MY SUNNY SIDE OF LIFE

Stella Point elevation is 18,885 ft. It is not the top of Kilimanjaro. Oh God no, it’s not the freaking top. An hour from there is the Summit which stands at 19,341 ft. To get to the top you have to follow a path along the ridgeline. About half way there is a small boulder that juts out into the path, taunting passersbys to stop and rest. It is there that my tired, oxygen-deprived and nearly broken body and spirit is lying wondering, why the hell did I do this? My guide, named Goodluck, is asking me a question but I can barely hear him above the sounds of the wind whipping off the top of the glacier and my own exhausted lungs trying to suck in as much air as possible. I have been hiking for 6.5 hours through the night which was after hiking 6 hours into base camp the previous morning. I can’t decide which hurts worse, my cracked and bleeding lips or my lungs? Oh, definitely my lungs. What I would not give to be able to breathe. It’s true, being at this elevation is hard on most bodies to breathe properly, but 3 days ago my pneumonia relapsed and I am struggling. Karim, my other guide, has a tank of oxygen. Just in case. My ego won’t let me ask for it but my body is screaming for more air. For a moment I get dramatic… just leave me here to die, I want to tell them. This is as good a place as any. But Goodluck shakes me and I open my eyes and see that it’s time to get up and start walking again. I can see the summit – a blip, sparkling in the rising sun, sitting high above the rest of the world.

Despite my failing body and enthusiasm for reaching the top, the beauty that surrounds me is not lost and I remind myself to take it all in. How lucky am I see be able to witness something so truly beautiful? At 19,000 feet I am standing on top of a mountain overlooking pristine white glaciers that sit high above the clouds. There is a whole world below me hustling and bustling and here I am, in a bubble of surrealness. I think about all that it took to get here. It took getting my heart broken to look for a new challenge and something else to focus on. It took going through a major cancer scare to realize that life is short. It took putting myself out there to travel across the world with 9 people I didn’t know. It took stubbornness and probably some stupidity to go through with it once my pneumonia relapsed. It took the help and support of my team who I have not seen in 7 hours. I still cannot believe they didn’t pass me on the trail. They will be here soon though. And it will be glorious.

As we approach there is a frantic cluster of climbers huddled around the summit sign to take photos. When it’s my turn I stand there with Goodluck and Karim on either side. I would not have come close to making it up this mountain without them. They were my angel wings. Goodluck kept my mind focused with his joyous singing and Karim, always encouraging, was not afraid to nudge me awake when I was sleep walking up the face of the mountain. There were moments that I could have cursed them both because I just wanted to quit but they didn’t let me. I thank them and God for that.

By now my lungs have about had it. It’s hard for me to speak without coughing or being completely out of breath. I find a rock to lean against and again reflect on what I had just accomplished. 7 days ago we started out hiking in the rainforest. It was hot and humid and we all suffered from massive sunburns. The monkeys seemed to know we were on a journey. Looking back, their little shrieks now seem more like maniacal laughs, like they knew what lie ahead. From tent living to endless chicken-on-the-bone dinners (IYKYK) to nearly passing out from outhouse smells, this certainly was a departure from the comforts of home. But along the way we learned so much about the Tanzanian country and culture; from the Maasai tribe, to living the life of a guide. A forever moment was arriving at Shira I camp to our our guides and porters welcoming us with a song and dance. Click to Watch Video

Another forever moment was Day 5 when we left Barafu camp to climb “The Wall.” We had slept low in a valley and it did not really occur to me until that morning when we were packing up that we were going to have to climb out of it! (I think I was just so thankful the day before to have a change in elevation that going downhill was a welcomed repreeve… I would soon learn to dread every down hill in the trail because it meant you had to go back up!) Staring up at The Wall it seems impossible. My cough was in full effect and my knees and hip joints were starting to burn with every elevated step. We had to put our poles in our packs because this climb required all four limbs to scale the wall safely. There were points you were literally kissing the rock to avoid falling off. The Wall seems daunting but I ended up really enjoying it and I was really good at it. It was the confidence boost I needed after nearly dying the day before when I started to get sick.

