There are a great number of things to consider when undertaking a task as huge as Kilimanjaro, and the first questions logically include those related to budget, trekking agency, choice of route, when to go, and eventually, what to take. Fortunately for me, by the time I committed to the trek, the “when” had mostly been decided and the agency and choice of route, after a bit of research, were easily voted unanimously amongst the 7 of us.

This left me pondering the most exciting question – What to take?

I started memorizing the content of “What to take” from Henry Stedman’s Climb Mount Kilimanjaro guidance under the headings of Clothes, Essentials, Highly Desirables, and Other Useful Equipment. The next step was making a prioritized list of what I needed, what I wanted, and what I already had. Easy, right?  Upon completion of the all encompassing list I discovered that I already owned most of the cold weather clothing I needed for the summit, the technical warm weather trekking gear, and the best 70L Pack a girl could ask for from Scotland, 2006.

Relieved and foolishly thinking I would save a load of cash with my previously owned items, I made a list of priority purchases:

1. Boots
2. Day pack & Duffle
3. New Rain/Wind Shell Jacket & Trousers
4. Sunglasses
5. Trekking Pants x 3
6. Sleeping Bag Liner
7. H2O Bladder System
8. Gloves, Liners, & Hat
9. Thermal Underwear
10. Casual Attire

After completing the list, you can imagine that I was feeling quite pleased with myself, so I set out with the intent to conquer the hiking outlets, have my bags packed months before I needed to leave, and prove to myself that I was as organized as I thought I was… the reality was shockingly different. My actual purchase list to date is as follows:

1. The North Face Summit Series Down Jacket (not even on the list!)
2. Casual Attire – Mountain Equipment Co-Op (MEC) Capris, Technical tank tops x 3, Skort (Outdoor Research – little and black, and oh so perfect!), Long-sleeved safari UV protection button down (Technical fabric that actually looks like denim!), A new Buff (desperately desired and always a practical purchase)
3. Trekking zip-off trousers
4. Osprey H2O Bladder
5. Boots – Amazing Asolos!!!
6. Osprey Day Pack w H2O Bladder included – Mantra 36 (give originally purchased Item #4 to my best friend Brande!!)
7. Zip-off Trekking trousers x 2 (perfect fit Columbia tan and The North Face stone grey)
8. Thermal Underwear – Columbia Heavyweight with thermal reflective Omni-heat
9. Outdoor Research Sunshower Sombrero (never, ever, thought I would love a hat like this!)
10. A few more items that could technically be classified as Casual Attire… and another a new Buff!!! (fun and oh so practical. One can never have too many!)

And so it goes… One can see that the best laid plans do not always go accordingly and if you’re anything like me, this is especially true when it comes to shopping!

Don’t get me wrong, preparation for an undertaking like Kilimanjaro cannot be taken lightly. Research, reading, and educating oneself about the mountain, the country, and the people is the top priority. An exhilarating secondary priority however, is the pondering, planning, and purchase of old and new, serious and fun, and necessary (and not so necessary), equipment for the upcoming adventure(s).

We have 2 months until go time but I am not worried. While I am certain that a thermal sleeping bag liner, gloves, and rain proof gear is essential for the trip, I am not uncertain that I won’t find it on one of my many adventures in and around the outdoor outfitters of Edmonton, Alberta. I feel justified in holding out just a bit longer – not because I am a procrastinator – because I am that if nothing else – but because I love a good bargain!!!

There are many ways and countless opportunities to save cold hard cash and I grab hold of every one. The best thing to do is to plan ahead. Up to a year before leaving if you can and buy off-season. There are tremendous deals to be had. I purchased my Columbia thermal underwear for 75% off merely by picking them up in June. In the spring it seems that footwear is cleared out to make room for the new year’s releases. I got my amazing Asolos for 50% off! My Summit Series down jacket from The North Face was 66% off when I bought it in late spring.

Since writing this I have added a few more non-essential items to the list such as a Pistil belt and wool hat both 75% off, my rain trousers from The North Face 30% off, and of course, some Gaiters by Outdoor Research and SmartWool socks.

Paying the full price for any item is not too much to ask, especially when the items are well-made by hard-working and reputable companies such as those listed above, but if you do have the time and the energy to shop around and compare, and to wait for that one amazing deal that you know might be out there, I think it’s okay to waiver a little on the priority list.

After all, they are never written in stone, merely paper… and more often than not, temporary paper… more than likely, a Post-it.

Lana-Rae

                                                                                                                                                                                                                     

Sometimes I wonder if my husband just might be into this Mount Kilimanjaro thing way more than he lets on …

For those of you who know me (Brande) and my husband (Lance) you can skip the next couple paragraphs; you know all I am about to say about Lance and hiking. For those of you who don’t know us or don’t know us as well – keep reading, I am going to give you a glimpse into what hiking means in our relationship.

In a nutshell – Lance hates walking. He just doesn’t get it. Why would you walk to walk, hike to hike, or pick a random hill to just walk up and over for absolutely no reason? Do you have an actual destination? Couldn’t a car or plane get us there? Why wouldn’t you just play a sport? If there is no ball, no rules, and no competition then there is no Lance. Fair enough, he likes his sports and everyone has their own passions.

Here is the rub however –  this husband has a wife who loves, loves, loves hiking! Her heart beats in time with her hiking boots – no joke, it is her happy place. This works out fine for Lance and I usually, we do our own thing and then meet on the deck for dinner talking about his rugby game and my hike. We are each other’s biggest fans.

Then one fine day his wife says “I need to climb Mount Kilimanjaro”.

My hiking world and Lance officially collide!

