Brande Looks Back: Kilimanjaro Day 5 (Summit Day – Epiphany)

February 26, 2016March 12, 2018 / runningforthegate / Leave a comment

Well I subjected you to the run down of my roller coast emotions on the day we reached the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro, so its only fair I also subject you to my summit epiphany as well.

(If you missed my emotional recap, click Brande Looks Back: Kilimanjaro Day 5 (Summit Day – Emotions). Its pretty raw, you have been warned.)

Any who, back to my epiphany. Drum roll please….

Getting to the summit is only half way!

Let me explain before you are all wondering what I am going on about.

Every conversation you have before you even depart for Tanzania, before you even pack your bags, get your travel insurance and start any training (if you plan on training) is about if you will summit Mount Kilimanjaro. When you finally arrive in Arushu or Moshi, whichever destination you pick as your ‘base camp’ all questions from the Lodge or Hotel staff, from your fellow trekkers and in your own mind are about if or if not you will summit. Then the day comes and you meet your Guide and climbing company and every conversation is about how they will make sure you summit. Summit, summit, summit!

Makes some sense. You travel all the way to Tanzania, you labour up that mountain one painfully slow step at a time, to do one thing: summit. Summit, summit, summit!

This ‘all about the summit adage’ once made sense to me but is now totally nonsensical. The summit is not the finish line, it is not the end of the road, or the end of your journey – it is only half way. Half bloody way!

Of course it is half way, duh – what kind of hiker, trekker, and mountain climber am I anyway? What goes up must come down, and last I checked there is no Gondola on Mount Kilimanjaro. But wait. You honestly do not think much about anything but getting to the summit, until one day the possibility of the summit is really real and then it hits you that holy crap you have to get back down. People need to know and I am serious about that – if you are debating that mountain embrace my epiphany. lol

The summit is not a finish line. It is not a marathon where my husband is standing at the finish line to hug me up, walk with me though the post-race snack line up to grab some chocolate milk, half banana and some cookies, and then get in the comfy car to head home for a long, well deserved shower. {oh wow that would have been amazing}

The summit is only half way. You have to turn your arse around and do exactly what you did for the past 6+ hours one more time but this time your legs are already burning, your lungs are on fire and feeling like the are fully on strike, your head is pounding, and you are willing yourself to go even 100 more steps without puking again.Did I mention the toes jamming in the front of your boots or the knees on strike? Every step you took on the way up already, you take again but this time fully exhausted not just kind of exhausted. Sometimes the cruelty of the mountain is such that you can even see your own footsteps in the opposite direction left in the scree field that you humped up just hours before and now you need to slide unbalanced down again.

Getting to the summit is a feat, and anyone who has done it or even attempts it gets a big, awesome, amazing kudos from me. The ultimate trick is if you can get up and down the highest free standing mountain in the same positive head space both ways. A few on my crew were happy go lucky the whole up and down time, I wanted to be but don’t recall having the energy to be. I for sure had moments in my happy place and also in my get me the hell down head space over the course of summit day. Trust me, like many others before me, I was so focused on the summit, just like everyone with me and before me on that mountain, that I almost and very nearly missed an opportunity to appreciate the ‘coming back down’ as much as the ‘going to the top’.

I was happy to be on Mount Kilimanjaro, wow I was ecstatic to be honest. But there is nothing I wanted more than to leave that bucket list mountain top and get down and never see that thing again. Well now that I am down, recovered and looking back on the experience I maybe have a more reasonable opinion of the roof of Africa….

If you asked me if I would I climb it again? You bet! I would do it again in one heartbeat.

Brande

PS: Blog post with the step by step details coming soon. It would seem I needed to see more pictures from my fellow trekkers to piece together the day. Who knew altitude stole your breath and your memories! Pics and step details coming soon.

Brande Looks Back: Kilimanjaro Day 5 (Summit Day – Emotions)

January 21, 2016January 25, 2016 / runningforthegate / 6 Comments

Uruhu Peak, the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro

Here we go, Kilimanjaro summit, day 5 of the hike …

(If you missed it – here is my look back on Kilimanjaro Day 4)

I figure I need at least a few posts and maybe a book to tell you about the day we went up and down the summit of the amazing Mount Kilimanjaro. Lets start with this post at least and see where it takes us.

Funny or sad or surreal or crazy enough, when I think of standing on top of Mount Kilimanjaro I get emotional and am now writing this very sentence through salty tears in my eyes and on my cheeks. I want to try and tell you why that is, if I can even put to words the emotion of such a moment. I can’t even call it a moment as the experience was more than even moments; it was the accumulation of emotional, physical and really quite spiritual challenges and ah-ha experiences that in the end become your “Kilimanjaro memory’ if you will.

