the intrinsic motivation waned.  The question at first was, "Exactly what do we do?"


When I trained for my marathon, I followed Jeff Galloway's program called Marathon: You Can Do It.  This program called for 2 - 3 short runs each week with one long run of increasing mileage over a six-month period.  It made sense to me that we could do something similar to this, but use hikes and walks instead of runs.  That is how it started, then.  We set a goal of two "shorts" and one "long" each week. We tried to increase our long hikes by about 10-15 minutes each week.  Eventually I decided it was also important to add in more focused strength training, both for the trek and also because I am an over-40 woman; everything I read says training with weights is critical to maintaining health, fitness, and even bone strength at my age.  I joined a gym close to my home, and added that into the program. 


Side note:  for the first six months or so of this training, I was dealing with pretty severe anemia.  As you may know, anemia means that iron levels in the blood are very low, and that translates to less oxygen in the blood and a much more difficult time with endurance training.  Thanks to a great hematologist, though, and two very effective IV iron infusions, my levels came back up by about January, and I had energy like I haven't had in a very long time!  This added energy gave me the motivation to start my running again, so I started back at square one with a "couch-to-5K" program.  At this point my weekly mileage went significantly higher with hikes, walks, AND runs. 


I live in a neighborhood with more than 25 miles of beautiful wooded mountain trails right outside of my back door, so hiking has been a significant part of my training.  The winter in the woods was sublime!  First and foremost, I was able to traipse around the trails with no fear of stepping on a timber rattler or copperhead snake, which is a real concern in the warmer months here.  Second, I was able to test out all of my cold weather gear (which will be the subject of my next post) to make sure that I am well-outfitted for the trip.  Third, I put in hours upon hours and miles upon miles of climbing on varying inclines with lots of different terrain.  My longest hike was over five hours (11 miles in the woods) and there were a great many hikes just an hour or so shorter than that. 


I've read lots of different sites and blogs that say any 'reasonably fit' person is capable of reaching the summit of Kilimanjaro as long as they don't fall victim to altitude sickness.  There is no way to predict who will have problems with that, either.  You hear about the fittest athlete (like Martina Navratilova) turning back before the summit, and then the slightly-overweight smoker dude who doesn't have a problem.  All I know is that I am leaving nothing that is within my control to chance; if the altitude gets me, then it does, but I've done my part.  As I move into the last 35 days of my training (yep, I've been running a countdown), I'm planning to take it up another notch and get in twice-a-day sessions when I possibly can.   So, if you live nearby and see me schlepping along with my loaded backpack and hiking boots, feel free to join me for a few miles!

How it all began...

I'm not even sure when, actually... but it was definitely more than a year, or even two years ago.  I'm guessing that I first had the seed planted about climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro sometime in 2008.  That year, Anne Curry, as part of some Today Show "environmental awareness" thing, attempted the climb.  I watched some of the footage, and I remember the drama surrounding her 'not making it to the top.'  It must've given me the thought, somewhere deep in the recesses of my mind, that if she could undertake that, why couldn't I?    Sometime after 2008, Jessica Biel also made the big Kilimanjaro climb along with some other celebrities.  Once again, the idea pinged that these celebs are really just mere mortals, so if they can... you get the idea.  It might have been around 2010 that I mentioned the idea to my sister, who herself enjoys travel and challenges, and she jumped on board with me right away.  We started talking dates, and although years in the future, it was settled that late 2013 or early 2014 might be do-able.   Time passed, and we kept working on making this a reality.  It got to be 2012 when we decided that a summer trip (since I teach school) would be best and that a full-moon summit would be ideal.  About this time, my BFF for the last 30 (gasp) years, Liz, decided that she wanted to be part of this big event, and now we were a group of three looking to make it official. 


I should probably interject, here, that early-on in this process I would not have been in any kind of physically fit enough shape to do this. Somewhere in 2007 or 2008 I started running for the first time in my life with the idea of trying to complete a 5K race.  I did it, and felt like I could do more, so I did my first 10K.  Next came my first triathlon (which was also celeb inspired: if J-Lo could do it, so could I!), followed by a half-marathon, and in April of 2011 my first (only, and probably last) marathon.  What I learned about myself in the marathon and triathlon training processes is that I really want/need a big goal to be pointing towards in order to stay motivated to stay fit.  Just 'looking good in jeans' isn't motivation enough for me.  After the marathon, I was stuck for a while, so the Kilimanjaro idea bubbled up to the surface and became "the next big thing."  This is when we started to really search for a tour outfitter and make it official. 


Sara, my sister, did a lot of the leg-work and helped narrow down our possible tour operators.  We booked with "Climb Mount Kilimanjaro"  (www.climbmountkilimanjaro.com) , with one main reason that Henry Stedman, the main guy at this place, literally wrote the best-selling guidebook about Kilimanjaro.  That gives us a lot of confidence that we are dealing with someone who knows what's up! (19,340 feet up, to be precise).  If you like their page on Facebook, (search for Climb Mount Kilimanjaro), I believe you will be able to see updates about our progress on this trip.  There is also a web site called Team Kilimanjaro  (www.teamkilimanjaro.com) that may have that info, but I haven't confirmed that 100 percent yet.  Anyhoo... with confidence that we had picked a good company, we committed to the trip with a deposit of funds, and that made it official:  Sara, Liz and I will be trekking up Mt. Kilimanjaro from July 6 - 13, 2014.  


Stay tuned for more blog posts about my preparations, packing list, etc.  Read as little or as much as you'd like! :-)