Hi Everyone!
I just wanted to let you all know that on August 10 at 6:00am, I
summitted Mount Kilimanjaro at Uhuru Peak, the tallest point in all of Africa.
This was the most wonderful experience of my whole life. Summitting
wasn't even the highlight of the trip. Every day there was some incredible physical challenge to
conquer, and as the days went on, I felt stronger and stronger. I'm back in Moshi now, feeling very
healthy and happy. Have random cuts and bruises all over my body, but I didn't notice them until
today - so I guess that's a good thing...I have no idea where they all came from! When I first
looked at my face in the mirror, I hardly recognized myself. I had dirt about half an inch thick
(mom, you would have been proud!). On the last day, I didn't even want to leave the mountain.
For me, it was like being on a whole different planet in a whole different world. It was incredible.
I know I am being vague. But if I begin to tell you stories, I'll never
stop writing! So, I'm hoping to tell you all about it in person. I took loads of pictures
too. At Uhuru peak, my camera froze, and I think the lens cracked. I still continued to take
pictures though, and I don't think they'll be damaged; we shall wait and see!
Two things stick out in my mind that I'll share here. On the fifth
morning, as we were attempting the summit, we woke up at midnight and started walking in pitch darkness
up an incline of about 85 degrees - I'm not kidding. It was all along volcanic ash which turned
to scree over the years, so it was basically two steps up, one step down. And it was freezing. The
stars in the Southern hemisphere are remarkably distinct in patterns and colours, so that was
really fascinating. But, at that high altitude, your mind does weird things. After walking up
this scree in the pitch darkness and cold of the middle of the night for about 3 hours, I
started thinking to myself, "If I die now, it will be worth it." Yes, the thought of death actually
entered my mind. But the crazy thing is, at that altitude, you don't realize the consequences of
death. You just keep going because you know you are doing something incredible and totally
wonderful and awesome. You're like, "This is the most magical thing I've ever done - I could
end my life right here and be very very exhilarated." I know it sounds crazy now, but at that
altitude it's almost normal to be thinking these things. Mind you, at that same altitude, we were
calling each other by wrong names, having major problems recognizing that -70 degrees meant "damn
cold," and getting your own birthday wrong. It was a trip. I didn't recognize how steep our path
was until after we made the summit and started sliding down the scree. Then, I was like "Holy crap,
I just walked *UP* this thing?"
I can't say that the others ever thought much about their gender during
the six days on Kilimanjaro. For me, I thought about it almost all the time. For
example, at the base of Machame where you meet your porters and guides, I looked around me as everyone
was putting on their gaitors. Three women, including me. About two-hundred men. The men I
was with kept pitying me for my bathroom woes, but for me it really was not a big deal. Sure,
it's probably a little more 'convenient' to be a boy in the wilderness, but I can rough it just as
well as they could. As you know, I took this on as more of a personal challenge than anything else.
Up to day three, I was just hoping to summit and enjoy the various daily challenges. After day
three, after having conquered the Lava Tower faster than any of my group members, I said to
myself, "Now wouldn't it be nice to not just summit, but to be the first *group* up to Uhuru?"
It wasn't a gender thing anymore - it was me just pushing myself harder and harder. And that's
exactly what we did! Talk about taking that extra one step further! On summit day, the climb was
meant to take 7 hours. Miraculously, 5 of us made it in 5 and a half hours, reaching the
summit just in time to watch the sun rise over Africa (the others joined us about 45 minutes later).
This was the best view of the sun I've ever had - probably ever will have - in my life.
anyway, enough of that. Obviously I have a lot of stories! Kilimanjaro
has not only been the highlight of this summer, but as far as personal physical challenges go,
this is definitely the highlight of my life so far. So....what's next??? I'd love to hear
your recommendations. I'm thinking a jungle hike through the Amazon...or the half IronWoman.