So really, stay with me, as I try to explain how it felt, how I actually think it has changed me, and through that hope it encourages you to challenge Kilimanjaro Mountain itself or your own ‘Kilimanjaro challenge’ whatever that might be in your life. In my next Summit Day – Hiking post, I will give you more of the factual, step by step of summit day stuff and lots of pictures. I felt I had to get this emotional stuff of my chest first before I could get into hike-y stuff and wanted to paint the picture of how it felt before dazzling you with summit pictures of glaciers and volcanic craters and such…

Some of you are probably still stuck on the Brande is crying while writing – what the heck? When you hear I have tears, please don’t be sad for me! These are tears of pride, of amazement, of feeling blessed, of being awed by our amazing planet and its Creator, and of being speechlessly reminded of how much the human body and mind are actually capable of. Of course, I will be honest with you and admit they are not all happy tears some are sad but that’s ok too so please still don’t feel sad for me. Some of the salt water in these eyes as I write are in memory of the fear of heights during the climb, the dread I felt when I honestly believed the next cough would leave blood in my palm, the next puking fit would leave me too exhausted and unable to continue.

A little caveat before we start, I am hoping beyond hope that none of my fellow hikers actually knew I was feeling all this. I was trying to keep it in so they could focus on their own hikes and not me all working my crap out up and down a mountain summit. I am not sure if I was able to dupe my hubby, bestie or sister but a girl can hope.

My memory of that day has gaps for sure. But as usual, the next morning I woke (light headed and coughing) and sat in the tent scribbling down every detail I could recall… here is how I remember feeling (think roller coaster) …

I remember feeling guilt. Yup, guilt. The guilt I have for making my wonderful husband stand by and watch his wife suffer though nothing shy of a wee dose of pulmonary edema purely for the thrill of knocking something of MY “must do” list in life, not his or ours – but my list. I think it is nothing shy of total and complete love that he, with full support and love, saw me through it, and even climbed it with me. You have probably read before that my husband hates hiking. Well his love is more for me than his hate is for hiking, so he does strap on his hiking boots once in a while just me and that includes to hike Kilimanjaro. I feel looking back I was very selfish asking him to hike for 7 days straight because I wanted to and then topped that off with me getting sick on the summit and scaring the crap out of him in thanks. So lets admit here, I know some of my emotion is caused by this overwhelming display of his love for me and just how far and high, literally, he is willing to go to demonstrate it. Wow! Right? So not just guilt, but also fall-in-love love all over again too.

Any who – carrying on.

I remember feeling stupid, yes you read that right – stupid. When we started out at 5am in the morning. I had all the right gear, the right training, my body felt mostly right that morning but yet I had a voice in my head that said ‘who do you think you are stupid girl, you were the chubby kid in school, the every diet out there I tried it gal, the just shy of being really good at sports but never amazing girl, the etc etc etc (insert all kinds of nasty self talk here). Stupid! I felt stupid cause of my self talk and I felt even more stupid for letting this self talk even enter my mountain-climbing, kick-ass mind.

I remember, on the very opposite spectrum, some very awesome self talk. Giving myself a mental high five for training so hard and feeling so good in my muscles and joints as a result. There was some definite you are bad-ass and hear me roar self talk moments happening!

I remember feeling thankful. Thanking myself for all the hours and hours of research I did so there were no surprises along that way that can trip up my brain into an anxiety / obsessive worrying. Thanking God for my body and the opportunity to be able to experience something so amazing on this globe of ours. Thanking all the family, friends, and support I have who were so excited for me to do this and so willing to jump in and make sure it was possible to get here and get up the mountain.

I remember looking around at my fellow climbers and feeling so blessed to have such amazing friends and family. I was on a mountain with my wonderful husband, with my so tough and so funny sister and her awesome husband, my hilarious and inspiring best friend, and the two closest friends my husband and I could ask for in the Carmen brothers. How did the universe align for such a rock star group of loving, darn funny and supportive people to come together? To accomplish this feat together? For all of us to be successful together? I will never know but it was a great reminder of the power of the universe (not to sound cheesy).

I remember feeling lonely. I had to leave behind the group on our descent as I was told to link arms and scree ski down with our Assistant Guide Felix and get down to a lower altitude where my breathing would get easier. I remember feeling lonely that my husband was not with me and yet rather glad he would not be next to me to see how much I was suffering, to hear that popcorn crackle in my lungs, or to see the liquid coming with each coughing fit. If I saw concern in his eyes for me it would be my undoing I think. I was channeling all of my ‘you are strong’ woman feelings I could. So best we could not make eye contact really.

