Week 26 of 26

The day is upon us! This last week, we were scheduled to go back to White Mountain and spend another 5 nights at 11,700 feet and hike the mountain again. But life kind of got in the way and we couldn't leave until Tuesday, and we were pretty tired of this entire process and wanting to be at home for the last few days. So instead we decided to go to Sonora Pass again (it is only 2 hours away, compared to the almost 8 hours to get to White Mountain). We got there around 2:30 or so, and hiked for a couple of hours. It was windy and feeling like fall, and we couldn't sit outside at all. Let me tell you, that tiny RV is very, very small when you both have to be inside!! It was cold, and we tested out our big down bags even knowing that it would be quite a bit colder on top of Kilimanjaro. All was fine, but we woke to high winds that shook the RV, and scattered snow. We sat and read for awhile thinking maybe things would improve. They didn't, and we decided to cut our losses and head for home.

The rest of the week was largely devoted to trying to pare down our stuff to fit into the new 107 liter bags. We are allowed 33 pounds of stuff. Initially this seemed like a walk in the park, but as we started remembering things we really needed, this quickly ballooned. I pared down my snacks to about 20% of what I originally wanted (I have read tales of people being absolutely ravenous and losing 10 pounds in a week...I can't really afford that!!). It turned out to be a choice between freezing to death and starving to death. I finally decided to put all the snacks into my day pack for the first day and then slip them into the big bag the porters will carry, figuring they aren't going to carry a scale up and weigh all the bags each day (I sure hope the Zara Tours people aren't reading this!). Next was the problem of space. I don't really understand why my stuff takes up more space (and weighs more) than Joe's, when he is 80 pounds heavier than I am. I mean, he has BIG clothes. I am carrying a sleeping bag liner and some things called microspikes (for walking on ice and snow) that he isn't, but that is about it. He has all the electronic stuff (batteries and chargers and whatnot) and all the chemical hand and foot warmers. I don't understand. Well, anyway, to gain more space I went out and bought all new bras, because with the weight loss I can drop to a 34 instead of a 36, and this means you drop a whole HOOK and lots of fabric in the back. Big savings there. While I played golf today, Joe put a bunch of our clothes through the insecticide treatment (soak for 3 hours in permethrin) because we hate the thought of the malaria drug malarone (lots of icky side effects).

So we shoe-horned all the junk into the packs and we are, more or less, ready to go.
My sister called and asked if I felt ready. Unless you are a teenager, I don't see how you can EVER feel you are ready for something like this. I'd like another month to get more fit. But then I think I might shoot myself if I had to do this for another month. This has completely taken over our lives, and I would really like to get my life back. But, I am in the best shape I have been in for years and a living testament to the lie that USA Today printed about 2 months ago "you can't lose weight by exercise alone, you have to modify your diet." They weren't considering people training to climb Kilimanjaro.

I won't be updating this blog until I get home. I am taking a small notebook and a pencil (not a pen which will explode at elevation) to record notes on the climb, and the safari and gorilla adventure to follow) and will put all that in here when I get back.

I alternate between absolutely dreading this and humiliating myself by not being able to make it to the top, and feeling like maybe this is possible if I take it slow and can manage my feet. It's a crap shoot. But kind of cool that at my age you can embark on something like this and have it be a crap shoot. Out of my confort zone for sure. Wish us luck!

This week:

Sept. 6: 4.5 miles on road in sneakers
Sept. 7: about 4 miles miles at Sonora Pass
Sept. 8: nothing
Sept. 9: 5.7 miles on road in sneakers
Sept. 10: Mt Rose, 10.6 miles
Sept. 11: Nothing
Sept. 12: 7-8 miles on Mt Rose, did not summit (had to make baked ziti!)

Total for week: 31.8-32.8 miles