Kilimanjaro to Serengeti

Kilimanjaro seems like years away, yet it was less than a week ago that I was trying to take a nap in preparation for getting up at 11 p.m. in order to start the climb at midnight. The stars were shining brightly even with the full moon. We started with our headlamps on but turned them off because it was so bright. We set off from 15,000 feet this cold winter-like night, knowing that if we were to summit, we needed to reach 19,300 feet.

Eight of our group of twelve started the summit climb. One person who came over only for the Kili portion of the trip had already gone back to Arusha after two days of being ill. She was our foundation. Another two people were dealing with altitude sickness and a third decided she was best staying at our “base camp”. Of those who started, two turned back along the way, though having reached at least 17,200 feet or the equivalent of the Everest Base Camp in Nepal. The rest of us trudged on, cold, fatigued, tired and trying to drink our water, which was freezing in our camelback hoses.

Just before sunrise, I felt as if I were sleeping as I was walking, hitting the wall of exhaustion. Then the sun rose, and along with it my energy came back. With the inspiration of PJ behind me, I made it over the crest of the ridge and on to the highest point. If felt like a miracle and it was. The air at that height is about half what it is at lower levels. I did what I was meant to do from my previous treks to Nepal and Peru along with the three men who encased me in a triangle of support. We supported each other—one from Sweden, one from South Africa, one from Colorado and me from Minnesota.

After summiting, we rejoiced for a few minutes, and then started out descent. We swished our way down through the rocks, kind of like skiing. What took about 7 to 8 hours to climb took us about two hours to descend. After a two hour nap, we then went down another 2,500 feet. That wasn’t too bad, though it wasn’t as fun a skiing down. The next day was grueling, with knees creaking and some slips along the way. One summiter walked several hours after turning an ankle that is still swollen and sore. Luckily, the safari followed, which meant lots of looking from a Land Cruiser.

The safari took us from Arusha to the Serengeti, along crater tops and gorges and through thousands of wildebeests, zebras, and cape buffalo. We saw gazelles, grand gazelles, impalas, baboons and several other kinds of monkeys. The highlights were the cats. Lions, tree lions, cheetah, and leopards. We saw lions as close up as five feet just outside out trucks, and cheetah on the hunt. We even saw a gazelle that had been drug up a tree by a leopard, protecting his dinner from other land bound predators. This ecosystem works, as we saw again and again, though unfortunate for the babies and older animals. We even saw a wildebeest giving birth and a new born that was getting its footing. Oh, what Mother Nature bestowed upon us.

Now for the nautical part of this adventure. We’re off to the island of Zanzibar in the morning for relaxation. Seashores and long white beaches sound very inviting since we’ve been on the go this entire vacation.

More from the sunny shores of Zanzibar and Pembe.

Kilimanjaro

The Summit

Yes, I summited and am very proud of it. 19,300 feet. The physically hardest day of my life. Some have made an analogy to child birth, and while I can't make that same comparison, it was hard. The top looked so far away (a 5,000 foot climb starting at midnight) and didn't seem to come any closer. Having to think of going down 8,000 feet I wondered where the energy would come from, then the sun rose. It made all the difference. This is an achievement.

There was a purpose I came to Kili, and I have served it--for me personally and for the group I'm traveling with. We all came together as a unified team from the US, South Africa, Taiwan, Sweden and Holland. It has been wonderful. Now off to enjoy a safari.

More from the Serengeti!

Hello from Arusha, base for Mt. Kilimanjaro Trekkers

Minneapolis to Amsterdam to Kilimanjaro, Africa. That's taken up my 5 to 6 Feb. There are 12 trekkers in our group, with my roommate still in route from New York. She missed one flight for a soon-to-be-known reason and will arrive about 24-hours after the first eleven.

We start our 7-day trek tomorrow, going up the Machame Route. It's steeper but said to be easier for acclimitization. We'll find out in the next week. We plan to summit Mt. Kilimanjaro on 13 February, which, given the time difference, means we start midday on the 12th US time. Translating, we get up around midnight, start climbing by 1 a.m., climb around 4,ooo' up, summit around 6-7 a.m. and descend 9,000 all in the same day. We do get to rest in our overnight tent before going all the way down to 10,000'. The next days things get much easier as we overnight in Arusha before starting our safari. Time to rest, relax and look at the big five. Oh, but we might have to be up early to watch the animals at the watering hole in the morning. Life is tough, isn't it?

Actually, life does seem tough here, or at least no easy. The locals are nice, and some of the younger men are just as persistent as the carpet sale people in Turkey. They stay with you forever, or find you later in the day when you least expect it. In a way, they act as a good chaperone, herding you through the throngs of people, with expectations that you'll buy their wares, even when you've told them definitively you're not going to buy anything. The unwritten rule is to never ask the price of anything unless you are certain you want to buy.

It's very dusty here because of lack of rain, causing drought conditions. It also means a slightly smaller risk of malaria. Some people are on homeopathy for malarial relief. I have to find out how much that costs compared to my multi-$$$ pharmacy perscription. Oh well, that's the price of good health. For those of you who think I already drink a lot of water, know that that's the key for avoiding altitude sickness. The penalty is you have to carry it with you. The water goes in the daypack, but I may have to figure out how to get a sherpa to carry it for me that last day. I'll work on building my muscles up until then but will need all energy devoted to breathing that last day.

The women's clothes are very colorful here. If you've seen pictures, you know what I mean. And women carrying baskets on their heads filled with fruit or sock or just about anything else is actually smart. That way they can carry other things in their arms, or better yet, talk with their hands!

We met with our guides today who made us feel good about how prepared we came--physically and with the right stuff. While I love using only a single hiking pole, I am getting a second pole for the descent. I want to keep all my toenails, which I hear is one of many things to consider.

More after the trek. We leave in the morning!

Nautical Nomad (in the high country)!

In just about 12 hours I leave my home of Minneapolis/St. Paul for the heights of Mt. Kilimanjaro. 19,300 feet, cold, cold temps at the top so people only stay for about ten minutes of enjoying the view and looking down in to the crater. So why do people take 6 to 7 hours to summit 4,000 feet and take not much more time to go down 10,000 all in one day? I guess I'll find out. That safari in the Sarengeti is sounding better all the time. And after that, I head to the Kruger National Park just outside of Johannesburg, then to Cape Town to start a 20-day tour up the west coast, ending in Victoria Falls. Back to Jo'burg, then off to the Seychelle Islands for five weeks of scuba diving, doing marine research to monitor the effects of El Nino from five years ago.

How am I feeling about this? Sad to leave my kitty, Karly, who is 18 years old. Sad to leave my friends, especially Tom and Rose who will take off cruising almost as soon as I return. Yet excited to see a continent that I've only set foot on for seven hours back in October on a weekend trip from Seville. Morocco has a character all its own with no hint as to the wild life that I'm to see on this trip.

Ready or not, here I come.

Oh, looking for the top of Kilimanjaro? Well, maybe not in Turkey in September, but that's where I'm headed now! 

From sailing on Lake Minnetonka to trekking Mt. Kilimanjaro . . .