I remember being frustrated. Getting back to the tents and being so glad that they came so quickly upon on us and yet so mad that they seemed to take forever to materialize. I was walking with my husband again shortly after scree skiing and glad for it. I have gaps in my memory here but know he was always asking how I was and was not impressed when I went to my knees in a coughing fit or puking fit. For both of us, for different reasons, we wanted to turn the next corner and see our tents.

I remember being scared. I think my hubby knew I was struggling with breathing already but really getting back into our tent tent was when quiet the crackly/pop of my lungs hit home for us (BUT I was still breathing and exhausted smiling to have made it).

I remember being happy. When we arrived back at the tents my oxygen saturation was 60% and heart rate low (not a great combo) when we first got to the tent but I recovered to 62% with some focused breathing in just minutes. So I figured it would climb right up in 2% increments with more good breathing and I would be golden in no time. Yahoo I am breathing better already and I climbed a mountain!

I remember feeling ashamed. The moment when I saw the not impressed, incredulous, what-the-hell-are-we-even-climbing-a-mountain-for look on the husband’s face made me feel bad for my selfish bucket list. I knew he was worried for how I was feeling and more than anything my response to how I was feeling. But I actually think this helped me. I went into focus on getting oxygen in, getting the vision back to clear and without little fire fly bugs, and get the fear / mad out of my husbands eyes. Not to sound like a generalist, but I think the fear / mad thing is a total guy thing – they are scared for you but mad at whatever made you sick or hurt in the first place.

I remember feeling so taken care of. Shortly after the not impressed-husband look he was lovingly (and romantically in my opinion) unlacing and pulling off my dusty boots for me as I laid on my sleeping bag focusing on not passing out. Then shortly after, that amazing sister I mentioned early, who is also Asthmatic sadly but bless her cotton socks for it, came by with her inhaler thingies for me and I was soon feeling better and better as the night progressed. Moments again after that my husband was teaching me how to use an inhaler for the first time between coughing fits. Finally, him him chuckling at me as I wrapped myself in an emergency blanket like a baked potato and fell back to sleep like a rock.

I told you … roller coaster!

Oh Kilimanjaro, I may not have left any toenails on your mountain side .. but I sure did leave a blazing trail of emotions up and down your summit!

Next post I will honour the beauty of the mountain with pics of the summit day and a hiking account. They will be so much more meaningful now that you have the emotional foundation to lend some passion to the images.

Brande

Brande Looks Back: Kilimanjaro Day 4

January 5, 2016March 12, 2018 / runningforthegate / 9 Comments

Date: Oct 3 2015 Saturday
Route: Unique Rongai Route
Destination: Mawenzi Tarn to School Huts
Duration: 3hours walking (+ 1hour acclimatization hike)
Distance: 8km
Elevation Gained: 420m (1,378ft)
FitBit Steps: 23,392
FitBit Calories Burnt: 3,931

(If y’all missed it – here is my look back on Kilimanjaro Day 3)

Mount Kilimanjaro, just over there on the other side of the saddle …

Day 4 was the start of a twist on our original itinerary and one of my favourite days on the trail…. the original plan was to leave Mawenzi Tarn and make our way up and then down again into Third Caves Camp on day 4, then walk to School Huts Camp on Day 5, and make our attempt for the summit at 1am on Day 6. This original route really put in place the climb high and sleep low theory that is meant to be the key to avoiding altitude sickness to give us the best chance at the summit. However, the day prior, our Guides suggested we consider another unique twist to our already ‘Unique Rongai’ route.

The new, suggested Unique-Unique Rongai route had us skip Third Caves Camp all together and instead make our way straight to and up to School Huts Camp on Day 4 and then make our summit assault on Day 5 during the day. Our Guides strongly suggested this would give all 7 of us the best chance at reaching the summit.We chatted about it as a team and everyone was on board – oh my goodness we are going to summit Mount Kilimanjaro tomorrow! eeeeeeek butterflies!

The decision for me was not too tough. I was a little bit sad that we would be cutting a few kilometers off the trail (yes I know get over it, do I really need more than 84km?) but I was also ecstatic that we would make our summit attempt during the day (I hate walking in the pitch black with a headlamp when you cannot even enjoy and/or be distracted by the sights!). I also liked that we would get to stay in School Huts Camp a second night right after our summit success. This shaved a full 10km off of our post summit hike and I had a feeling I would appreciate getting back into my already set up tent 10km closer!

So our new, unique Day 4 of 7 was to School Huts not Third Caves Camp.

