Hiking
Mount Kilimanjaro Reflection
August 9, 2014, summit night… We
awoke at 11 p.m. and began to summit at midnight. A full moon was shining. The
temperature was below freezing. Our headlamps were a beacon in the night. We
literally looked light a colony of ants trekking to the top of Mount
Kilimanjaro to reach Uhuru Peak. It was extremely challenging and exhausting. I
must say I was delirious at times. My extremities, fingers and toes, never got
warm despite hand warmers and two pairs of gloves. Focus with every step,
hearing my own breathing, and pacing to the step of ‘pole pole’ meaning ‘slowly
slowly’. Water bottles froze, surrounding hikers collapsed and vomited. Hour
upon agonizing hour passed by, conditions the same with less oxygen. Finally,
the sun began to rise. My family and I’s optimism came out of the dark. We
reached Stella Point at 7 a.m. and Uhuru Peak at 7:45 a.m. This has been the
most challenging expedition I have ever faced. Elated I made it to the top with
my family. It was an incredible accomplishment. Our journey only begins, we
still have to descend for hours, pack our porter bags at Barafu Camp, and
continue to descend to Mweka Camp another 10 hours of hiking. You think the
body reaches a point of no return, but it manages to be resilient and carry you
forth. The mind was in a state of stupor trance. The final steps to Mweka Gate
were elating and such a feel of accomplishment.
My learning moment was how resilient
the human body can be when pushed to limits such as high altitude, lack of
sleep, and continuous exercise. My commitment to complete this journey to the
summit is solidified. I made it! It was definitely a challenge. The biggest
challenge I have ever faced at age 17. My strength I pulled deep within along
with my physical one step in front of the other and the endurance of hours upon
hours in motion. My weaknesses that I encountered during this hike, were
physical weaknesses such as: headaches, dizziness, and lightheadedness. I know
that it was all due to altitude. As soon as we descended down to Mweka Camp, my
symptoms literally disappeared.
I know the lesson that I learned
here is that it takes team effort in order to successfully climb Mount
Kilimanjaro. We had a total of 11 people in our group and the Ultimate
Kilimanjaro team consisted of 41 porters, guides, cooks, toilet crew, etc. This
is definitely a team effort. I don’t feel that there were any changes that
needed to be made. Ultimate Kilimanjaro did an amazing job! Our fellow hikers
all put 100% into their hikes.
Climbing Mount Kilimanjaro has given
me the confidence and the wisdom to pursue another mountain such as Machu
Picchu in Peru. So, this will be my future endeavor.
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