Yesterday morning at 6:41 AM our faithful guide, James, dragged us up to Uhuru peak, the tallest point in Africa. We now are proud holders of "gold" certificates, meaning that we have officially conquered Mount Kilimanjaro. It was NOT easy. We left Norfolk on the morning of August 25th, and were only in the air a few hours before our first problem. The weather in Atlanta had taken a turn for the worse, and we were being diverted to Augusta. We sat on the tarmac in Augusta for over an hour, watching the clock tick by as the departure time for [View Full Entry]

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On Sunday, we left the hotel early and headed over to the Marangu gate right at the foot of Kili. We sorted out some paperwork and I met my porter, John, and cook, Good Luck. I was unofficially grouped with 5 Japanese people, two of whom were in their 60s, and an Aussie guy named Troy. I'm still not sure what the reason was to group us all together, but it had something to do with making the paperwork more convenient. The first day was a 3 hour hike through a forest with lots of waterfalls and streams. We reached the [View Full Entry]

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Since we will be living on the mountain and will not have access to internet for the first seven days of our trip, here is an outline of our planned Kilimanjaro trek. August 26: Today, our evening flight brings us to Kilimanjaro airport and we will make every attempt to get good night’s sleep at our hotel in Arusha. August 27: Early this morning we will take our last shower for the next seven days. Our trek will follow the Machame Route, one of six trails that take hikers to the summit of Kilimanjaro. After we load all our gear into [View Full Entry]

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Mon 7 July - Sun 13 July Climbing Kilimanjaro was one of the best things we have ever done. It was hard work on summit day but def worth it. We took the 6 day Machame Route option which is also known as "The Whisky Route" but I can't remember why it is called that. We went with a local company and the best part was--it was just the three of us hiking (Myself, Rob and Dad) with about 12 people from the company including guide, assistant guide, cook and several porters. Here is a quick summary day by day. Day [View Full Entry]

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Excerpts from my daily journal I kept while climbing Kilimanjaro: Day I: After arriving at the Mountain Inn the previous night and catching up with Ben, Kyle, Darren and Ryan (Kyle's two brothers), we were briefed on the mission ahead. The day started at 6:30 am when I woke up, anxious to begin the trek of a lifetime. I was nervous, but excited, and remember feeling the same anxiety when I saw the mountain on my flight from Nairobi. The mountain was the only thing rising above the blanketing clouds, kind of like Olympus rises above the Serengeti... I kept whispering [View Full Entry]

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The time finally came for our much anticipated Mount Kilimanjaro climb. However, it got off to a most inauspicious beginning. Ben came down with a cold and horrible allergies the week before the trip. Rytas, our friend from Chicago who is just beginning an around-the-world journey of his own, lost his luggage on his flight from Amsterdam to Dar es Salaam and got into Moshi the day before we left. Cutting it even closer, my elder brother, Ryan, got to the hotel less than 12 hours before we left for the trailhead. Darren, Rytas and myself got food poisoning the night [View Full Entry]

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The trip from Jo'Burg to Arusha was uneventful - except that on my flight from Dar es Salaam to Arusha, I had the plane all to myself. That doesn't happen too often anymore. Too bad there was too many clouds to see Mount Kilimanjaro (the highest mountain in Africa, at 5896 m), my next goal. Kilimanjaro After spending a couple of days in Arusha just relaxing, I met the group of climbers who would be going up Kili with me. There were six Americans (a family of five and a single woman) and four Brits (two Welsh, two English). The interesting [View Full Entry]

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Kilimanjaro: The Roof of Africa. - Altitude at Uhuru Peak - 19341 feet. I've been mesmerized by Kilimanjaro ever since i watched the IMAX movie on Kilimanjaro. After many years, I finally got to stand on top this month! Please follow this link for my edited Google video of our kili ascent with some cool Africa tunes integrated in: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=3900111604255724726&hl=en I had a lot of people ask me this: (explanation below). Kilimanjaro is named "world's highest freestanding mountain" because it rises 15,100 feet from its base, its the most difference [View Full Entry]

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1 year to go until Kilimanjaro - the worlds highest free standing mountain. At nearly 6000 metres, it stands above Mount Everest Base Camp, and is the only mountain in the world to contain every eco-system known to man. The base, with it's rain forests, the middle, barron lands, then ice glaciers towards the snowy summit. Today I bought my boots - £120 Lowa Munros - it might seem mad because it's so long away...but by doing this they will be broken in. Walks up Ben Nevis and other long treks across the country will ensure they're ready for Africa. [View Full Entry]

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Mount Kilimanjaro Something like 5900m above sea level. Highest point in the world that can be reached without technical or life saving equipment. Temperatures of less than minus 20degrees plus wind chill. Altitude sickness from day 2. Headaches so painful my head felt like it was in a vice. Thought I'd pass out lots of times (never did). Needless to say it was fucking hard work. Hardest thing I have every done. Something I will never do again. Something no one else should ever think about doing! Hear me? Never! Got no blisters though. I haven't been writing a diary or [View Full Entry]

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