Our day started like any other. Lance and I were up about 5am for his usual lay in sleeping bag and chat with me while I jotted in my journal the details from the day prior. Then around 6am we were up and out of our tents. Either from desperate need to relieve the diuretic pressure, if you know what I mean, or because the sun was coming up and you do NOT miss a sunset on Kilimanjaro – they are a definite highlight of the experience.

7am we were eating our yummy breakfast spread of scrambled eggs, pancakes which are really crepes, millet porridge (which our Guide Leo said is a staple in local breakfasts), sausages which are really hot dogs, toast, jam and peanut butter, mango and pineapple, and all the hot mix drinks you can want. Rough eh?

820am we were on our way. The day was meant to be about 3-4 hours, approximately 8km in distance, sun baking us like crazy, and as usual 98.5 percent chance of rain (as per our Guide Leo who always made sure that even if it looked impossible that there would be any chance of rain, we had our rain gear in our packs).

The first 40mins was a bit tough, it was largely up hill, a little down hill which felt great but don’t get excited, and then back up hill again – repeat. We were walking slow this day. At over the 14,000 foot marker of altitude the air in the lungs was not feeling quite as fulfilling as it was the days prior. Pole, pole (slowly, slowly) was the mantra!

Before walking through the saddle you had to walk up and over a few summits – these felt huge!

After our up hills, we spent the last 3+ hours walking through the “saddle”. The saddle is a desert like area on Mount Kilimanjaro. The sun was shining and there were hours of not a cloud in the sky. The uninterrupted views of the blue sky were something to remember. I have to tell you there is a different blue to the skies above Kilimanjaro then there is here at home in Canada – more crisp, more blue, more something. Now do not get me wrong; we have some awesome skies here in Canada but wow there is just something different about those in Tanzania. Trust me, check out these photos.

Day 4/7 The Saddle – me and hubby Lance.

Day 4 of 7 a pic here of our almost complete crew as we get started on our decent down and across the saddle.

Just like a desert though, your destination looks so close and yet you never seem to get any closer. We knew were were making good time as rocks in the distance would be upon us soon enough. We treated these rocks like break markers. Lance or Paul would crack their backs, the rest of us would load on the sunscreen and lip chap, Lance would hand out hard candies, and then we were on our way again. But the path in front of us always seemed as long as it was before the last break and the camp you could just make out seemed to stay that teeny, weeny size it was when we started.

The saddle and that there is our trail, across the plain and to the right is our next camp School Huts

The temperature was interesting too. The sun was baking us – sun screen applications were happening every break and sometimes while moving, especially on the lips. Yet the wind would whip up to the point of having to hold your hat on your head and chill you right down again. I was doing more wardrobe layer changes than steps it felt like at some points. Water was a big deal this day, from the heat and the dusty wind. I ran out and had to use Lance’s water as back up for the last 40mins. How any of my fellow trekkers had any water left I will never understand – I was so thirsty! Pole, pole and drinky, drinky peeps!

Thank goodness for the conversation as we slogged along. At one point we had a zombie apocalypse conversation. This was serious stuff. Our friendships were solidified this day and if ever the zombies come for us our trusty Kilimanjaro band would know exactly how to support each other to avoid being eaten or worse yet turned into zombies! Basically, we all decided that zombies would not be impacted by altitude sickness as they don’t have red blood cells that can be impacted by altitude. Well they do have blood but its black so we didn’t think altitude would impact black blood. So really we would not be fully safe on Mount Kilimanjaro but because there are so few of us on the mountain its likely we would not be the first target in the Zombie War so we could hang out for a while with our crew, we had a great cook on the trip with us, still needed to summit, and probably had enough protein bars collectively to live 10 years up here!

Also thank goodness for distractions along the trail that brought us out of the ridiculous yet entertaining zombie conversation. Along the path we passed the wreckage of a small plane crash from 2008. The four tourists were killed sadly and the pilot seriously injured in the accident. This is in fact not the only plane crash on Kilimanjaro, seems a few small and large planes have had a horrible fate either getting to close for a great look or coming upon the mountain out of the clouds with no warning. Sad.

Day 4 of 7 Rongai Route walking through the saddle past what is left of a plane crash from years ago.

12:15pm we came into School Huts Camp finally. I arrived with a nice headache and pesky cough. OK I will be honest the cough was not as pesky as the “grandma” comments my fellow hikers were making every time I went into a wee fit which seemed to be every time I laughed or talked to much. So yes, they happened often as I do talk a lot and laugh even more.