The ascent to the top was in one way the most memorable and also the part that I probably remember the least. I left Base Camp at 11pm with one of my teammates and two guides an hour and 20 minutes before the rest of our team. My breathing had gotten so bad that I was having to stop more frequently so my guide knew that I was going to need more time to get to the top and didn’t want to hold the whole group back. The first thing I can recall about the ascent was how windy it was. And cold. So, so, cold. My fingers and toes took turns going numb. They warned us of our water freezing and needing insulated water bottles. I should have followed that advice because my camelbak did freeze and I had no insulated water bottle, so I ran out of water in just 4 hours. (Thank you Goodluck for sharing!) The words pole, pole still echo in my brain. It means slow, slow in Swahili and it is something the guides repeated to us over and over again to remind us to take our time and pace ourselves. In the seven hours it took to get to the top, I had a lot time to think about life; the good, the bad and ugly. There were a few times I just wanted to quit. Aside from Managerial Economics in MBA school, I have never quit anything in my life. But the pain that I was in was something I have never experienced before and I was so tired. So, so tired. But I remembered what my teammate Calvin said on Day 4, “your body can always go further than what your mind thinks.” This became a mantra I repeated to myself as I climbed the face of Kilimanjaro.

One might think hiking in the middle of the night would be scary or dangerous. They might be right about dangerous but it was not scary. The night we climbed we were probably only a few days shy of a complete full moon. The light from the moon reflected off the snow creating a glow that made our headlamps almost unnecessary. And the stars… being that high up it felt like you could literally reach out and grab one of thousands that shined bright in the sky. The wonder of it all did help lessen the intensity of the cold and wind – a little bit!

Now the sun has risen completely over the glacier and it’s about 7:20 in the morning. There is a loud commotion approaching me when I realize that it’s my team. They made it! My first hug was from Josh who I said with a huge smile “I am so proud of you. We have been talking about you all day.” Next I saw Amber and the realness of what we all had just accomplished flooded all sorts of emotions and we started to cry.

Since I have been home, the first question everyone has ask is, would you do it again? I think once is enough! Maybe that’s why they call a trip like this a once in a lifetime experience? I certainly would not recommend doing this to anyone with a respiratory infection. I came back to the States and remained very sick for another two weeks and just now am starting to feel like a human again. But I am proud of myself and my team. We all had personal or physical challenges that we faced on this mountain and we persevered. We also came together as a team and supported one another when it mattered. This is certainly a trip I will never forget.

*I want to also take a moment to thank a few others who were instrumental in getting me up this mountain…

• Merinyo, our chief guide… buddy, you were so supportive and encouraging to myself and the whole team. I really enjoyed the time we spent talking on the trail and learning more about your life and culture in Tanzania. It is certainly a beautiful country. There will always be an open door for your here in Alabama!
• Baracka, my NUMBER 1! Thank you for all your amazing smiles and jokes. It made the tough days more enjoyable and the good days great! Thank you for also sacrificing this time to be away from your family. Congrats on the new baby boy!
• Karen – without you, none of this would be possible! Thanks for being a calming voice (via Facebook) and helping us with all our schedules, reschedules, meals and so much more. You do so much and you truly made our experience the best it could be.
• Bob… I don’t even know what to say?! You organized an amazing trip; you brought awareness to the importance of organ donation and helped raise money for various causes through Team Mountain. You were already planning the next trip before we got to the top (which I think is nuts!) but that’s why we all love you! And CADE! He is the absolute man! At 14 years old he summited Kilimanjaro… how amazing!
• AmsterDAM Girls… we certainly had a wild trip. From The Layover, to Kenya, to the most incredible day in the Ngorongoro Crater, to climbing this dang mountain. And Stacy got her phone back! It certainly was an adventure traveling with you girls and it was great getting to know you.
• Josh… you are the mountaineer we all aspire to be. And the way you rock a scarf is like no other 🙂 But seriously, you are good people and thank you for your encouragement along the way. I still owe you a new headband!
• Calvin! My trekking buddy. Your stories and poems will always be remembered… “that’s one.” Thank you for being a good trail buddy. You tested your body to the limits and know that I was completely in awe of your commitment and determination.
• Brian, how would we know what elevation we were at any given moment? But seriously, thank you for basically saving me from falling off the Summit and getting me into the arms of Goodluck and Frankie. Not sure I would be writing this today if you were not there!
• And the best for last…Thomas… wow… where to I even start? I guess first off, all the girls would like to thank you for staring at us in the mess tent every night. I mean, those eyes of yours, wow 😉 But seriously, you need to come back to visit Bham often. There is a brown couch with your name on it, any time!