08.28.08
Posted in Gear, Uncategorized at 12:12 pm by Administrator
Well, it’s been a long, long time since I’ve done a blog post. I’ve been too busy “doing” so no time to write about it, it seems.
With exactly 6 days to go I have now made a screeching arrival right into panic mode. Some things I’ve ordered on the internet are backordered (I find that out TODAY though I ordered on 8/15!) and others were sent to the home address in Vail but returned because we have no home delivery for things sent by the US Postal Servcie. Too late to reorder unless I pay for two day shipping! Jeez, this is hard!
The good news is that I do have most everything I need already and I’ve been working fast and furious on packing it all into my appropriate duffels and carry-ons, even managing to stay within the weight limits.
Here’s the tally as it stands right now:
Kilimanjaro Gear: 38 lbs (7.5 lbs of which will be with me in my backpack so do not count toward my 33 lb limit, in addition to that I will have other items in my backpack, cameras/batteries/water and expect it to weigh around 20 lbs)
Kilimanjaro Gear to give away at the end of the climb or that is consumable: 19.5 lbs
Net Kilimanjaro gear that I’ll be taking on safari or back home: 18.5 lbs
Safari clothes/gear: 11 lbs.
Total weight I’ll be bringing in clothes/gear: 29.5
These numbers have not come easy. I’ve been pretty much tied to my little kitchen scale every day, weighing items and adding them to the bag. When I realize I have too much weight I have either been switching out items for lighter alternatives or ditching them altogether. I’ve made numerous visits to thrift stores and rummage sales to buy cheap items I can give away at the end of the climb. All those nice, new things I’ve bought over the last year will be safely tucked away at home and have to wait their turn for a trip when I can bring more luggage. I am pleased with the end result of what will go up the mountain with me. Alot of it is consumable so it won’t be added into the final weight, like 15 oz of cough drops, and about 2 lbs of pre-moistened body towelettes.
I’ve also been careful to pack EVERYTHING into plastic bags, even without rain, sleet, snow or hail the condensation on the mountain will pretty much get everything at least somewhat wet. Toe warmers, hand warmers and foot warmers are a must. It may be below zero at the top and as of the second night on the mountain we should have temperatures below freezing. Brrrrr!
Typing this has been a welcome break from my packing and tracking of all my stuff but the clock is ticking…..back I go to my little scale and excel spreadsheets.
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06.25.08
Posted in Uncategorized at 3:16 pm by Administrator
Planner that I am, I don’t want any surprises on the mountain. I intend to give everything a trial run beforehand to avoid any unwelcome surprises. And so I decided to take my fancy schmancy new Marmot Helium EQ Sleeping Bag for a trial run. The bag, rated to 15 degrees, was a Mother’s Day gift from my husband Jim. I wanted to test it’s toastyness and be sure my tootsies wouldn’t freeze in the chilly night weather. Although I can only hit a night time low here of 41 degrees it would be beneficial to spend a night in it and see how both the bag and I did as sleeping companions.
My son-in-law Chad was recently cleaning out a long ago sealed up and forgotten about bin that had been buried deep in his basement and generously made me the recipient of his hand-me-downs. One of my favorite surpises (besides my shiny new-to-me bear canister) was a 2-person North Face pretty darn light and downright nifty tent. You might be surprised (or perhaps you’re not) to hear that I have not slept in a tent since I was a kid. And so Jim couldn’t help but get a laugh out of me pitching my tent on the balcony last night. I like to think of it as “Wilderness Transition”, why jump right in and swim when I can wade around a bit and see how the water feels? Jim had bet I would last only 15 minutes before joining him in our warm and cozy king-sized bed, but others thought I might make it as late as 3 a.m.
I crawled into my tent at 11 p.m. armed with a water bottle, my cell phone, some light reading of “A Walk in the Woods” by Bill Bryson and a battery-operated lantern. Clad in my p.j.s and Smartwool socks, I made a note to myself that I must buy some long underwear which is what I’ll be wearing to bed on Kilimanjaro. Within the first few minutes I also noted I’ll be needing a hat, some gloves and a neck gaitor at the very least to keep warm on the mountain. For the most part I was very comforatble in my sleeping bag, warm and not too bound up in spite of the “mummy” bag. Since I’m a girl that isn’t even comfortable in an herbal wrap without my arms and feets waiving freely I really didn’t know if I could sleep without feeling overly confined. Everything was cozy but my nose and mouth and a quick slip of the bag up around my face solved that. I was careful to just leave it loosely lying over the top of my nose and mouth, I had hoped not to swallow it during the night and as it turns out I didn’t. Safely surrounded on three sides by the balcony railing and the house on the remaining side I felt comfortable that no wandering animals would attack me during the night. I read for a while but found there’s no comfortable way to do that in a tent other than flat on my back, which really wasn’t that comfortable at all. Light’s out at 11:45 pm.
First time up to tinkle, 11:50 pm. It seems I was just looking for a bit of a postponement on starting my night in the Wilderness Transition program. With only one brief wake up at 3:45 am, I slept the whole night through. When 5:30 am rolled around and I saw the beginnings of daylight peeking through the tent wall I decided that if I were camping I would definately be getting up at that time anyway. I rolled out of my bag and pattered inside to join Jim in the big, warm bed. I did it! One whole night in a tent, in a MUMMY sleeping bag, all by myself. Way to go! The sleeping bag gets two thumbs up and is added to the list of tested gear I’ll be bringing along.
P.S. Thank you again to Chad, who also mentioned not to eat any Baby Ruth’s in the tent or any food for that matter. Once I actually take it off the balcony and into the woods I might find a bear with a very keen sense of smell is fond of Baby Ruth’s also. Thanks for the tip, Chad, point taken!
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06.16.08
Posted in Uncategorized at 6:41 am by Administrator
Hello friends! Here I sit, “haggered” as my husband calls it, after 3 1/2 hours of just trying to figure out how to pick a theme for my new blog. I never did figure it out, with my limited computer skills, and have settled begrudgingly on one of the “stock” themes. Eager to move forward and share my story I’ve given up on the details and am just “going for it”.
86 days from now I will embark on my climb of Mt. Kilimanjaro, Africa’s highest peak and one of the Seven Summits of the world. At 19,340 ft it is the tallest free-standing mountain on any continent. I will cross through 5 climate zones over 9 days, camping 8 nights at various altitudes with the highest camp being an intimidating, sleepless 18,500 feet. Accompanied by a good friend, Abby, a spattering of strangers and numerous porters, guides, cooks and crew to support our endeavor, I will embark on one of the greatest experiences of my life.
I hope you’ll join me on my journey by following my blog. Recording my preparations, my training, my seemingly endless research, assessment and testing of the appropriate gear, my challenges, and my excitement as I count down the days I will be updating what’s happening as I prepare to summit Kilimanjaro on September 15, 2008.
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