School Huts Camp, Rongai Route our base camp for two nights and our summit attempt

After signing in at the Camp Hut, we made our way to our tents to set up. Lunch was again massive and amazing and sadly all of us thought we were hungry but had no appetite when we actually went to eat something – thank you altitude. Most of us forced what we could down because we knew the calories would be so important to our summit attempt the next day but there was not a lot of enjoyment.

Lunch time at the School Huts Camp and all of us know we should eat but no one had an appetite.

Following lunch was a short break where we all sat in our separate tents listening to a weather system come in that was promising rain, hail and maybe even some snow while waiting for the Guides to tell us its time for our acclimatization hike. Today’s acclimatization hike was important. A few of us were experiencing headaches, I had a cough, and we needed to give ourselves the best possible chance of a good sleep before our big summit day the next morning. So feeling as good as we could was important for all of us.

Back down, we met for dinner and repeated our not hungry but try and eat any calories you can stomach routine. I was feeling much better and ate more for dinner than lunch. The headache I showed up at camp with was gone after our acclimatization hike so all I had left was the annoying cough but with all the dust in the saddle and at camp it was not surprising. I think most of us felt good, and all of us were excited for the next day.

Lance and I retired to our tents early after our briefing with Guide Leo and got all of our gear ready for the next day. We had a 4am wake up call coming our way and the crew wanted to be on the trail by 5am. Getting to sleep was tough with how excited and nervous I was but we both felt ready and looking forward to the summit. The chill in the air and the snow in the night made sure you stayed cuddled in your tent which prompted sleep – thank goodness.

Eeeeeek more butterflies and tummy flips!

Brande

(If you are keen – check out my look back on Kilimanjaro Day 5, the Summit)

Brande Looks Back: Kilimanjaro Day 3

December 11, 2015March 12, 2018 / runningforthegate / 2 Comments

Date: Oct 2 2015 Friday
Route: Unique Rongai Route
Destination: Kikilewa Camp to Mawenzi Tarn Camp
Duration: 3hours walking (+ 1hour acclimatization hike)
Distance: 4km
Elevation Gained: 627m (2,057ft)
FitBit Steps: 26,655
FitBit Calories Burnt: 3,850

(If you missed it – here is my look back on Kilimanjaro Day 2)

Kikilewa Camp Sunrise – Wow!

Wow, how did I ever get so lucky as to wake up on an adventure with my husband in Tanzania, Africa on none other than Mount Kilimanjaro itself AND get to see this sunset that was so amazing it is beyond words. This was our favourite sunrise of the trip, and we got one every morning!

Kikilewa Camp – amazing day 3 sunrise!

The sunrise was so great and the day looking so nice, instead of serving us breakfast inside the dining tent the Team Kilimanjaro crew pulled the tables and chairs out into the middle of our camp and we ate under the warm sun. I have had breaky in some pretty cool places, but sitting outside soaking up the Africa sun looking out ABOVE the clouds was just so awesome! Seriously if you attempt Mount Kilimanjaro for nothing other than the sunsets and breaky above the clouds, I would totally support you!

Kikilew Camp, Breakfast above the Clouds

Kikilewa Camp – breakfast above the clouds!

Day 3 Breakfast Spread!

After we wrapped up breakfast, brushed our teeth, used our lovely toilet tents, poor Lana completed her 30 mins of heel blister prep, and we all had day packs ready with water/snacks/rain gear; we started out from camp with a bounce in our sunny step at 8:15 am.

Kikilewa Camp – 8:15am ready to start hiking!

Today was a short day on the Rongai Route but it was an uphill slog. The Kili sentiment “pole, pole” (meaning slowly, slowly in Swahili) was particularly welcome today. At one point I muttered to our slogging crew that “this sh@t just got real”. It felt like we were actually climbing a mountain today. There was no break in the up and up and up and up …

Almost all vegetation was left behind today and I could finally understand what other climbers had described as ‘it feels as if you are walking on the moon.’ All grey with big chunks of rock, no green and barely even any a scrubby bush or moss to be seen. Grey, rock, dust = moon.

Mount Kilimanjaro, Rongai Route on the moon!

Our Assistant Guide Felix lead our troop today and that meant with every step all I cold hear was the sound of his much too large corduroy pants scraping thigh against thigh and his hiking boots, also about 3 sizes too big, scuffing along the trail. Swish, Swish. Scuff, Scuff. While that likely sounds as if it would be totally annoying, and trust me it normally would be to me too, on the mountain it was actually just the sound of our pace in my head. I followed the swish and scuff like it was a drum or the beat of some mountain music. Album called Corduroy Burn by the famous Felix MacBigBoot. (ha ha)

Today is also the day I discovered that Felix rarely steps down or up from or over things. No matter the trail, rocks, or terrain he will step on the tiniest little point of rock if it keeps his body and legs at the same height. So unless absolutely impossible to avoid he never steps up, down and over rocks in search of the most secure step possible like I do. I realize this likely saved him so much energy. Most of mine was being wasted in going up and over things or stepping down off things just to step back up on to the next high rock.