As a hubby, you cannot imagine seeing your wife walk up and over a mountain, through the death zone of altitude where you take in 50% less oxygen than you need, in the middle of East Africa, without you at her side as support and encouragement. So he bought some boots, a backpack and assortment of other hiking necessities, signed the waiver, and he is walking, hiking, climbing up that mountain for me and with me! Wow!

Now, Lance does not think he will enjoy it much but he does think it is a pretty epic opportunity. His level r lack of enjoyment has not registered with me yet; I am still all melty goo-goo ga-ga deeper in love with him for doing this with me.

Enough of the mushy love stuff …

The other evening Lance and I were on one of our hill-training walks (up and down big hills in all of our Mount Kilimanjaro gear in our neighbourhood) when I discovered the right strap on my backpack was a few threads from busting – literally.

Gasp! Scream! Denial!

Kick and punch at the air dramatically!

Nooooo! This is my amazing, much loved, molded to my spine, heavens open and sing when I am wearing it Osprey Backpack!

This backpack has been with me through at least 1,000 kms of trails in Canada, Scotland, Wales, England, Spain, Greece, Italy, France, and the United States since our paths met by divine fate at the Robinson’s Outdoor Store in Victoria, British Columbia the summer of 2008. (best store ever by the way!!)  I am NOT ready to let go of this pack, in fact, I kind of refuse !

{Not to mention, I am super cheap and about to go on a very expensive African adventure and I am not spending $150+ bucks on a new backpack 65 sleeps from departure.}

Well it seems Mr. Lance Romance is so excited about our training for and the actual Mount Kilimanjaro climb; that the very next day he went out and found a tailor who fixed it right up ship-shape and even reinforced the other side for me. Hmm this makes me wonder a couple of things ….

Does this mean Lance is more into the training, the mountain and this hiking thing than I think?

OR

Does this mean I would stress about my pack for days, and the best way to get me out of melt down mode was to go and get it fixed and get me back outta the house training again so he could have back his peace and quiet when watching some international rugby game on TV ?

I think its door number 1. Definitely.

Brande

65 sleeps to go!

Our Mount Kilimanjaro climb is quickly approaching (68 sleeps) and I find that I am starting to think about all the little things, this includes using up a lot of brain power debating what to pack for the mountain. This challenge is not an easy undertaking (the climb or the packing in my opinion).

There are many nuances to consider when compiling what to bring and that is just when you consider the basics of the climb not even preferences. Here is a minimum of what you need to know when you start making decisions on what to pack:

• How long? 7 day Unique Rongai route
• With which guide company? Climb Mount Kilimanjaro
• What does the company provide? tents, food, water, toilet, sleeping mats, basic first aid
• What will the weather be like? bottom of the mountain +30C, top of the mountain -15C
• How much stuff am I allowed to bring for a porter to carry? 70-90 liters (44 lbs)
• How much of my own stuff do I carry everyday? 3 litres of water, and no more than 15-20 lbs (camera, rain gear, some snacks, some ear buds and a iPod if that’s your thing, warm sweater)

Crazy enough the reason I am getting into this ‘what to pack’ thought process is … to get to a discussion on peanut butter! Yup, you read that right! Peanut butter to me as what spinach is to Popeye. It gives me energy, it makes me strong and on a tough hike it gives me back my happy place.

So if this is about peanut butter, why do you have socks in the title? Well, I was trying to get down to the least number of socks possible in my pack so I could justify replacing “sock space” with “peanut butter space”. Yup those are my priorities – or they will be when slogging up and down a mountain for 7 days in Africa.

I was thinking I could get down to wearing the same pair of Smart Wool Hiking Socks for 2-3 days (so bringing only 3 pairs) and wearing the same Wigwam Gobi Liner Socks for 2 days each too (so bringing only 4 pairs).

Well, on my training hike today, I sadly discovered (picture both me and my peanut butter crying at this point) that so few socks is just not going to work.  So glad I tested my quite logical, albeit a bit smelly, theory. Seems that my liner socks stretch out after one wear from the heat and moisture of my clean, very feminine, perfume smelling and super cute feet. Meaning that the seam of the heel part of the liner sits up on my ankle on the second wear and rubs in the worst way between my heel and my boot. Not good! A disaster really after a few hours on the mountain. Doh!

What does this all mean? A few things …

1. I had to pull over on the side of the BCMC Trail to take off my boots, remove my wool socks, take off the liners and toss em in my pack, put back on my wool socks and then back on my boots. Sitting on a steep trail to balance in bare feet is a real test of my fear of heights and my willpower to stand up and start hiking up again – yes, yes suck it up princess you are about to climb a mountain! {oh and yes you read that right. I am terrified of heights and I am travlling across the globe to climb a mountain. Passion before reason right?!}
2. I had to go shopping to buy more liner socks so I would have a full 7 pairs; 1 for each day of the climb. Doesn’t sound like a big deal right? Well … hmmm … umm I accidentally bought other stuff too, tee hee. I cannot be trusted at Mountain Equipment Co-Op (MEC) every time I go I add another 2 or 3 things to the list of things I want to do in the world and that list is already pretty darn long!
3. Finally, and most importantly I will need to downsize my peanut butter jar for the trek. Sob! I may have to go with the smallest container and rock myself slowly in comfort when it runs out on day 5. Sob! If you hear my crying from Africa eat some peanut butter toast in memorandum of my empty peanut butter jar. (mmm PB toast)

On a side note, the BCMC Trail in North Vancouver which takes you up to the top of Grouse Mountain and is a great alternative to the grueling and very busy Grouse Grind is my very new favourite trail ever in the Vancouver area – wow trail, wow workout, wow view! Its a bit longer and more difficult but so worth it!

Brande

PS 68 sleeps to go