Climbing Kilimanjaro... This is REALLY happening!

Kilimanjaro, the name literally means “difficult to climb”. Had I done a bit of research to discover this PRIOR to signing up I may have backed out. I had the good fortune of learning this meaning on day 4 of the climb, a little too late too back out now.

Getting clouded in at camp on day 4

I can’t tell you what exactly made me sign up for this challenge. I’m not a mountaineer. I don’t really hike nor do I camp and I can’t stand being really really cold, all things I would encounter during the 7-day climb to the summit. But back in August when my friend Jenny (an experienced climber and thrill seeker) first mentioned she was climbing Kilimanjaro my gut response was “I’m in!” I think my brain was still trying to process what she had said and how I had responded as the words left my month. Of course she didn’t believe me heck I didn’t even believe me. A few weeks later I paid my $300 deposit to Climb Kili, the tour company we’d be using. The deposit didn’t make it any more real, I knew I could still back out if I wanted to. 

The weeks and months following my rash decision, before I had purchased my ticket, I started telling co workers, friends, and family I was going to Africa in December to climb Kilimanjaro (it sounded cool even though I had no idea what exactly it meant and I don’t they did either). The more I said it the more real it became. I finally purchased my ticket in September; this is really happening I thought to myself as I clicked on “purchase ticket”. Holy shit this is REALLY happening. My next thought was maybe I should start training.  

For me training meant more yoga, crossfit, runs, and meditation (my recipe for success) … although I should have been thinking more hikes. When the Climb Kili orientation packet arrived, I opened it up, took a picture of the beanie and other swag that was included and then put the papers to the side not returning to them for another few weeks. By now it was mid October and in 2 months I’d be boarding a plane to Africa to climb a mountain I knew nothing about surrounded by unfamiliar elements but somehow I was not a nervous wreck. Perhaps I was already channeling in the Swahili phrase “hakuna matata” which means no worries and would come to be my mountain mantra.

Like most of my great travelling adventures there’s little planning and lots of exploration involved. This one was not an exception except when I realized I had to start planning appx 3 weeks before leaving. Turns out you can't really "wing it" when it comes to climbing a mountain. Jenny and I decided to do a training hike in Tahoe, carrying our packs with 3 liters of water and experiencing some altitude. I put on my only pair of hiking boots purchased 5 years back and some lululemon pants and a tank top and we were on our way. 

On the drive I quickly learned that my hiking boots were actually hiking “shoes” and probably wouldn’t do the job. As we switched off driving I read our Climb Kili guide out loud and we both learned that the different terrains we’d go through, the weather conditions (0-15 degrees Celsius) the packing list, and the total daily elevations gains and hiking times. Basically we were going to be really really cold and really short of breath. The conversation also put some fire under my butt to get my shots and meds (malaria, altitude meds, rabies shots, hepatitis shots, and more). As for the Tahoe training turns out it snows in Tahoe in October, oops... we briefly hiked around in the snow and then resorted to the hotel. 

New boots ready to be broken in

Packed and ready to go!

By the time I had to board my flight on Christmas Eve I felt as prepared as I could be with hand warmers, foot warmers, lots of wool socks, newly broken in hiking boots, down jackets, hand and body wipes and all the meds I needed to survive anything on a mountain along with some airborne and lemon ginger throat drops just in case.


Cheers

Upgraded service on swiss airlines