To entertain myself I followed right behind him and decided I would step exactly as he and where he stepped to see if it was as slick as it looked. I was not slick at all. In fact I was just wobbly, off balance, and wearing myself out trying to keep up. So I returned to my trusty old slightly hesitant, cautious (not timid) step up and over rocks as has served me so well every other hike I have taken.

Rongai Route – trekker made trail markers!

On the trail today there were lots of these rock piles – where other hikers had precariously balanced rock on rock like small towers all along the trail. Basically the equivalent of an Inukshuk. These piles of rock, that Leo called something like ‘canyon’ but with a cool Swahili accent, are meant to mark the trail when the path itself can no longer be seen under the snow.

We came into our next campsite at 11:20 am. While this is just three hours later we were glad to see it. The up and up and up trail today mixed with the increasing altitude is enough to wear a girl out. I needed me some popcorn and hot tea to recover Kili style.

Mawenzi Tarn Hut – we have arrived!

Mawenzi Tarn Hut Camp – our humble homes overnight Day 3!

We were welcome with a yummy warm lunch of ginger soup to start, followed by spaghetti with meat sauce and shredded cheese to sprinkle on top, and pineapple slices for dessert. While this was not quite as exciting as our surprising grilled cheese sandwiches and french fries on day 2 for lunch (mmm) it was quite delicious all the same.

For two of our troop the most exciting part about lunch was that this was a meal withOUT green peppers – apparently putting these in every meal as the Team Kilimanjaro crew seemed to do was the worse kind of torture for my husband and our friend Scott. You would think the 84 km up and over a mountain would be tough but that was peanuts compared to the peppers!

At mid afternoon, we were led up on an acclimatization hike. Basically that just means one of the guides takes us farther up the mountain, about 200m or so, where we hang out for about 20mins, then come down. While up there Paul and Lance usually have to pee again, and us girls take some pictures, or like me I scoop some scree into a little pile and use it like a backrest on my nature provided lazy boy (the ground). I was worn out from doing a garbage bag fashion show to entertain my fellow trekkers and needed to sit down to recover.

A fashion show you ask? Well you see, I didn’t want to risk wet clothes at that altitude, and it looked as if it might rain on our acclimatization hike which made me very grumpy, so at the loving advice of my hubby I wore a garbage bag under my not-at-all-“waterproof” jacket and at the top decided to ‘work it’ for some pics before I took it off when it actually didn’t rain at all. I will spare you the fashion show pics!

Acclimatization Hike from Mawenzi Tarn Hut Camp

Acclimatization hike above Mawenzi Tarn Hut Camp!

The idea of these acclimatization hikes was to have us climb higher than we sleep. The rule of hiking at high altitudes is to ‘climb high, and sleep low’ – take your body past where you will be resting so that your body feels better at the altitude you sleep in comparison to where you hiked to. Most hikers feel much better if they follow this simple rule and it has increased many, many people’s chances of making the summit. This same rule is deployed on Mt. Everest, K2, Annapurna, Mount Saint Elias, and all others just as it is on Kilimanjaro.

For those of us who came into camp with a bit of a headache, maybe some nausea or even just a generally feeling of ‘bla’ – these acclimatization hikes sucked to have to go through but were totally worth it. The climb up was tough, the time at the top was a pain, but as you came down that pesky headache magically cleared up. This day’s acclimatization hike cleared up my Mawenzi Tarn Hut Camp little headache quite wonderfully.If only climbing up a hill would solve a headache here at home!

For supper we had pumpkin soup, followed by chicken stew served with rice, and sweet bread of some kind for dessert. Along with, of course, all the hot water and powdered hot drink stuff you could ask for.

Another late night for us on Day 3 … ha ha ha who am I kidding?! We were in our sleeping bags by 7:00 pm again.

There are lots of books that tell you sleeping at altitude is really hard (the diuretic medication, poor breathing at lower oxygen pressure, headaches, nausea, etc.) so its best to spend as much time trying as you can in hopes of at least getting a few hours in. Oddly, Lance and I had no problems at all with sleeping. In fact, I think he had some of his best sleeps on the mountain and I would have too if my excitement to be there in the first place didn’t keep me awake!

