Hiking Mt. Kilimanjaro Adventure

It was summer time in LA, and I needed to accomplish something they refer to as CMEs, continuing medical education hours. These are necessary to keep your licensure, certifications and staff privileges current. However, being the kind of individual that I am, I was looking for something a bit different. I was aware of cruises and some destination meetings, but it all seemed ordinary. I found a trip to Mt. Kilimanjaro! Yeah!! That was it!!

I knew it would likely be physically difficult so I started training. Much of my 'training' had already been accomplished since I had run 5 marathons up to that point. I decided to do high altitude training that is running with a 30lb backpack in the High Sierra Mountains, Mammoth Lakes area in California. It was tough, however, it did do the job in getting me prepared for that trip.

I flew into Amsterdam and caught a flight to Arusha, Tanzania. There, I met my guide for the trip. You can't just decide to hike Mt. Kilimanjaro, you need government approval! They run it like a business to support the local economy and provided jobs, much like the Sherpas in the Himalayan mountains, i.e. Mt. Everest. zthey are called porters at Mt. Kilimanjaro. I met our guide and was taken to a 5 star resort in Arusha where we enjoyed a 'get together dinner' and what to expect during our ascent.

The next day we had a nice jeep ride to an area about 2 miles from the base. There we discussed the route and our ascent. We would take a trek that took us in a circular pattern around the mountain. Their insight was to provide acclimatization to the altitude. Oddly, I thought I was in such great shape and would likely be the only one. I know doctors! They're fat and too busy doing medicine to run or work out! Wow, was I mistaken. Several of the docs present were ironman triathletes and marathoners! I was just one of the gang!

I remember the first night. We had just made camp approximately one mile from the base of the mountain. It had been raining most of the day. During the night, it had cleared up completely and had turned very cold. It was about 4am and I needed to go to the bathroom! Yeah, doesn't that figure. I was nice and toasty in my sleeping bag. I had learned during my camping years that the best way to keep your clothes warm, and to sleep well was to put your clothes underneath your bag while you slept and to sleep with minimal clothing on. So here I was, needing to go to the bathroom and it was very cold outside. Couldn't wait! I dressed and went outside. What an amazing site!! The sky was crystal clear with a half of a moon to provide just enough darkness/light to see the southern hemisphere sky, the now snowy peak Mt. Kilimanjaro and the way to the outhouse! I was in awe and just stood there taking in the view! All of a sudden I heard a loud roar! Not really sure what it was, but I jumped back into my tent without going to the bathroom and just suffered the rest of the night!

The next day, apparently all had heard the same noise! Of course we all speculated on its origin. Nothing concrete was ever determined.

The hiking was not technical as I initially thought it might be. However, it was an endurance, especially at a high altitude. Arusha is almost a mile high to start with.

We would hike 5-7 miles per day, ascending perhaps as many as 2,000 feet each day. Finally on the last camp night, we were about 3,000 feet below the summit. We decided to ascend at 2am, cresting the mountain at dawn to see the sunrise over all of Africa! What a beautiful sight! No you couldn't see all of Africa, butit's the thought that counts, right? The fact that you are now at the highest point on the continent and potentially nothing to obstruct your view of anything on the continent. Much of the glacier ice has melted over the years, but it was a fantastic sight and view. Of course, they have the traditional sign post at the peak indicating how many miles to Tokyo or Los Angeles!.

Our descent wasn't nearly as grueling as the ascent! I am sure you have heard of sand surfing?!? Well, our descent had plenty of sand surfing for the adventurous, me! It took me about two hours to climb down back to the camp. There, I slept until about 1 in the afternoon and then had lunch. The remaining trip down the mountain was uneventful and took us under a half of a day to reach the base of the mountain. That means, at dawn I was enjoying the summit of Mt. Kilimanjaro, and then shopping in the gift shop by the late afternoon! Our success was greeted by the government issuing us certificates of the accomplishment. I had to buy a MT. Kilimanjaro hat! (Another story - white water rafting)!

That night our 'erector set type dancing docs' decided to go into town to a local pub and celebrate our accomplishments. Now, these guys are still doctors and have difficulty mingling with normal people. We are socially retarded! We went to a grass hut, something you might see out of a Hollywood movie with Clark Gable and Lauren Bacall! The docs I was with were afraid to approach anyone for a dance. I knew I was unlikely to ever come back and threw caution to the wind! I saw a woman sitting by herself! She was beautiful! A smooth milk chocolate type skin with a white dress that was form fitting! Wow! I don't think I had ever seen anyone so pretty! So, I strolled over to her, while the other docs were watching and afraid. I stood at her table, she was alone, and said "would you like to dance?" It wasn't a delayed response. She immediately said NO! Yikes! I have been rejected many many times in my life, but that was the fastest I have ever been rejected! Now I know why my compatriots were afraid and just standing in the corner. As I walked away from her tabel she grabbed my arm and said, "why don't you sit down and talk to me for a while"? I was shocked by the seemingly sudden turn around in thought! Her first question was "what are you doing in Arusha?" I told her I had come to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro. "Did you?", "Yes, I did!". "did you receive a certificate for climbing the mountain?". "Yes, I did!" She grabbed my hand and led me to the dance floor! Wow, now I was feeling like I couldn't do anything wrong! She had given me all of the confidence in the world by the way that whole interaction evolved! While on the dance floor, I caught the eye of another amazingly beautiful woman dancing! I danced my way over to her and just said "you are the most beautiful woman on the dance floor, without my partner hearing what I said. I can't believe I had done that! I think I gained another friend by doing that though. She came over to our table later and asked me to dance. I looked at my table partner as if it were up to her, and she acquiesced and said "yes". Wow!!! Was I on a roll!! My compatriots developed an unwarranted sense that I was some sort of a playboy! No, quite the opposite. I was given the confidence by a woman that propelled me to other heights. Actually, I believe that it was the fact that I had climbed the mountain! It was the catalyst for the events that occurred during the evening. They could have probably done the same, however, they were so unsure of themselves that they didn't!

The next day I embarked on Safari ending up in the Serengeti! Another adventure for another day!

Carpe Diem