Kilimanjaro

The human spirit is incredibly resilient. After spending 9 days on the mountain I am left with feelings of accomplishment, stomach cramps, happiness, nausea, fulfillment, and exhaustion. The past 9 days led me to 19,300 this morning-the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro. The first couple days on this mountain were not too fun when I woke up after our first night with a fever and not being able to hold any food down. This first hurtle was not a fun one as I'm not a fan of the stomach flu at sea level so at 10,000 feet it wasn't a joy. I managed to get my hands on some medicine and some toast in my mouth only to be faced by our second hardest and longest day of hiking. Thankfully the universe always manages to come full circle as this brought me to meet my personal day pack porter or sup'porter', Stanley. Stanley is everything you wish to find in the human spirit he has your back, is full of joy, catches you when you fall, and has this smile that just manages to put a smile on your face. Stanley became my Kilimanjaro partner, carrying my day pack every day, stopping me to drink water or "majee" before I even had to say something, and catching me when I fell 5 feet off of a rather tumultuous turn on the Western Breech. With the help of Stanley and the rest of our crew I was able to push through the sickness put one foot in front of the other and notice that you need to be highly medicated to be on the mountain. With that said, I got pretty lucky getting sick early considering everyone in our group either vommitted, had diarrhea, migraines, or mental breakdowns. However our  73 porters were of great help to us 10 climbers catering to our every need, pitching our tents, carrying our duffel bags to the next camp, bringing us hot water to wash our faces, and making top ramen when we needed it most. These resilient human beings walk with 40+ pounds on their back plus their day pack and still beat us to our camps. The two days before summiting were some of the roughest but most amazing days starting at 16,000 feet leaving camp at 4 a.m. and just putting one foot in front of the other. Once we climbed, walked, ate loads of sugar, and hours of not feeling our hands or toes we reached 18,000 feet. Glaciers expanded across the horizon and our orange tents could be seen in the distance as we were sleeping in crater camp at 18,300 feet. Not the best nights sleep and I wouldn't exactly suggest it considering I had to sleep in all my hiking clothes and was still cold but how many times in your life do you get to sleep next to a glacier? As our climb comes to a close I wouldn't exactly say 10 days of no showering, vomiting, and headaches are fun but no feeling is comparable once you get to the top of that mountain simply by putting one foot in front of the other. The mind is capable of so much and if you grit your teeth and keep your eyes on the prize anything is possible.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

June 18

I now know why Barcelona is in Ed Sheeren and George Ezra's songs. Friday afternoon me and 5 of my friends took the train from Montpellier to Barcelona and right when n we got there is a refreshing change of hospitality, everyone wanted to help us get to here we were going, nicer, and just friendlier-those qualities aren't so much in the French regime. We made it to our hostel easily, it was nice and clean and kind of felt like we were all just staring in one big house. The area was a bit shotty but the location over all was fabulous and were a 2 minute walk from the main street in La Rambla. Friday night we went to the coolest Tapas restaurant that had a dj, disco ball, and some delicious home made food. The host was very friendly and ended getting all of us into a club across the street, love the Spanish hospitality. We ended up at this very fun little hole in the wall dancing club with a live band and salsa danced until 4 in the morning.  In La Rambla you can be walking down
Read more

Switzerland to Germany to France to Germany

Today was quite the day of driving from Switzerland to Germany to France and back to Germany we went but all I can say is thank goodness for no border control. On our road trip we were able to visit Cailler Chocolate Factory eat way to much chocolate, get stuck in some nasty traffic, have a wonderful picnic by the Rhein River in Basel, see some villages and towns, and lastly arrive at a great little hotel in Germany where I still am not quite sure is exactly but I do know it is very nice, they have the sweetest employees, and wonderful food so works for me! Switzerland was an absolutely superb stop and included everything from delicious food, wonderful company visiting with family, and scenic views. Yesterday included loads of walking which was kind of a kick in the butt for Kilimanjaro and much needed. We were staying on Lake Geneva in the small town of Padeaux and were able to walk around the quaint villages and absolutely breathtaking lake. The only downside was it was raining like
Read more

Safari

Safariing was quite the adventure through the Serengeti and Ngorongoro. It included lots of driving, we covered a thousand miles over the course of 4 days, but also saw lots of animals and beautiful scenery. After being on a mountain with the same people for nearly 2 weeks it was quite the change to go back to civilization in the Toyota Migration of tourists and safariier's. At Ngorongoro we were able to experience the Masai Tribes culture and community including a tour of their huts and being able to sample some of their freshly killed goat (that really helped with my stomach troubles!) In the Serengeti we were able to get up close and personal with the animals including lions, giraffes, wildebeests, a rhinoceros, and loads of elephants. One morning we got up and chased the Great Migration seeing over half a million animals in the course of our safari. All in all it was a great safari and adventure I do have to say I am ready for some running water and maybe not be waken up by la
Read more