Some decisions must be made swiftly. Not everything should be calculated and broken-down. It was a Wednesday that an email came in from an expedition operator on Kilimanjaro with a discounted date only weeks later. I texted my friend and got back a response a few moment later: “Let’s do it.” After a quick email to my boss, the plane tickets were booked and our spots on the Lemosho Route were reserved.
Many will say Kilimanjaro isn’t the most exotic of alpine experiences, but it resonated well with our skill level at the time and what we wanted to achieve. The spontaneity of the situation kept anticipation at an unprecedented height. Preparations went by all too quick from the vaccine appointments to the gathering of missing equipment. It seemed only a few days before we stepped into the plane that would take us half way across the globe.
If I’m honest, the plane there felt longer than the two weeks between booking the expedition and stepping inside the hatch. In 26 hours we would travel 7370 miles and experience a temperature change from -22 ºF to 95 ºF. From setting foot on the airport’s tarmac to arriving at the gates of the Lemosho Route, we had begun on our journey to the summit of Africa.
From farmland to rainforest, followed by moorland and highland deserts we arrived at the snow-capped summit six and a half days later. Our journey encompassed everything I had envisioned and more. From tents blowing away at basecamp to improvised baths in cold streams, I finally felt at home thousands of miles away. I had nowhere else to be and I was finally fulfilling my calling for the mountains.
As I stepped onto the bus at the end of our trek, Jeremy Jone’s quote kept ringing through my head, “The journey is the reward.” Reaching the summit was the result of so much effort from our group that reaching the top didn’t feel like an achievement in itself without the 60 or so miles of walking that had preceded it. The gratification of the effort it took to reach that one point was what made the whole journey worthwhile. Contrary to what some might think, the summit of Kilimanjaro is nothing more than snow and a view obstructed by clouds thousands of feet lower.
To truly appreciate the experience you must take it all in from the moment you step out of your plane. For me, it had started weeks before with that one email that would bring me to highest point of Africa.
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