I’ll be hiking in Tanzania in Aug 2022 and attempt to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro. At 5,895 meters (19,341 ft above sea-level) Mt. Kilimanjaro is world’s tallest free standing mountain, that means its not part of any mountain range, it just is there – all by itself formed by volcanic eruptions some 1.9 to 2.5 billion years ago. It is one of the rare high altitude hikes that does not require any technical climbing knowledge – no ropes, no rappelling, no crampons, no special equipments, just an able body and determined mind to walk the walk. What makes this walk tricky is as you climb up the oxygen in air you breath becomes rarer, according to ‘Altitude to Oxygen Chart‘, at summit, you have about half the oxygen available in air compared to what we breathe normally at sea level.
Why am I climbing this mountain?
There isn’t one reason for me to climb this mountain – if you need one, I think George Mallory described it the best – “because its there”.
Anyways, I’m making this trek to become ‘experience rich‘, take a bus in Africa, meet local people, try to learn about their lives, eat local food. I’m hiking because I want to challenge myself and find my limits – physically, emotionally. With my compromised knees – do I have it in me to walk ~49 miles on the slopes for 7 days, in thin air, deal with the Acute Mountain Sickness (AMS) symptoms & possibility of High Altitude Pulmonary Edema (HAPE) or High Altitude Cerebral Edema (HACE), can I endure 7 hours of climb on summit night in frigid cold and harrowing winds, can I unplug from rest of the world for 10 days.
And then how else would you experience standing atop highest point on a continent to witness the sunrise with all the clouds and rest of the continent at your feet – only one way, DO IT.
What next?
I’ll write mini blogs about preparation, the tour company I’m working with for the climb, the medications, vaccinations, leave links and my shopping list for the trek.
Once am back, I’ll post about the actual hike, experiences, photos – check back regularly if you are curious. Feel free to reach out to me, if you have questions.