Brande

(If you are into it – here is my look back on Kilimanjaro Day 4)

Merely 3 Sleeps (Packing List)

September 24, 2015September 24, 2015 / runningforthegate / 1 Comment

Wow, wow, wow! Someone pinch me I cannot believe that this epic African adventure begins in just 3 sleeps. There is no way I am sleeping tonight. The excitement is crazy in this house and I am way to energetic to sleep.

I wonder though if it works like Christmas? You know when your parents told you the faster you go to bed the faster Santa will come! I think I will test this theory tonight and hope that my usual dreams of Kilimanjaro do not wake me from a dead sleep wondering if I remembered to pack socks, undies or my water bottle! But then if I go to sleep and it does come fast, then the faster it comes the faster it will be over and then … STOP Brande! Enjoy, embrace, breathe and take it all in!

Ok well enough with that spiral of excitement with a side of worry, here is what I accomplished today in prep for departure … I packed for the tourist part of the African adventure (the other 4 weeks we are away).

Everything you need for 4 weeks in a 65 litre pack? No problem!

For anyone doing a 2+ week trip in a warm weather climate, here is the packing list that has treated me so well for so many vacations to date and is exactly what I used for this African vacation as well!

Upper:

Rules: everything should be plain, solid coloured or an easy print. Think about bringing stuff that you could toss your 1 scarf on with (see below) to change the look technically getting you another outfit without actually changing. Also, everything on top must match everything you bring for bottoms so really think about the fabrics you bring and the colours. BUT DON’T OVER THINK! Oh and keep the cleavage and the spaghetti straps to a minimum, we don’t want to draw too much attention to the goods.

3 T-Shirts
1 Long Sleeve T-Shirt
1 Sweater
4 Tank tops
1-2 technical shirts (tank, tee or long sleeve – these are good for when you are working out, hiking, jogging, or even to wear under a wet suit)

Lower:

Rules: everything again should be solid coloured, this is not the time to bring out those stripped crazy pants! Also don’t go too short on the shorts, tourists should dress modestly. We want to see the sights not be the sight to see!

1-2 Shorts
1 Jean
1 Comfy / Travel Pant
1-2 Sporty Pant or Capri (think of what you want to wear driving for hours, and also good for the plane, and for sight-seeing)

Full Body:

1-2 Summer, Simple Dress (apply the same rules you would for the Upper above – plain, solid coloured or easy print and must match your scarf and your sweater)

Water:

1 Bathing suit you like that you could hang out in all day (for any of you who groaned when you read the fact that you need a bathing suite, email me and I will remind you that you are beautiful and amazing!)
1 bathing suit that could work under a wet suit or active water activities (not necessary if you can do it all in the 1 bathing suit you are bringing but I tend to bring a a robust bikini top and little shorts plus my nice bathing suite for just pool and beach time)
1 Bathing suit cover up

Other:

Scarf or Pashmina (think simple, solid or easy print again – you should be able to put this on with ANYTHING you have brought with you in the Upper, Lower and Full Body sections above)
Wind stopper / Water resistant jacket
Flip flips or sandals or flat closed toe shoe like Tom’s that can be worn with everything above, get wet, and worn out (no crazy bling, they had better not cause you blisters, and break them in before you go!)
Runners or light hikers for when you need to get your sweat on
Pajamas (top, bottom, comfy sleep bra)

Unmentionables:

2 sports bras (hopefully some of your Uppers above allow for this comfort, and for around the hotel in pajamas, etc)
1 nice light coloured bra
1 nice dark coloured bra
10-12 undies (if you have light coloured Lower stuff be sure to bring a mix of light and dark colours)
1 slip if needed for your dresses OR 1 slip shorts (little slim fitting shorts made of slip material so you get the slip and avoid thigh chafe)
Socks for those shoes you brought

Toiletries:

Keep this simple – before you go, one day put everything you use to get ready, in the morning, every medication you take, and what you use to get ready for bed at night in a basket – put all that stuff in a cosmetic bag and voila! (Do NOT even think about packing that face mask or night cream you have been dying to try with you – you will not use it, it will be a waste of room and weight in your bag.)
Sunscreen … I should not have to specifically mention this because you should be wearing this everyday but if you do not … start and pack some!
Extra, travel specific meds (Think about any possible issues you would like to be able to deal with quickly without the hassle of foreign medical services. Bladder infection, traveler’s tummy, etc)

Might be worth thinking about:

Some laundry soap so you can hand wash and dry anything on the list until or in absence of a Laundromat
Some little and big zip locks, just a few and just in case
A thin bag for your dirty clothes to keep it separate from your clean stuff
Hat (something that goes with the Upper and Lower above)
Travel towel (for your water activities)
Toe nail polish
Book(s) to read
Journal and pen to document your adventure
Handbag / courier bag – small but big enough for camera, snacks, water, etc. but not so big that your hips or shoulder aches from carrying it!
Camera, more camera cards than you think, charger
Sunglasses

From my backpack to yours!

