Mount Kilimanjaro

When I first flew into Kilimanjaro Airport 6 weeks ago, the views of Mount Kilimanjaro were breathtaking.  I didn’t come here with the intention (or gear) to climb the mountain but the more I talked to people, the more I was convinced to just do it.  My whole outlook on this trip has been “if not now, then when” so after just one week in Tanzania, my mind was made up. I was climbing Mount Kilimanjaro.  Matt and I had plans to climb it in mid-October so I started “training”. Basically I went for a total of 3 runs in my neighborhood up and down these dusty, hilly dirt roads…definitely not enough to get my butt into shape.  The more I thought about it, the more hesitant I was to officially sign up. I was a little nervous about making it to the top but it couldn’t possibly be harder than training for and running a marathon!  I knew if I really wanted it, I could do it but that was just it- there was a part of me that didn’t want it bad enough.  It’s a very expensive climb and what if altitude sickness prevented me from making it to the top? Not a risk I really wanted to take for $1,200!

After much back and forth, I thought long and hard about the reasons I was here in Africa.  I realized that Kilimanjaro was not one of them. Although forgoing the climb was going to be a sacrifice, I was inspired by another volunteer who backed out on the safari last minute so she could give one of her students the money to go to school.  I decided that my money could be put to much better use if I spent some of it on the 50 bundles of joy I came here for- the kids at Save Africa.  Instead of spending my money on climbing Kilimanjaro and getting the most expensive Facebook profile picture ever, I am going to put my money towards spending time with my 50 new best friends.  In November, I am going to take the kids on a field trip to a zoo in town where they can see a few animals and go for camel rides.  Most of them have never left Usa River so going on a field trip is a pretty crazy idea but it will be a lot of fun for them.  I am also going to make sure we have another ice cream party, go out to lunch in town, and maybe even find a movie theater.  This sounds like way more fun than walking uphill for 6 days straight!

I didn’t have to completely throw away my goal of hiking Kilimanjaro because last weekend, I did a one-day hike up to the Base Camp.  It was so much fun!  It took 3 and a half hours to get up and one and a half to get down.  The views were incredible and it felt good to breathe in some fresh mountain air for a day.  Once we got to the base camp, I definitely felt like I could have kept going but I think 2 days in I would have been bored and wanted to turn around. Not to mention, it is three days after my one day hike and I’m still walking a little funny. I wouldn’t want to know how I would feel if I climbed the whole thing!  Matt made it to the summit this week and just took me through all of his pictures.  It looked so awesome and I must admit,  I'm a little jealous.  It would have been a really cool thing to cross off the bucket list but in the end, I am confident that the small sacrifice I made will be well worth those big smiles.