I felt I had to address some of these because they are pretty ridiculous!
-You are doing the Machame route in 6 days? So you are taking extra time?!? I did it in 5 days.
FACT: The usual amount of time for the Machame route, which is harder, is actually 7 days. We are doing it in 6, however. 6 DAYS IS ACTUALLY THE MINIMUM amount of time for this route. My agent’s response: You may want to spend your fictional 5 days doing some fact finding before spouting off…just sayin.
-It’s a walk in the park
FACT: I’ve never been to a park at 19,300 feet but it is an actual park – My agent’s response: It certainly is a walk in the park, Kilimanjaro National Park as a matter of fact. Denver’s City Park is a mile long and ¾ of a mile wide and is approximately 5280 feet above sea level. The highest point of Kilimanjaro National Park is, indeed, the peak of Mt. Kilimanjaro at 19,300 feet above sea level. The trail itself is 62 miles, the park, of course, is much bigger at 291 square miles. So, to consider this hike an average “walk in the park,” you would have to walk Denver’s City Park 62 times but add almost 4 times the altitude (generally speaking, another 4 miles straight up to the sky). So yeah, technically it is a walk in the park…but you’d better bring more than a blanket and picnic basket my friend!
-Kilimanjaro? Oh it’s just like a long hike
FACT: It is indeed a very long one! The very last day we hike for 11 hours! My agent’s response: Hikes take on many varieties…they vary in length, altitude, terrain, etc. A ‘feel good’ hike in Jefferson, Summit or Boulder County may take anywhere from 4-8 hours and have many picturesque views and technical trails….but I’m still only packing some type of DAY pack and I’ll be home (or at a nice pub/restaurant) in time for dinner. Kilimanjaro isn’t a ‘feel good’ hike until it’s done – then I’m betting it feels like nothing else! I’ll let you know in a few months J
-You do marathons it will be so easy for you
FACT: Altitude sickness is a factor once you pass 15,000 feet. Once at that altitude no matter your fitness level you can be affected by altitude sickness which can be very crippling. My agent’s response: A marathon is 26.2 miles with some altitude variation, depending on the route, however, I am willing to bet that nobody has ever run 26.2 miles from an altitude of less than a mile above sea level up to 19,300 feet above sea level. If such a person exists, I’d love to shake their hand and buy them a banana beer! Running a marathon was not easy, you trained for it for months! You did not run it wearing heavy hiking boots, thick layers of clothing including an actual coat, a very heavy backpack with essentials for 6 plus days and it certainly wasn’t through snow, mud, rocks and unforgiving elevation. Apples and oranges.
-Kids do that mountain, it’s going to be a piece of cake
FACT: Yes, a kid was able to climb it, he is obviously extraordinary! My agent’s response: When that kid turns 21, I’d like to shake his hand and buy him a banana beer! To say that it’s so easy a kid can do it is a gross exaggeration. A kid can write a sonata for the piano at age 4, true. That kid was Mozart and he was, to put it mildly, extraordinary as well. That doesn’t mean that writing a sonata is a piece of cake and you certainly wouldn’t assume that most children can do it. That may be an extreme example but you are about to push your limits by climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro and you are entitled J
I am doing this trek not only because of the physical & mental challenges it will impose but also because it is for an amazing cause. I will, blearily tired, be standing at Uhuru Peak thinking of the people affected by cancer and hoping that the ones in remission will stay that way. I know it will be a true emotional challenge as well. I have no doubt it will be one of the hardest things I will ever do in my life. I have read a lot on altitude sickness and everything that goes with it. I understand it can affect any one no matter their physical level. I will also be photographing the whole trip and can’t afford not to be able to function well while doing it. I have no doubt it will be worth all of the work I’m putting into my training now. Most importantly I would like to acknowledge my friends. I am so blessed and lucky to have wonderful friends that understand this as an immense challenge I will be facing and are not minimizing it in any way. I am truly lucky to have you supporting me all the way to the top, well, and back.