Brande

PS: Did you know 3 sleeps is only 72 hours? eeeeeeek so excited!

Just 5 Sleeps

September 22, 2015September 22, 2015 / runningforthegate / Leave a comment

What would you be doing just 5 sleeps from your departure for a crazy, amazing 6 weeks in Africa that includes a week on a mountain?

Well if you are me – you are doing everything BUT thinking about the fact that it in my mind is basically a blizzard on top of Mount Kilimanjaro right now, Yes I am for real. It is snowing in Africa! Everything above what will be our 4th camp is snow, snow, snow. Check it out if you don’t believe me: Mountain Forecast

The upside is the scree on the summit will be frozen so that will make it better for traction on our 20 hour summit – but if scree can freeze so can we! Good thing for fleece, merino wool and our thick cozy Canadian blood! Mr. Hemingway was not kidding with his Snows of Africa prose. Well played Ernest, well played.

So here is how I am distracting myself from the snow with 5 sleeps to go:

Sorting out the toiletries for Africa tourist time, for Kilimanjaro climbing and our medical kits for the mountain and in general.

Washing our water bladders to make sure they are fresh and clean for Kilimanjaro. We will have a hard enough time finding good drinking water; we don’t need to bring germs from home.

Packing for Kilimanjaro – what fits in this laundry basket can be compressed and fit into my 35L Osprey Backpack of awesome. Carrying that bad boy on the plane so I have what I need for the mountain – just in case my bag is lost!

Preparing the travel file. Making sure we have copies of all our itineraries, e-tickets, flights, confirmations, vouchers, copies of passport, insurance and more. The bible of our trip really.

Over and above all this, about a b-zillion texts back and forth with Lana to find accommodations along the Garden Route, in Cape Town, and in Durban, South Africa. We were successful booking Durban (our rental home has a beautiful deck on the ocean and there are dolphins and whales in the bay every morning, squeeeek excited).

We are so far unsuccessful in booking Garden Route and Cape Town but there are a whopping 4 sleeps left to book this stuff. So I am sure I will not lose any sleep over it …. (said no one in my family ever!)

Brande

PS: Five, 5, Cinc, Pet, Fem, Vijf, Quinque, Cinco, Tano .. sleeps!

A Table for 7 Please

July 16, 2015July 16, 2015 / runningforthegate / Leave a comment

Project management geek on!

Our 6 week great African adventure starts in Tanzania (climbing Mount Kilimanjaro), then into Zimbabwe (Lake Kariba, Zambezi River, Harare) and South Africa (Cape Town, Drakensburg, Table Mountain, Shark Diving) as tourists. We may even toss in some Zambia (Devil’s Pool) and maybe some Mozambique.

Planning all of this has been interesting – especially with the added nuance this is not just a trip for 2, this is a trip for 7 people at any one time. Wow, that is a lot of moving parts!

So how do you approach planning a trip like this? Well you ‘geek it up’ and go into full blown project management mode. We have itineraries, calendars, task lists and spreadsheets. And those are not all mine, some of the other travelers are doing spreadsheets too! I have to admit there was some mocking when I brought out poster sized post it notes and colour coordinated small post its.

To officially kick off the planning, we gathered on our big deck, ordered in some sushi, cracked some cold pints and started laying out the details:

The group had their iPads, travel books, notes and whatever else
Everyone had an idea of what they wanted to see, where they wanted to go
We drew up a massive calendar with all our travel dates
We added to the calendar anything that was booked (flights to and from Africa, etc.) using post it notes so things could be moved about as needed
We added to the calendar things that we needed to book on certain days in post it notes again so we could shuffle as and when needed to accommodate other items
The end result was an exciting start to a travel calendar, and pretty large task list with action items (things to book) and who was doing the booking
We put the task list and travel calendar up on our private Facebook Group ‘Africa or Bust’

We are now all working on our tasks, using Facebook as our communication vehicle so everyone sees all of the conversations going on, and will meet again in August and September to finalize. Loving the ability to ask a Poll question on Facebook – this is dream with 7 people involved.

At the end of the day we now know we have some serious thrill and monkey seekers in the group – and some sightseeing, museum and wine tour seekers in the group. The combination of both will give us a plan with a bit of lazy and a bit of crazy…perfect!

Brande

PS …73 sleeps to go